"U.N. climate talks have moved backward rather than forward toward a hoped-for deal later this year as nations make slow progress on pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and add more proposals to the working document."

"An ice island four times the size of Manhattan broke off from one of Greenland's two main glaciers, scientists said on Friday, in the biggest such event in the Arctic in nearly 50 years."

"A U.N. panel has declared the Florida's Everglades to be an endangered World Heritage site due to the wetlands' continued degradation, officials said on Friday."

"Top climate change leaders from Europe to Africa are wondering if it's time to give up on the United States."

"Global wheat crops are taking it on the chin, thanks to a drought and fires in Russia, too much rain in Canada, and locusts in Australia. Prices are at levels not seen in almost two years." Climate-driven harvest failures in other parts of the world may be good news for US grain dealers -- and may alter the balance of UN climate talks.

"A huge mass of magnetically charged material ejected from the sun is racing across space toward our planet, where it is expected to arrive on Tuesday. When it strikes the Earth's magnetic field, it could produce spectacular auroras."

"Forest fires continue to rage around several Russian cities and officials say at least seven people have died, including two firefighters."

"The UN General Assembly on Wednesday recognized access to clean water and sanitation as a human right, a move hailed by water advocates as a momentous step toward a future treaty."

"Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans  are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the bountiful marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide. And they are declining sharply."