‘President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways.’

via Obama Will Use Nixon-Era Law to Fight Climate Change – Bloomberg.

‘The Obama administration continued its push to ramp up renewable energy projects on public land, approving three new projects on Wednesday, including what would become the largest solar power plant in the world.’

via Federal government approves world’s largest solar power plant. – latimes.com.

‘In what’s regarded as Thailand’s most important tiger sanctuary, wildlife rangers report mounting evidence of gangs setting traps with fresh meat, laced with poison, as bait.’

via BBC News – Deadly poison threat to tigers.

‘TOKYO — Japan said Tuesday that it had extracted gas from offshore deposits of methane hydrate — sometimes called “flammable ice” — a breakthrough that officials and experts said could be a step toward tapping a promising but still little-understood energy source.’

via An Energy Coup for Japan – ‘Flammable Ice’ – NYTimes.com.

‘The researchers say the decade 2000-2009 was one of the warmest since modern record-keeping began, and they forecast the planet will be warmer in 2100 than it has been at any time in those 11,300 years, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.’

via Temperatures in last decade highest since end of last Ice Age – UPI.com.

‘GREENBELT, Md., March 11 (UPI) — Growing seasons in Earth’s northern latitudes are shifting and vegetation increasingly resembles lusher latitudes to the south, scientists say.’

via Vegetation types in northern hemisphere shifting with climate change – UPI.com.

‘Cesium levels in the ocean, still elevated, weren’t decreasing as quickly as had been hoped — suggesting that radiation was still being introduced into the Pacific, perhaps through leaks from the plant and from river and groundwater discharge from land, perhaps from the sea floor itself. Bottom-dwelling and freshwater fish still had elevated levels of contamination, too.’

via On Japanese tsunami anniversary, recalling Fukushima effects on ocean – latimes.com.

‘VIENNA (Reuters) – Efforts to enhance global nuclear safety have advanced since Japan’s Fukushima disaster struck exactly two years ago on Monday, the U.N. atomic energy chief said, vowing to help make nuclear power as “safe as humanly possible”.’

via U.N. sees progress in boosting post-Fukushima nuclear safety – Yahoo! News.

‘Although California voters didn’t back the labeling of products made with genetically modified ingredients, the practice will soon be mandatory at Whole Foods Market Inc.’

via Whole Foods to require labels on genetically modified products – latimes.com.

‘In a study published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, researchers used eight indirect temperature indicators — such as pollen and shells from marine organisms — to chart long-term global warming and cooling trends. The research team concluded that temperatures in the last decade had not exceeded the Holocene’s steamiest periods from thousands of years ago. However, if current warming trends hold, those records will be broken by the end of the century.’

via Study of 11,300 years of weather suggests record warming ahead – latimes.com.