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"OSLO -- A proposed U.N. study of climate extremes will be a practical guide for tackling natural disasters and fill a gap in past reports focused on the gradual effects of global warming, experts said.

WASHINGTON -- In a court case with potential impact in Missouri and across the country, a federal judge in Delaware ruled today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife should not have permitted farming with genetically modified crops on a national wildlife refuge. U.S. District Judge Gregory Sleet wrote that the Fish and Wildlife agency erred by failing to conduct environmental studies to determine whether farming with genetically modified crops at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware was compatible with conservation and habitat preservation. Bill Lambrecht reports for the St.

"The ethanol industry must be wondering where the bottom is. Profits are slim or non-existent and about 20 percent of all U.S. plants are shut down. In addition, ethanol's main by-product, which is sold as livestock feed, has raised potential food safety concerns.

"A former W.R. Grace & Co. executive testified he warned his superiors more than 30 years ago about asbestos contamination in vermiculite from a Montana mine and feared it might lead to criminal prosecution.

"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency often finds problems with bottled water, but doesn't tell the public about them. Canada's federal food watchdog issued 29 recall notices for bottled water products between 2000 and early 2008, citing deficiencies such as contamination by bacteria, moulds, glass chips and trace amounts of arsenic. Of the recalls, affecting 49 different products, it issued a public warning in only seven cases, two of which came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made public its recall orders.

"With Congress and President Obama championing green energy, the solar industry sees an opening to pursue a goal it long considered unattainable: European-style subsidies for sun-generated power. The national trade group for solar manufacturers is discussing whether it should push for a national feed-in tariff, a funding mechanism that forces utilities to buy green power at premium prices. Popular in Germany and Spain, feed-in tariffs have gained little traction in the United States. But that is changing.

EPA is awarding $800,000 in grants to organizations working with communities throughout the country that struggle with environmental justice issues. Under the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, 40 grants, up to $20,000 each, are going to community organizations and local and tribal governments in 28 states for projects aimed at addressing environmental and public health issues." Environment News Service had the story March 24, 2009.