Japan Airlines to launch voluntary carbon offset programme for its passengers in February Tue 6 Jan 2009 - Japan Airlines (JAL) has teamed up with Recycle One, the Japanese agency of The CarbonNeutral Company, to offer its passengers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from their flights from next month. Instead of making the contribution during the online booking process stage, passengers click on a banner on the JAL home page, which links to a JAL carbon offset micro-site provided by Recycle One. Passengers can select from around 10 sustainable development projects worldwide they would like to support through their contribution. Read more ...

Successful Air New Zealand jatropha biofuel test flight hailed as a commercial aviation milestone Tue 6 Jan 2009 - Last Tuesday's flight of an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 aircraft using a jatropha biofuel blended 50/50 with conventional Jet A1 fuel to power one of its four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines met all ground and inflight performance tests, according to the airline. Engineers are now assessing the effects of the biofuel on the engine and the aircraft's fuel systems. Meanwhile, Continental Airlines has confirmed its own test flight will go ahead tomorrow (7 Jan) in which a fuel blend derived from jatropha and algae will be used on a twin-engined Boeing 737-800. Read more ...

European Parliament throws out ETS revision proposals to tighten the aviation sector's emission allowances Fri 19 Dec 2008 - The European Parliament voted on Wednesday not to adopt proposed amendments by some MEPs that would have reduced the level of the free allocation of emission allowances incrementally from the start of the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2013. In 2012, when aviation joins the scheme, the sector is to be allocated 85 percent of the allowances for free. Under the proposals, this would have been reduced in 2013 to 80 percent and then decrease each year in equal amounts, resulting in no free allocation in 2020. Read more ...

Aviation industry environmental body forecasts UK emissions from air traffic will fall to 2000 levels by 2050 Fri 19 Dec 2008 - Sustainable Aviation, the environmental strategy initiative formed by UK airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and ATM providers, has published its first report mapping the air transport industry's CO2 emissions to 2050. It concludes that such emissions can return to 2000 levels by 2050, after having reached a peak around 2020, against a background of a threefold increase in passenger numbers forecasted by the UK's Department of Transport assumptions. Read more ...

Alternative aviation jet fuels take a major step forward with agreement on a new standards specification Thu 18 Dec 2008 – One of the major obstacles towards industry-wide adoption of non-conventional jet fuels has been the issue of certification. A meeting last week in Florida of ASTM International, which oversees the international standards and specifications for jet fuel, secured major progress towards a new framework that will soon lead to a new alternative fuels specification, provisionally called DXXXX, which will sit alongside the current D1655 conventional jet fuel specification. The creation of DXXXX is expected to speed up the approvals process and provide confidence to potential aviation alternative jet fuel producers. Read more ...

Japan Airlines announces that it too will conduct a demonstration biofuel flight in January, the first in Asia Tue 16 Dec 2008 - Japan Airlines (JAL) has become the latest carrier to announce that it plans to carry out a biofuel-powered demonstration flight. Using a JAL-owned Pratt & Whitney JT9D-powered Boeing 747-300 aircraft, the biofuel flight will be the first in Asia and will test a blend made up of camelina, jatropha and algae. The one-hour demonstration flight out of Tokyo's Haneda Airport is planned for January 30. JAL has been partnered in the project by Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturer’s first biofuel flight, Boeing and Honeywell's UOP. Read more ...

Avinor promises a green Christmas on flights from the UK to visit the land of Santa Claus Mon 15 Dec 2008 - Avinor, responsible for Norway's airport and ATC network, has allotted 'green' routes through its airspace on flights from the UK to Rovaniemi, Finland, this Christmas period. At the same time, Avinor will help ensure that flights with seriously ill children on board will be given priority clearance to the home of Santa Claus. With around 47 flights in each direction daily at this time of the year, the reductions in distance travelled will result in CO2 savings of around 15-20 tonnes each day. Read more ...

Liverpool John Lennon Airport to trial carbon capture technology that creates biofuel for ground vehicle use Mon 15 Dec 2008 - UK-based start-up Origo Industries has signed an agreement with Liverpool John Lennon Airport to trial a programme in which its Ecobox system will be used to capture CO2 emissions from within the terminal building and recycle them through a photo-bioreactor (PBR) to create an algae-based biofuel to power some of the airport's ground vehicles and potentially generate electricity. Installation begins in January and Origo hopes the system will provide up to 250 litres of biofuel a day when operations start next summer. Read more ...

