International

"Due to human activities, the world's animal and plant species are disappearing at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression, the United Nations said January 1, marking 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity."

"Just as wars over oil played a major role in 20th-century history, a new book makes a convincing case that many 21st-century conflicts will be fought over water."

"A Canadian firm says U.S. use of defoliants in Vietnam has left perilous dioxin levels, but that the issue is solvable."

"Anywhere that people can go online they can trace the proposals and plans of countries to combat climate change through an online climate pledge tracker website newly established by the United Nations Environment Programme."

"One environmental leader says if we keep doing what we're doing, the world will continue on a path toward economic decline and eventual collapse."

"Here's an opportunity to wisely spend some of the $100 billion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised at Copenhagen to cut the greenhouse gases of developing nations by aiding in the development of renewable energy infrastructure to by-pass fossil fuel dependence."

"Earth's various ecosystems, with all their plants and animals, will need to shift about a quarter-mile per year on average to keep pace with global climate change, scientists said in a study released on Wednesday."

"The top U.N. climate official said Wednesday that though the Copenhagen global warming summit went sour, countries should avoid blaming each other and get down to work on a better deal next year."

The first case of Marburg virus, a deadly relative of Ebola, has been reported in North America. A Colorado traveler brought it home after contact with bats in a cave in Uganda.