Inspectors weed out toxin-laced fish from Southern California’s Asian communities

WESTMINSTER, Calif. — John Fallan’s trained eye scans rows of iceboxes brimming with tiger fish and shrimp in a Vietnamese supermarket, searching for one pesky fish that threatens the health of seafood lovers.

Green machines: Pentagon looks to algae as tomorrow’s fuel for fighter jets, cargo planes

LOGAN, Utah — Somewhere among the beakers and the bubbling green-tinged tanks in this Utah State University lab, Jeff Muhs is searching for champion pond scum for Uncle Sam.

Plastiki ship made of bottles to sail Pacific on voyage highlighting the perils of plastic

SAN FRANCISCO — You’ve heard of a ship in a bottle. How about a ship made of plastic bottles? That would be the Plastiki, designed to sail the Pacific on an 11,000-mile voyage highlighting the dangers of living in a throwaway world.

Adding carbon dioxide to oceans causes fish ear bones to grow larger, scientists find

WASHINGTON — Listen up! Carbon dioxide being absorbed by the oceans is having a puzzling effect on fish — their ears get bigger.

Whaling talks ponder compromise deal but breakthrough said to be no closer

LISBON, Portugal — The International Whaling Commission on Monday began discussing a possible compromise deal that would reduce the number of whales killed each year.

Australia, New Zealand plan non-lethal study of Antarctic whales in challenge to Japan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Australia and New Zealand announced Thursday a non-lethal whale research expedition to the Antarctic, a direct challenge to Japan’s research program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year.

Obama’s first global warming report dire, but offers hope; ‘Not too late,’ one official says

WASHINGTON — Rising sea levels, sweltering temperatures, deeper droughts, and heavier downpours — global warming’s serious effects are already here and getting worse, the Obama administration warned on Tuesday in the grimmest, most urgent language on climate change ever to come out of any White House.

Hard to find emperor penguins in Antarctica _ until you view the poo from space satellite

WASHINGTON — Scientists looking for lost penguins stumbled upon an effective method: Follow their poop from space.

Forecast for global sea level rise from Antarctic ice collapse scaled back

WASHINGTON — The global sea level will only rise about 10 feet if the West Antarctic ice sheet collapses.

Report: Climate change threatens diverse coral reefs that millions of livelihoods depend on

MANADO, Indonesia — Around 100 million people risk losing their homes and livelihoods unless drastic steps are taken to protect Southeast Asia’s coral reefs, which could be wiped out in coming decades because of climate change, a report said Wednesday.

Endangered whale off Mass. coast is struck by boat from agency tasked with protecting species

BOSTON — A research vessel for the federal agency charged with protecting the endangered right whale hit one of the animals off the Massachusetts coast this weekend, cutting into the animal’s left tail fluke with its propeller.