COMMENTARY

The search for alternative aviation fuels: understanding the challenge Mon 10 Nov 2008 - Against a background of increasing pressure on the industry to do more to control and reduce its carbon emissions, alternative fuels have moved firmly onto and up the agenda as one way in which some or all of aviation's greenhouse gas emissions might be further controlled and reduced. Jeff Gazzard of the Aviation Environment Federation outlines the issues from the perspective of an environmental NGO.  Read more ... 1 opinion posted

Disagreement on environmental impacts of air transport is seriously undermining UK government policy Thu 28 Aug 2008 - Air travel has been heralded as one of the great successes of the modern world, creating wealth and employment, enabling worldwide economic and cultural interaction, and enriching our lives, writes Hugh Raven, Commissioner at the UK's Sustainable Development Commission. We know there are environmental concerns, which may or may not be answered by future technological breakthroughs. But the economic imperative to expand is surely overwhelming. Or is it? Read more ...

A way forward in achieving an acceptable global aviation emissions mitigation framework Wed 16 July 2008 - The search for an international consensus to tackle the problem of aviation greenhouse gas emissions has so far proved elusive. The UN agency charged with developing a global framework of mitigation measures and targets, ICAO, is attempting to reach an accord to put before the UNFCCC Copenhagen conference in December 2009. Chris Lyle analyses the issues and offers some thoughts on a way forward. Read more ...

FEATURE ARTICLES

Two organizations and countless companies strive to bring the dream of algae biofuels to life Sun 28 Sept 2008 - A successful conversion of algae to an aviation jet biofuel on a commercially sizeable and economic scale is seen as having exciting potential in the efforts to replace traditional jet kerosene with an emissions-reducing alternative. Jim Lane, Editor of Biofuels Digest, provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the current algae market and the technological hurdles that must be overcome. Read more ...

Affected airlines must factor in many uncertain issues as they plan for inclusion into the EU ETS Thu 18 Sept 2008 - Although aviation's inclusion into the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is now a formaility, there is uncertainty on the levels of capping and auctioning from 2013 as Europe may seek to tighten current proposals. There is also the possibility of legal action by non-EU countries with airlines that fly to Europe, angered by their unilateral inclusion into the scheme. However, Miles Austin warns the industry to avoid a wait-and-see attitude and start preparations now.  Read more ...

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

For more details on the following events, click here New posting Environmental Impacts of Air Traffic Management and Contrails and JETCLIM Seminars 29 January 2009 London, UK Second International Scientific and Business Congress on Protecting the Climate - A World Joint Strategy "Localisation on Environmental Business and Supply Base in India" 3-4 February 2009 New Delhi, India Aviation and Alternative Fuels (ICAO Workshop) 10-12 February 2009 Montreal, Canada New posting Aviation CO2 Workshop 24-25 February 2009 Budapest, Hungary Aviation & Environment Summit 2009 31 March - 1 April 2009 Geneva, Switzerland Greener Skies 2009 September 2009 Hong Kong  Read more ...

RECENT NEWS

European transport ministers and MEPs reach agreement on Single European Sky II package proposals Fri 12 Dec 2008 - EU transport ministers reached agreement on Tuesday (December 9) on the technical details of Europe's next-generation air traffic management system, paving the way for shorter flights and reduced CO2 emissions from air traffic. The day before, the European Parliament's Transport Committee accepted a recommendation on the Single European Sky II proposals, which are now likely to be adopted at a plenary first reading in January. Read more ...

Cosmetics retailing tycoon to fund aviation environmental action group's Stansted legal costs Fri 12 Dec 2008 - The wealthy co-founder of international cosmetics retailing company Lush has agreed to help fund the legal costs of the 56 people from environmental direct action group Plane Stupid who were arrested on Monday (December 8) after cutting through the perimeter fencing of London's Stansted Airport. The protesters chained themselves to makeshift barriers close to the runway, forcing the closure of the airport and the cancellation of 52 flights. Read more ...

Continental Airlines announces first-ever US biofuel flight will take place in early January Fri 12 Dec 2008 - Continental Airlines will conduct a biofuel-powered demonstration flight on January 7 from Houston, Texas. Not only will it be the first US flight to use a biofuel blend, it will be the first using a twin-engined aircraft, a CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737-800, and the first use of algae as a biojet fuel. The fuel to be used in one of the two engines will be a blend of 50 percent traditional jet fuel and 50 percent biofuel sourced from algae and jatropha. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has rescheduled its jatropha-based biofuel flight to December 30. Read more ...

ANA and JAL Group to participate in voluntary trials of Japan's domestic Emissions Trading Scheme Thu 11 Dec 2008 - Both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and the JAL Group have announced they will join in trials of Japan's domestic voluntary emissions trading scheme, JVETS, which started in fiscal 2008 and runs through until 31 March 2012. JAL Group's domestic airlines, which comprise Japan Airlines and six other subsidiaries, are targeting a 16 percent cut in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometre (ASK) until 2012. ANA has committed to a 200,000-tonne reduction in annual CO2 emissions by 2011, compared with 2006. Read more ...

Emirates to conduct world's longest green flight trial to coincide with launch of new service to San Francisco Wed 10 Dec 2008 - Emirates Airline is set to trial the longest green flight to date next Monday (December 15) to coincide with the airline's inaugural flight from Dubai to San Francisco. Christened the Emvironment flight, the 16-hour, non-stop, cross-polar journey has been plotted with the cooperation of government agencies in Dubai, Russia, Iceland, Canada and the United States, and will involve multiple fuel and emission saving measures that the airline hopes will save an estimated 30,000 pounds (13.6 tonnes) of carbon emissions. Read more ...

Lochard launches web-based module to enable airports to assess and track aircraft carbon emissions Wed 10 Dec 2008 - Environmental monitoring solutions company Lochard has launched AirTrak-Carbon Manager, which helps airports accurately compute and view carbon emissions from the entire aircraft operation, including the Landing and Take-Off (LTO) cycle and en-route. By receiving continuous automated information using actual flight track data, airports can precisely assess the impact of carbon reduction measures and report emission trends. Read more ...

Climate change and capacity constraints will significantly impact European airports by 2030, reports Eurocontrol study Tue 9 Dec 2008 - According to a new Eurocontrol study, Challenges of Growth, even taking the current economic downturn into account, demand for flights in Europe will rise from 10 million today to 20.4 million in 2030, leading to one in two flights at risk of delay or cancellation at highly congested airports. In addition, bouts of extreme weather and other effects of climate change will bring further disruption to already saturated airports, together with changes to travel and route patterns. Read more ...

Report sets out to show how the aviation industry lobbied to "hijack" its inclusion into the EU ETS Fri 5 Dec 2008 - A new report from campaign and research group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) describes how, in its view, the aviation industry undermined the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). It details how it saw the International Air Transport Association (IATA), national airlines and key member states effectively working together to weaken original proposals to tackle emissions from aviation with the result, it claims, that the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe will continue to grow rapidly. Read more ...

Airbus Corporate Foundation established to support environmental, humanitarian and youth activities Wed 3 Dec 2008 - Airbus has announced the launch of the Airbus Corporate Foundation, which is aimed at facilitating charitable activities worldwide within an international network of employees, associations and international organizations. Starting off with a budget of 2.5 million euros ($3.1m), the foundation will focus its support on the three themes of humanitarian and community support, youth development and the environment. Read more ...

Emirates warns environmental taxes and the EU ETS could place its European regional routes at risk Tue 2 Dec 2008 - International carrier Emirates says that the additional costs it will incur as a result of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), coming on top of the imposition of "punitive" environmental taxes on plane tickets, will place a number of its European regional routes, particularly to the UK, at risk. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier Ryanair also gave notice that it would no longer continue to absorb increasing passenger taxes and will be seeking discussions with regional airports about the future viability of some routes. Read more ...

Air New Zealand postpones biofuel flight following Airbus A320 loss off French coast Wed 3 Dec 2008 - Today's scheduled biofuel test flight from Auckland of an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 has been postponed until early January following the loss of an Air New Zealand Airbus A320, which came down in the Mediterranean off the coast of France last Friday. Read more ...

Norwegian report concludes that governments must explain the benefits of environmental taxes Tue 2 Dec 2008 - A new study by the Oslo-based Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) says that although environmental taxes can have a significant impact on global emissions, governments face a huge challenge in convincing the public and business of their value if the benefits are not explained or if the taxes are not earmarked for specific environmental purposes. Read more ...

Student teams from more than 60 countries take on the Airbus 'Fly Your Ideas' environmental challenge Tue 2 Dec 2008 - Teams representing more than 900 university students from over 60 countries have registered for the Airbus 'Fly Your Ideas' competition that aims to generate ideas to help shape the future of the air transport industry and deliver further reductions in the environmental impact of aviation. Entries for the competition closed yesterday and a six-month process now begins to find the winning project, to be announced at the next Paris Air Show in June 2009. Read more ...

