International

"Searching for food, one female bear was tracked as she swam for 9 days across the Beaufort Sea before reaching an ice floe. Litigation continues over protection of bear habitat."

"'Revolutionary action' is needed to achieve sustainable development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today told the government and business leaders at World Economic Forum in Davos."

"Many of the world’s top shark-fishing nations have yet to develop plans to manage and conserve dwindling shark populations, despite a 2001 pledge to do so, a new report from two conservation groups says."

"A North Atlantic current flowing into the Arctic Ocean is warmer than for at least 2,000 years in a sign that global warming is likely to bring ice-free seas around the North Pole in summers, a study showed."

"The weather pattern known as La Nina, blamed for floods in Australia and drought in parts of Latin America, is expected to persist through the first quarter of 2011, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday."

"Natural disasters caused $109 billion in economic damage last year, three times more than in 2009, with Chile and China bearing most of the cost, the United Nations said Monday."

"iPhone maker Apple was criticized by Chinese green groups for lax corporate oversight of its suppliers in China, leading to poor environmental and work safety standards that poisoned dozens of factory workers."

"That hamburger in the hand of so many Americans does have global implications. Our meat-eating habits can impact the tropical rainforests and savannas -- and ultimately the atmosphere. Livestock may contribute some 18 percent of greenhouse gases -- and that matters for both the 1 billion hungry and 1.6 billion overweight people on the planet."

"New figures issued on Thursday in Britain show that 2010 was the second-warmest year in the historical record. That comes on the heels of reports last week from two American agencies that 2010 was tied for the warmest year in the record books."

"Representative Edward Markey on Thursday asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to launch an immediate investigation into a $16 billion share-swap plan between BP and state-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft."