International

The green tech that many clamor for requires some very exotic mineral ingredients -- and mining them has environmental consequences.

"After one of the longest sunspot droughts in modern times, solar activity picked up quickly over the weekend."

"The world's leading industrial nations tentatively agreed Wednesday to try to prevent global temperatures from rising above a fixed level, after a more far-reaching proposal to slash production of greenhouse gases fizzled... ."

"Major nations have failed to agree to set a goal halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a draft document ahead of talks on Thursday -- a setback to efforts to secure a new U.N. climate pact."

Some 50 chemicals which can potentially harm human health are contained in food packaging.

"There is rising concern among polar bear biologists that the big recent summertime retreats of sea ice in the Arctic are already harming some populations of these seal-hunting predators."

"A new framework for reducing carbon emissions takes a crack at the knottiest dilemma confronting a global climate solution: how to divvy cuts between rich and poor nations."

"The U.S., European Union and 12 of the world's largest nations plan to embrace 'an aspirational goal' of reducing emissions of global-warming gases by 50% by 2050, according to a draft declaration by world leaders set for release next week in Italy."

"Proposals to impose 'carbon tariffs' on imported products will violate the rules of the World Trade Organization as well as the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol, China's Ministry of Commerce said."

If the United States wants to build a market-based approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it should learn from Europe's failures.