East Midlands Airport takes delivery of electric Smart Car and wins environmental award for its nature trail Mon 1 Dec 2008 - The UK's East Midland Airport has won a Green Apple Environment Awards for its six-mile nature trail, the third consecutive year the airport has picked up an environmental best practice award from the Green Organisation. The airport, along with two other airports in the group, has also taken delivery of an electric-powered Smart Car as part of plans to make all ground operations carbon neutral by 2012. Read more ...

UK decision to extend passenger duty distance bands and scrap plane tax finds little support from industry Mon 1 Dec 2008 - Last week's announcement by the UK Government that it would scrap proposals to introduce a per-plane tax and instead retain, and extend, Air Passenger Duty (APD) has been met with at best a mixed reaction from both industry representatives and environmental groups. Airlines say the increase in duty is little more than a tax grab under the guise of environmental protection whereas environmentalists say an opportunity to extend the tax to freight and transfer passengers has been missed. Read more ...

UK Government decides against change to a plane tax and instead opts for increases on passenger duty Fri 28 Nov 2008 - The UK Government has decided not to switch from a per airline passenger duty to a tax per plane on the grounds that to do so could harm the aviation industry. Instead, the present two-band Air Passenger Duty (APD) will be extended to four bands, with increases in duty to take place in November 2009 and again the following year. The new reform is expected to lead to savings of 0.6 MtCO2 in 2011-12. Read more ...

The EU ETS must be strengthened or its impact on aviation emissions will be minimal, says Tyndall study Fri 21 Nov 2008 - The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the UK's Manchester University has just published a working paper that assesses the implications on climate targets of including aviation within the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme. It concludes that unless the scheme adopts both an early baseline year and an overall cap in keeping with a 450ppmv CO2 equivalent cumulative emission pathway, its impact on aviation emissions will be minimal. The authors say carbon prices will need to be much higher or other stringent constraints will be required to restrict the rapid growth in aviation emissions. Read more ...

Austria's aviation industry combines to produce a publication to support its climate protection activities Fri 21 Nov 2008 - Austrian Airlines Group, the Austrian air navigation services provider Austro Control and six Austrian airports have jointly published a report called 'The Environment and Aviation', which aims to document the multi-faceted efforts of the country's air transport industry in support of environmental and climate protection. Meanwhile, Austrian Airlines has released details of the recent performance of its passenger carbon offset scheme, which show an 8.5 per cent take-up on online bookings. Read more ...

Costa Rica's NatureAir becomes the first airline to join the United Nations' Climate Neutral Network Fri 21 Nov 2008 - Having laid claim to becoming the world's first carbon neutral airline, Costa Rica-based NatureAir has now joined the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote global action towards low-carbon economies and societies. In 2004, the airline pledged to offset all its carbon emissions through the purchase of government carbon credits, paid for by increasing fares, and used for the protection of tropical forests in southern Costa Rica. Read more ...

UK's new Transport Secretary says supporting aviation and protecting the environment are completely compatible Thu 20 Nov 2008 - The UK's new Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, said in a speech delivered to the Airport Operators Association (AOA) Annual Conference in London earlier this week that the debate around the future of aviation has become extremely polarized. He said there were three main myths which needed to be tackled concerning the environment, airport capacity and high-speed rail links. AOA's Executive Chairman Ed Anderson told delegates the impending switch by the Government to an aircraft-based duty was "the wrong tax at the wrong time". Read more ...

Europe's failure to implement a Single European Sky is an environmental embarrassment, says IATA Thu 20 Nov 2008 - The failure to implement an effective Single European Sky (SES) is Europe's biggest environmental embarrassment, IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani told high-level delegates to the European Aviation Summit held in Bordeaux, France earlier this week. He challenged Europe to deliver the SES by 2012 to coincide with aviation's inclusion into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. He was supported by the Association of European Airlines, who described the present ATM system as a "morass of inefficiency". Read more ...

SESAR announces 100 emissions-reducing European green procedure flight trials to take place in 2009 Wed Nov 19 2008 - The SESAR programme, the operational and technology component of Europe's Single European Sky (SES) air traffic modernization legislation, has received a kick-start with the announcement that over 100 flight trials, involving 17 partners representing airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and industry, will take place during next year under the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE) framework. Greener flight procedures could potentially reduce carbon emissions per flight by 10 percent. Read more ...

