One-year delay on roadless rule expected

The Obama administration is expected to announce today that it will take a one-year delay on making any long-term decisions on the controversial Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Directive Limits Activity in Roadless Areas of Forests

Stepping into a major environmental dispute, the Obama administration said Thursday that no new timber-cutting or road project could begin in roadless areas of national forests without the permission of the secretary of agriculture.

Is Organic Really Better? (podcast)

What started as a countercultural farming movement has now become big business: organic food sales topped $24 billion last year.

Big impact of climate change on India’s farm yields: World Bank

Dryland farmers in Andhra Pradesh may see their incomes decline by 20 percent, the sugarcane yield in Maharashtra may go down 30 percent, and there may be much more flooding in the Orissa coast, says a new World Bank report.

Farmers the missing link in climate change talks

Despite its contribution to climate change, agriculture has been relegated to the backseat in global warming negotiations, and farmers are not considered an important link in the fight against effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

Alien Species Eroding Ecosystems and Livelihoods

Continent-hopping alien species are worsening poverty and threaten the agriculture, forestry, fisheries and natural systems that underpin millions of livelihoods in developing countries, warn biodiversity experts.

Rail industry petitions to stop moving toxins

Railroad companies are pressing federal regulators to cut back on trains carrying hazardous materials through urban areas, saying they fear a catastrophic release of toxic chemicals in a large city.

Peru’s Garcia tussles with tribes over land rights

Peruvian President Alan Garcia’s push to lure foreign investors to the Amazon basin has run into homegrown opposition, with indigenous leaders saying he has disregarded a U.N. declaration that protects their rights to control land and natural resources.

Rail industry petitions to stop moving toxins

Railroad companies are pressing federal regulators to cut back on trains carrying hazardous materials through urban areas, saying they fear a catastrophic release of toxic chemicals in a large city.

Peru’s Garcia tussles with tribes over land rights

Peruvian President Alan Garcia’s push to lure foreign investors to the Amazon basin has run into homegrown opposition, with indigenous leaders saying he has disregarded a U.N. declaration that protects their rights to control land and natural resources.

Indonesia: APP, Sinar Mas plan to log habitat of critically endangered orangutans

Asia Pulp & Paper and Sinar Mas Group have acquired a license to clear hundreds of hectares of unprotected rainforest near Bukit Tigapuluh National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, report environmental groups who say the activity threatens a population of critically endangered orangutans that have been re-introduced into the wild.

Baltic Sea dying, coastal states must act: Finnish PM

Pollution is killing the Baltic Sea and coastal states must mount an urgent salvage operation, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Tuesday.