"Songbirds such as sparrows and thrushes carry various forms of bird flu and could potentially spread the viruses to pigs and poultry, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday."

"La Nina is likely to cool the tropical Pacific in coming months, a phenomenon which usually causes stronger monsoons across Asia and eastern Australia, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday."

"More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one — not industry, not government — is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows."

Just as harmful to the Gulf of Mexico as the BP oil spill is the annual "dead zone" whose increase in recent years has been driven by nitrogen fertilizer used to produce corn ethanol in the U.S. heartland.

"When Mexico hosts the next major climate summit this December, a new U.N. chief from Costa Rica will orchestrate the proceedings. Brazil will wield an influential role among large developing nations. Colombia will maneuver behind the scenes to find compromises. And Bolivia -- joined by Nicaragua and Venezuela -- will lead the charge for climate 'justice.'"

"HOUSTON — To hear the people at Baker Hughes tell it, a drill string — length after length of narrow pipe that can extend for miles into the earth — is far from a rigid assembly of high-strength steel. It is more like a wet noodle."

"A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted an anti-whaling activist from New Zealand of assault and obstructing Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic. But his sentence was suspended, meaning he will not be jailed."

"Less than four months after President Barack Obama took office, his new administration received a forceful warning about the dangers of offshore oil drilling."