"Phosphate has been essential to feeding the world since the Green Revolution, but its excessive use as a fertilizer has led to widespread pollution and eutrophication. Now, many of the world’s remaining reserves are starting to be depleted."

"JAPAN -- Two reactors shut down for regular inspections have now been running at full capacity for months despite not receiving the final clearance from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)."

"Five out of the eight tuna species are at risk of extinction, conservationists warned today, as they called for urgent action to tackle over-fishing."

"Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked rebels, who banned foreign aid groups in regions under their control two years ago, have appealed for help for thousands of people devastated by a severe drought."

"If European lawmakers have their way, by next year any American flying from Boston to Paris will have to pay for the plane's carbon emissions over Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Ocean and France."

"When it comes to reporting on climate change, European media are from hothouse Venus, and their American counterparts are from considerably more frigid Mars. The divide between them may be having a profound impact on climate and energy policy in either part of the world."

"The world has seen seven global cholera outbreaks since 1817, and the current one seems to have come to stay. Rising temperatures and a stubbornly persistent, toxic bacteria strain appear to have given the disease the upper hand."

"More than three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown at a nearby power plant, Fukushima residents are scrambling to cope with contamination on their own in the absence of a long-term plan from the government."

"A lot of adult environmentalists have been trying for years to focus attention on tropical rain forests in southeast Asia, but it took two teenagers to get the issue on the front page of a national newspaper and on the network news."

"Vast deposits of rare earth minerals have been discovered on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean amounting to 1,000 times those on land, media reported on Monday citing a study by Japanese researchers."