"A court in Ecuador's Amazon told Chevron Corp on Monday to pay $8.6 billion in environmental damages, but the U.S. oil company vowed to fight on in a lawsuit seen as a global test case."

"A growing number of livestock, such as cows and pigs, are fuelling new animal epidemics worldwide and posing more severe problems in developing countries as it threatens their food security, according to a report released on Friday."

"Huge population growth and food insecurity count among the factors that fuelled the revolution in Egypt and serve as a caution for other countries facing human and environmental overload, say analysts."

"Reserves of corn in the United States have hit their lowest level in more than 15 years, reflecting tighter supplies that will lead to higher food prices in 2011. Increasing demand for corn from the ethanol industry is a major reason for the decline, according to federal officials."

"Chevron Corp.'s fight against plaintiffs seeking damages for crude oil pollution in Ecuador continued yesterday when the oil giant won a temporary restraining order against its opponents

"Governments in the Asia-Pacific region face the risk of unprecedented numbers of people displaced by floods, storms and other impacts of climate change, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Monday."

"The amount of fish caught in the Arctic has been dramatically under-reported for decades, making the northern ocean environment appear far more pristine than it really is, according to a new study."

"Record high global food prices showed no sign of relenting following a rash of catastrophic weather, highlighted by a major U.S. snowstorm and a cyclone in Australia, which could put yet more pressure on prices and spark further unrest around the world."

Acrolein has been a suspect in several key neurological disorders, which are a leading cause of death and illness in the U.S. A new study has deepened understanding of acrolein's natural production in the body, as well as the possible role of environmental exposures to acrolein as a combustion by-product.

"Roughly 85 percent of the world’s oyster reefs have disappeared since the late 19th century, with many formerly prolific reefs rendered 'functionally extinct' because of overharvesting and other manufactured causes, according to a new study published in BioScience."