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• Sea Shepherd says its founder arrested in Germany

  May 14, 2012 1:18 AM

  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - An environmental activist group known for its confrontations with whalers and fishermen says its founder has been arrested in Germany for extradition to Costa Rica for allegedly interfering with a shark fishing boat. Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was arrested Saturday in Frankfurt,... more »

• Chilean court approves controversial dam project

  April 4, 2012 9:35 PM

  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Chile's Supreme Court has rejected challenges to a hydroelectric dam project filed by environmental groups. The court's ruling Wednesday upholds an earlier decision by an appeals court in the southern city of Puerto Montt that the project doesn't violate the constitutional rights of those who challenged... more »

• Task force to be formed for Flaming Gorge

  June 30, 2011 11:20 AM

  As Colorado grows, so does the need for more water to sustain the infrastructure for population growth. Stakeholders including many of Colorado's river basins have formerly agreed to the formation of a task force that will study issues related to potentially diverting water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming... more »

• 6 months after oil spill, much remains unknown

  October 20, 2010 8:13 AM

  The crude has stopped gushing and coastlines are largely clear of the thick goo that washed ashore for months, but the impact of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history will linger for years. Six months after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon explosion, the environment and economy of... more »

• Gold rush on the Gulf: Researchers clamor for cash

  October 1, 2010 3:49 PM

  Once a backwater in the world of oceanographic research, the Gulf of Mexico has suddenly become the site of a scientific gold rush, all because of the BP oil spill. The environmental disaster represents a once-in-a-generation research opportunity that has oceanographers salivating. There's big money - $500 million from... more »

• Battlement Mesa health study coming out

  September 20, 2010 6:37 AM

  Battlement Mesa residents are awaiting a report on the health effects of oil and gas drilling. Environmental and health officials planned to release a draft Monday of the study on the proposal by Antero Resources to drill up to 200 wells near Parachute. Residents in the community of... more »

• $900k available to protect water in fire zones

  September 16, 2010 4:53 PM

  The state will provide up to $900,000 to help protect water supplies because of damage from two major wildfires. Gov. Bill Ritter issued an executive order Thursday making the money available through grants to Larimer and Boulder counties and non-profits working with them. The fires destroyed nearly 170 homes... more »

• Whole Foods to use seafood environmental ratings

  September 13, 2010 11:20 AM

  Whole Foods Market is trying to clear some murky waters for seafood shoppers. The grocery chain on Monday launched a color-coded rating program with the help of Monterey Bay Aquarium and Blue Ocean. It is intended to measure the environmental impact of its wild-caught seafood. The program is... more »

• Cement plug has hardened; relief well to be completed

  August 9, 2010 8:41 AM

  BP may have the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico permanently sealed this week. Engineers plan to intersect the damaged well with a relief well that they're still drilling - 20 to 30 feet at a time. Then they'll be able to pump mud and cement into... more »

• Texas targets decades of abandoned ships off coast

  June 11, 2010 9:12 AM

  Texas is pairing up with local governments, nonprofits and metal recyclers to clean its coastal waters of vessels scuttled in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas General Land Office official William Grimes says that until 2005 there was no law barring people from ridding themselves of unwanted boats, ships and... more »

• BP begins 'top kill' effort to try to stop Gulf oil

  May 26, 2010 4:10 PM

  BP says it is trying to seal the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico by pumping heavy mud into it. BP said in a news release Wednesday that the "top kill" maneuver has started. The top kill has never before been tried a mile beneath the sea,... more »

• Colorado city makes a 'Best' list

  May 26, 2010 3:54 PM

  Kiplinger's Personal Finance has named its 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade-with a focus on innovative thinking. The list includes Boulder, at #4. Kiplinger's teamed with Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity. "New ideas generate new businesses," says Stolarick, who this year evaluated U.S.... more »

• Court OKs approval of Shell Arctic drilling plan

  May 14, 2010 8:26 AM

  An environmental group challenging Shell Oil's plans to drill exploratory wells off Alaska's coast calls a federal appeals court decision disappointing, given the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill. A federal appeals court in Portland, Oregon ruled that the federal government met its obligations to consider the potential threat to wildlife... more »

• EPA to issue stricter drinking water standards

  March 22, 2010 11:29 AM

  The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening drinking water standards to impose stricter limits on four contaminants that can cause cancer. In a speech Monday, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency is developing stricter regulations for four compounds: tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, acrylamide and epichlorohydrin. All four chemical compounds can cause cancer.... more »

