International

The high-speed rail system in Spain is a huge success, and offers some lessons for Obama administration officials seeking to develop something similar in the U.S.

A company that collects used electronic equipment for "recycling" comes under fire from activists who say the waste is sent to developing countries and mishandled.

"The increasing acidity of the world's oceans due to global warming must not be left off the agenda at the United Nations Copenhagen climate negotiations in December, 70 of the world's science academies warned today."

Delegates in Bonn negotiating a post-Kyoto climate treaty grudgingly accepted a first draft text as a starting point -- despite many reservations.

"Delegates from 174 countries and 230 nongovernment interest groups meet from Monday through June 12 in Bonn, Germany, in the second of five negotiating conferences to culminate with a final agreement being adopted in December in Copenhagen, Denmark."

Refugees from lands made uninhabitable by climate change -- expected in tens of millions -- may soon be threatening peace and security in many parts of the world. The UN is expected soon to address this issue.

"There are significant questions about the robustness of the numbers at the heart of the new report estimating more than 300,000 deaths are already being caused each year by global warming...."

A power plant under construction on a Finnish island was supposed to be the showpiece of a nuclear renaissance. But it is way behind schedule and over budget.

"The most likely place for oil in the Arctic is off northern Alaska in the Chukchi Sea, the researchers report. But conservationists warn of drilling in the fragile environment."