"The Department of Energy (DOE) Wednesday said it will give up to $47 million each to three offshore wind power projects over the next four years to pioneer “innovative” technology."

"The increased concentration of carbon dioxide that comes with climate change could mean some basic food plants will carry lower concentrations of iron and zinc – and deficiencies of those nutrients are already a “substantial global public health problem,” scientists reported Wednesday."

"Teacher Billie Lane’s portable is a world apart from other classrooms at her school."

"Alaska has banned fishing for king salmon in the Yukon River this summer, saying that runs could come in even lower than last year's historically low numbers amid a 10-year decline."

"The survey by Dutch research agency Motivaction said in China, where public anger has mounted over hazardous levels of pollution in towns and cities, environmentalists had a greater sense of urgency about action needed to tackle the problem than Western counterparts, where the financial crisis has knocked environmental policy down the political agenda."

"Farley Mowat, one of Canada’s most popular and prolific writers, who became a champion of wildlife and native Canadian rights and a sharp critic of environmental abuse, died on Tuesday in Port Hope, Ontario, where he had lived for several years. He was 92."

"Why is Whole Foods stock down by 20% this morning? Results released after the close of markets yesterday showed the company’s growth flattening as more competitors muscle into its turf. There was a time when Whole Foods stood out for its focus on organic and specialty food, but that time is long gone, ...."

"WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Department issued an emergency order Wednesday requiring that railroads inform state emergency management officials about the movement of large shipments of crude oil through their states and urged shippers not to use older model tanks cars that are easily ruptured in accidents, even at slow speeds."

"The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States, scientists reported Tuesday, with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions, heat waves becoming more common and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects." New York Times, May 6, 2014. See a plethora of additional coverage here. [35]

"VATICAN CITY — For four long days, several dozen physical, environmental and social scientists hunkered here with theologians, philosophers, economists and a poverty campaigner to explore ways to balance human ambitions with the planet’s limits. The rare joint meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences — “Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature, Our Responsibility” — helped demarcate where science leaves off and the rest of society, including organized religion, plays a role in shaping the quality of human life and environmental conditions in this century."