Senate climate bill fails to lift perceptions of US at international global warming talks

BANGKOK — The honeymoon appears to be over for the United States at U.N. climate talks.

Sugar beet debate leaves farmers waiting as Colo.’s Boulder County reconsiders biotech crops

BOULDER, Colo. — Famuer Rasmussen Jr. and five other farmers filed what they thought was a routine request to grow genetically modified sugar beets on public land in Colorado’s Boulder County. The county already had allowed genetically altered corn.

With fight ahead, Democrats drop controversial “cap and trade” term and talk energy security

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats tried out a new catch phrase Wednesday to sell their global warming bill: pollution reduction and investment, or PRI.

EPA proposes first-ever permits for greenhouse gases from power plants and factories

WASHINGTON — Proposed regulations would require power plants, factories and refineries to reduce greenhouse gases by installing the best available technology and improving energy efficiency whenever a facility is significantly changed or built.

UN agency: climate change will hit agriculture in developing countries, increase poverty

ROME — A U.N. agency warns that the climate change will badly affect agriculture and hit developing nations hardest, leading to unreliable food production and higher prices.

3 miles of Houston Ship Channel reopen after nearly half of 10,500-gallon oil spill cleaned up

HOUSTON — The Coast Guard says three miles of the Houston Ship Channel are reopened after a 10,500-gallon oil spill closed the section during the weekend.

Feds, environmental group settle on dates for decisions on listing ice seals as threatened

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal agency must decide within three weeks whether spotted seals, which depend on sea ice off Alaska’s coast, should be listed as a threatened or endangered species.

UN warns world leaders in Thailand that only 70 days remain to reach a new climate deal

BANGKOK — The United Nations on Monday warned world leaders they have only 70 days to reach a new deal to limit global warming, while environmentalists pointed to the deadly floods in the Philippines to illustrate the already devastating impact of climate change.

Drought is fueling more smelly and dog-killing blue-green algae in parts of Upper Midwest

WAUSAU, Wis. — Waterways across the upper Midwest are increasingly plagued with ugly, smelly blue-green algae that’s killed dozens of dogs and sickened people.

At ’south-south’ summit, Gadhafi calls for NATO-like alliance for South America, Africa

PORLAMAR, Venezuela — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi called for a NATO-like defense alliance for Africa and South America as leaders from the two continents agreed to link up to gain more clout as economic and political blocs.

Proposed Senate climate bill calls for deeper, early pollution cuts than those in House bill

WASHINGTON — A Senate climate bill will require a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gases by 2020, deeper than the reductions mandated by the House, but also include stronger measures to try to avoid energy price spikes, according to a draft of the bill.

Many world leaders support earmarking $100 billion annually to curb global warning

UNITED NATIONS — Many world leaders have expressed support for a proposal that would earmark $100 billion a year for the next decade for concrete actions to curb greenhouse gases and help countries cope with the impact of climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Tank vessel collides with barge, spilling 10,500 gallons of oil into Houston Ship Channel

HOUSTON — The Coast Guard says crews are working to clean up a 10,500-gallon oil spill that has closed traffic along three miles of the Houston Ship Channel.

Report: Climate change means more hungry children, greater investment in farming needed

JOHANNESBURG — Scientists fear climate change will mean 25 million more hungry children over the next four decades, with subsistence farmers in Africa and Asia particularly hard hit by global warming, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Sierra Club wants to intervene in federal lawsuit filed against Westar over coal-fired plants

LAWRENCE, Kan. — An environmental group said Tuesday it wants to intervene in an anti-pollution lawsuit filed by the federal government against Kansas’ largest electric company, a case the utility hopes to settle.

US says its climate bill unlikely to pass before global conference on cutting greenhouse gases

BANGKOK — The fate of U.S. legislation capping carbon emissions weighed heavily on delegates at U.N. climate talks starting Monday in Bangkok, with the Americans saying delays in passing the bill could deter commitments from other nations.

UN climate talks kick off in Bangkok with calls to reach deal, avert catastrophe

BANGKOK — U.N. climate talks kicked off Monday in Bangkok with leaders calling for delegates to break the deadlock over a global warming deal and warning that failure to act would leave future generations fighting for survival.

Once-likely climate change deal in doubt as UN talks resume in Bangkok

BANGKOK — Two years ago, governments from around the world came together on the island of Bali and agreed to urgently rein in the heat-trapping gases blamed for deadly heat waves, melting glaciers and rising seas.

Obama says world leaders united and confident after bringing economy out of crisis

PITTSBURGH — World leaders on Friday issued sweeping promises to fix a malfunctioning global economic system in hopes of heading off future financial meltdowns. President Barack Obama said actions taken so far “brought the global economy back from the brink.”

G-20 leaders pledge ambitious financial overhaul, stop short of details on how to get there

PITTSBURGH — World leaders lined up Friday behind sweeping promises to fix a malfunctioning global economic system in hopes of heading off future financial meltdowns. For now, they said, they would keep stimulus programs going “until recovery is assured.”

Rift opens between major utilities and US Chamber of Commerce over climate change

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A rift widened between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and some utilities as another major power provider quit over the business group’s hard stance on pending climate regulation.

Environmental groups call for Mittal to stop pollution at South African steel mill

VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa — Strike Matsepe used his life savings to buy a small plot of land near the country’s biggest steel mill, hoping it would become a thriving farm in his old age. Now, weathered and sick, the 80 year old has had to abandon his dream — the land and ground water are so polluted his cattle have died and crops failed.

California establishes nation’s first statewide carbon fee to fund emission-reduction program

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Despite industry objections and threats of lawsuits, California air regulators on Friday approved the nation’s first statewide carbon fee on utilities, oil refineries and other polluting industries.

Judge says he’s reluctant to put global warming on trial in case of foiled oil and gas auction

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge said Friday he’s reluctant to put global warming on trial in the case of a Utah college student charged with disrupting a federal oil and gas lease auction for parcels near several national parks.

Small oil leak stops production at North Sea StatoilHydro platform

OSLO — State-controlled Norwegian oil company StatoilHydro ASA was forced to shut down its Statfjord C offshore oil platform Friday after it leaked water contaminated by oil into the North Sea.

AP IMPACT: Drinking water at thousands of schools contains unsafe lead, other toxins

CUTLER, Calif. — Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

Schwarzenegger defends environmental legacy from attacks by gubernatorial wannabe Whitman

SAN FRANCISCO — At a third anniversary celebration of the state’s ambitious climate change law, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday found himself fending off barbs by a member of his own party — former eBay CEO and Republican candidate for governor Meg Whitman.

Calif. air regulators establish program to promote forests, help polluters meet emission goals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California air regulators Thursday expanded the state’s carbon-offset program to include forests across the country, creating the most far-reaching effort of its kind in the nation.

If greenhouse gases are cut as planned, Earth still gets 6 degrees hotter, update suggests

WASHINGTON — Earth’s temperature is likely to jump nearly 6 degrees between now and the end of the century even if every country cuts greenhouse gas emissions as proposed, according to a United Nations update.

Oklahoma lawmaker to propose 5-cent bottle-deposit program to provide cash, reduce litter

OKLAHOMA CITY — A state lawmaker hopes to implement a 5-cent beverage container deposit program in Oklahoma as a way to reduce litter and provide an infusion of much-needed cash for the budget.