United Airlines becomes first US carrier to undertake fuel and emissions saving ASPIRE flight Mon 17 Nov 2008 - United Airlines became the first US carrier to participate in the trans-Pacific ASPIRE initiative last Friday (Nov 14) when a Boeing 747-400 flight between Sydney and San Francisco undertook 11 gate-to-gate operational procedures, from priority take-off clearance to a tailored arrival, that resulted in savings of 1,564 gallons (5,920 litres) of fuel and 32,656 pounds (14.81 tonnes) of carbon emissions over normal conditions.  Read more ...

Airline association appeals to European legislators to stop moving the goalposts on aviation ETS Mon 17 Nov 2008 - Speaking at last week's Annual General Meeting of the International Air Carrier Association (IACA), its President, Christoph Mueller, called on MEPs to reject tough amendments to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme proposed by its Environment Committee (ENVI) when it comes before the European Parliament early next month as part of a general review of the scheme. Read more ...

Report challenges claims that airline and tourism expansion benefits the economy and poorer nations Mon 17 Nov 2008 - A new report, entitled Plane Truths, from the new economics foundation (nef) and the World Development Movement (WDM) claims that increased air travel and tourism leaves UK taxpayers out of pocket and benefits multinational tour operators and hotel chains rather than poor people. Also, as the fastest-rising source of emissions in the UK, it maintains aviation is a significant contributor to climate change that threatens the survival of some of the world's poorest communities. Read more ...

Environment is the new imperative, aviation industry delegates to air navigation conference are told Fri 14 Nov 2008 - The aviation industry must accelerate implementation of advanced airspace management technologies to counteract pressure from a public increasingly concerned about the environment, delegates to a Seattle conference on Performance Based Navigation (PBN) were told earlier this week. PBN relies on GPS guidance and advanced flight management systems to guide aircraft on very precise vertical and horizontal tracks, enabling them to take more efficient routes and save both fuel and emissions Read more ...

FedEx commits to reducing the carbon emissions of its aircraft fleet by 20 percent by 2020 Fri 14 Nov 2008 - FedEx has pledged to cut the carbon dioxide emissions of its aircraft fleet by 20 percent by 2020, mainly to be achieved through investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft as well as 30 other initiatives, with matching reductions in its vehicle fleet. Since 2005, the corporation says it has reduced aircraft emissions by 3.7 percent per available ton mile. FedEx Express and FedEx Freight operate three solar-powered facilities in California and recently broke ground for its largest solar-powered hub to date in Cologne, Germany. Read more ...

Jatropha-based biofuel cleared for take-off on Air New Zealand test flight early next month Thu 13 Nov 2008 - Air New Zealand and Boeing have announced that the world's first flight using a second-generation biofuel will take place from Auckland on December 3. Derived from sustainably grown jatropha sourced from south-eastern Africa and India, the crude oil was converted to biojet fuel using UOP's processing technology. According to Rolls-Royce, the biofuel has met or exceeded all technical specifications during laboratory testing. Read more ...

Airlines welcome decision by Belgian Government to drop proposals for an airline passenger tax Mon 10 Nov 2008 - Protests by airlines, airports and tour operators have succeeded in overturning a recent proposal by the Belgian Government to impose an airline passenger ticket tax that was intended to raise an estimated 132 million euros ($170m) annually. An online petition to stop the tax gathered 36,000 names in just two weeks. Meanwhile, the European Parliament's rapporteur on the directive to include aviation into the EU ETS has criticized the UK and the Netherlands on their refusals to earmark revenues for climate change mitigation. Read more ...

Airbus and Southampton University set up new research centre to identify aircraft noise reduction solutions Mon 10 Nov 2008 - A new research centre, the Airbus Noise Technology Centre, has been formally launched at the University of Southampton's School of Engineering Sciences (SES). The university has a long history of conducting research into all aspects of aircraft noise and for many years has collaborated with Airbus on a range of noise research and development projects. Read more ...

Survey of British attitudes to air travel and its impact on the environment discovers a lack of consistency Fri 7 Nov 2008 - Another survey of British air travellers shows a familiar pattern of concern by the public over green issues such as climate change and aircraft noise and air pollution but an unwillingness to let it alter their flying habits. The study, commissioned by Camcon Technology and carried out by international research agency YouGov, reveals that almost three-quarters (74 percent) were worried about the effects yet only 22 percent admitted the issue had affected the number of flights they took. Read more ...

