An affable academic who cracks jokes and cycles to work, Chen Jining is the face of China's cleanup, turning his environment ministry from "most embarrassing" to a powerhouse that has taken on those driving growth at all costs. Chen is no free agent — his ...
The process of setting a new goal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions was marred by a standoff between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Environment Ministry. METI, long a champion of nuclear power, was reluctant to set the target and the Environment ...
Scientists tracing ancestry of India's large mammals
About 120 million years ago, the supercontinent of Gondwana broke into a jigsaw puzzle of continents and isles in the Southern Hemisphere. One of those was a giant island forming what we now call India. About 55 million years later, an asteroid, perhaps, or a ...
Shark attacks on humans are rare but not unheard of
With beach season in full swing, the question inevitably arises: What are the chances of getting attacked by a shark? In a phrase: extraordinarily low — though not nonexistent. It is higher in certain parts of the U.S. (Florida tops the list) than in others, ...
Alaska's Bristol Bay mine: Ground zero for the next big environmental fight?
A dispute over a proposed copper and gold mine near Alaska's Bristol Bay may be one of the most important environmental decisions of President Barack Obama's second term — yet few are even aware that the fight is happening. At issue is a proposed mining ...
BEIJING — Beijing is increasingly playing hardball on every issue that brings it into contact and potential conflict with the rest of the world: democracy in Hong Kong; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; the visit of the Dalai Lama to the White House; sanctions ...
