"Farmers are reconsidering the use of biotech seeds as it becomes harder to justify their high prices amid the measly returns of the current farm economy".

"Illegal fishing, which accounts for 30 percent of fish caught globally, has long been a thorn in the side of small nations who lack resources to monitor their waters. But a new technology puts that power in the hands of anyone with a computer."

"At least 20 countries have indicated they will join the Paris climate change agreement at a United Nations event on Sept. 21, adding to the 27 that have already done so and raising hopes the deal will enter into force by the end of 2016, U.N. officials said."

"Satellite data shows ice was close to last year’s record low confirming a long-term downward trend towards ice-free Arctic summers".

"Arctic sea ice cover could be confirmed within days as the second lowest ever recorded, the latest data suggests.

According to the US national snow and ice data centre (NSIDC) the ice which forms and disperses annually has been close to its minimum extent for the year for several days and has begun to grow again as autumn sets in.

"President Barack Obama plans to designate on Thursday an undersea range of canyons and peaks off the US Eastern seaboard as the country's first Atlantic marine national monument."

"Norway and Turkey were the only two of 53 countries to vote against an international ban on the dumping of mining waste at sea, at a major conservation summit in Hawaii last week."

"Monsanto has accepted a takeover offer from Germany's Bayer at $128 a share, the BBC has learned."

"As the United Nations General Assembly converges in New York on Tuesday, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is using the gathering of world leaders to rush the 2015 Paris climate change accord into legal force this year, hoping to bind all countries to its strictures for at least the next four years — regardless of the outcome of the presidential election in the United States."

"As coalition of countries, including the US, push for resolution to end ivory trade, Japan, Namibia, South Africa and Canada raise concerns at Hawaii meeting".

"North Korea defiantly celebrated its fifth nuclear test Friday, claiming that it can now make warheads small enough to fit onto a missile and warning its "enemies" — specifically the United States — that it has the ability to counter any attack."