Czech Airlines passes final stage of an environmental audit on path to ISO 14001 international standard Thu 6 Nov 2008 - Czech Airlines is awaiting final verification of its application for ISO 14001 certification following an environmental audit carried out by Det Norske Veritas, which focused on all aspects of the carrier's activities, including flight and ground operations, aircraft maintenance and repair, training programmes for sales, support, technical and operational staff and crew. Read more ...

Jatropha-based jet biofuel in final tests at Rolls-Royce before Air New Zealand test flight in December Thu 6 Nov 2008 - The jatropha-based jet biofuel to power one of the four engines on the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 test flight set to take place next month has passed preliminary testing at the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby, UK. The exact date of the flight is to be confirmed once the fuel has completed a rigorous testing process to further validate its specifications. The airline also reports it has recently completed its first Required Navigation Performance (RNP) enabled A320 flight between Sydney and Queenstown, saving fuel and carbon emissions as well as reducing noise levels. Read more ...

European pressure on ICAO and third countries to come up with global proposals on emissions reductions Mon 3 Nov 2008 - Delegates to last week's conference in Geneva, Meeting the Environmental Challenge, organized by the European Commission and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), heard calls for an international dialogue and a comprehensive approach in reducing aviation greenhouse gas emissions. If aviation is not ready to take the appropriate steps now, States will force the industry to act by probably demanding even tougher measures, said Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Minister for Transport and Environment. Non-EU representatives, however, expressed their continuing concerns over Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Read more ...

Reuters: Environment (Last updated Wednesday, January 7, 2009 7:23 am CST)

Yellow submarine to probe Antarctica glacier PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (Reuters) - A yellow robot submarine will dive under an ice shelf in Antarctica to seek clues to world ocean level rises in one of the most inaccessible places on earth. Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 6:36 am CST

Japan mulls expanding green business market TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan aims to expand the "green business" market and create up to 1 million new jobs, the environment ministry said on Wednesday, to simultaneously fight climate change and boost the economy amid a global downturn. Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:35 am CST

Climate change threatens Pacific, Arctic conflicts CANBERRA (Reuters) - Climate change and rising sea levels pose one of the biggest threats to security in the Pacific and may also spark a global conflict over energy reserves under melting Arctic ice, according to Australia's military. Posted Tuesday, January 6, 2009 8:48 pm CST

Japan to monitor greenhouse gases from space TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's space agency will launch a satellite later this month to monitor greenhouse gases around the world, officials said Wednesday, hoping the data it collects helps global efforts to combat climate change. Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 6:28 am CST

Bush to declare Pacific areas protected monuments WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will designate nearly 200,000 square miles (518,000 sq km) of the Pacific ocean on Tuesday as a protected region, White House officials said, making the areas hands-off for oil drilling or other extraction procedures. Posted Tuesday, January 6, 2009 12:03 pm CST

Diamonds suggest comets caused killer cold spell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tiny diamonds sprinkled across North America suggest a "swarm" of comets hit the Earth around 13,000 years ago, kicking up enough disruption to send the planet into a cold spell and drive mammoths and other creatures into extinction, scientists reported on Friday. Posted Sunday, January 4, 2009 4:55 pm CST

Basalt rock wall found in ocean near Taiwan TAIPEI (Reuters) - A biodiversity researcher has found a huge basalt rock formation in the Taiwan Strait, resembling a city wall and rivaling similar monoliths on land. Posted Monday, January 5, 2009 10:16 am CST

Japan whalers say activists disrupted sailor search CANBERRA (Reuters) - Japanese whalers accused hardline anti-whaling activists on Wednesday of disrupting a search for a missing sailor believed to have drowned after toppling overboard in stormy and frigid seas close to Antarctica. Posted Tuesday, January 6, 2009 11:01 pm CST

Coral growth slows sharply on Great Barrier Reef LONDON (Reuters) - Coral growth since 1990 in Australia's Great Barrier Reef has fallen to its lowest rate for 400 years, in a troubling sign for the world's oceans, researchers said on Thursday. Posted Friday, January 2, 2009 1:55 am CST

Metals pollute waters near US coal ash spill: group NEW YORK (Reuters) - Preliminary water tests from rivers near a huge coal ash spill in Tennessee show elevated levels of pollutants such as mercury and lead, a environmental group said on Friday. Posted Friday, January 2, 2009 2:23 pm CST