• As Sochi takes Olympic torch, greens in despair

  February 27, 2010 12:47 PM

  As Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi prepares to take the Winter Olympics torch from Vancouver, environmentalists are sounding the alarm. The southern city, surrounded by the pristine forests and rivers of the North Caucasus mountains, is hosting the 2014 games. But as the four-year countdown begins, the World... more »

• Officials search for Asian carp in Chicago area

  February 17, 2010 11:43 AM

  Wildlife officials have begun their hunt for the destructive Asian carp in Chicago-area waterways. Officials already have DNA evidence that suggests the fish has made it past the area's electric fish barriers. Now, they're looking for actual fish. Crews are focusing on areas where warm water from industrial operations... more »

• China doubles wind power in single year

  February 4, 2010 10:00 AM

  China doubled the amount of energy generated from windmills last year, a report from the global wind industry said Wednesday. The Global Wind Energy Council, which represents companies that make and manage wind power stations, said the sector grew rapidly last year - with total wind capacity up 31... more »

• Feds get low grades on treatment of prairie dogs

  February 2, 2010 11:19 AM

  An environmental group has flunked one federal agency and given another a "D" on its annual report card on conservation of prairie dogs. WildEarth Guardians releases the report on Groundhog Day to draw attention to the rodent found in the West. Prairie dogs have been eliminated from much of their... more »

• Phoenix announced as new home of Chinese solar biz

  November 16, 2009 10:28 AM

  A Chinese-owned manufacturer of solar panels plans to build a 100,000 square-foot headquarters and manufacturing plant in the Phoenix area. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer plans to announce Monday that Suntech Power Holdings will open a facility that would produce solar panels sometime in 2010 and eventually employ 250 or more... more »

• Obama putting $3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid

  October 27, 2009 11:36 AM

  President Barack Obama is giving a jolt to the futuristic "smart" electric grid, hoping to bring America's power transmission system into the digital age more quickly. Obama is set to visit a solar energy facility Tuesday in Arcadia, Fla. He is expected to announce that he is making available $3.4... more »

• EPA cracks the whip on coal-fired power plants

  October 24, 2009 7:00 AM

  In a move praised by activists as a way to save lives but criticized by industry as potentially driving up electricity costs, the Obama administration has agreed to adopt rules reducing toxic emissions of mercury, soot and other chemicals from all coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Activists on... more »

• Women not hopeful about green funding

  October 21, 2009 10:56 AM

  Wendi Goldsmith, president of a "green" design and construction firm, is no stranger to landing government contracts, but she's not expecting a windfall from the billions flowing into green businesses as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package. Her firm, Salem, Mass.-based The Bioengineering Group Inc., recently was... more »

• Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales in decline

  October 8, 2009 9:03 AM

  A government study found that a group of endangered beluga whales in Alaska is declining, raising concern that bolstered protection for the animals is not coming quickly enough. The downward trend comes after two years where numbers for the Cook Inlet belugas appeared to have stabilized. But now numbers... more »

• Florida town warms up to proposed nuclear plant

  October 7, 2009 11:33 AM

  Not much has changed in this Gulf Coast town since Elvis Presley filmed "Follow that Dream" here 48 years ago - except that a shrinking economy dependent on fishing, shrimping and agriculture has left more people looking for work. Jobs are a big reason most residents favor Progress Energy's... more »

• Feds to propose changes to jumping mouse's habitat

  October 6, 2009 2:25 PM

  Federal officials plan to propose changes to areas in Colorado designated as critical habitat for the Preble's meadow jumping mouse. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to announce the proposal Wednesday. Agency spokeswoman Diane Katzenberger says the proposed revision is in response to a lawsuit by the city... more »

• EPA: Limit plane deicing chemical runoff

  September 30, 2009 2:39 PM

  Every winter, airports across the country spray millions of gallons of deicing chemicals onto airliners and allow the runoff to trickle away. When the chemicals end up in nearby waterways, the deicing fluid can turn streams bright orange and create dead zones for aquatic life. The practice is legal,... more »

• Feds reviewing humpback whale status

  September 28, 2009 12:57 PM

  The federal government is considering taking the humpback whale off the endangered species list in response to data showing the population of the massive marine mammal has been steadily growing in recent decades. Known for their acrobatic leaps from the sea and complex singing patterns, humpback whales were nearly... more »

• Mercury leaking at closed California mine sites

  September 18, 2009 12:09 PM

  Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people. But an Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen... more »

• Study: Road salt harming many urban streams

  September 17, 2009 9:56 AM

  Many urban streams have become salty enough to harm aquatic life, largely because of salt used for deicing roads in the winter, according to a new government study released Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey studied urban streams and groundwater for levels of chloride, a component of salt, in 20... more »

• Tennessee ash spill community getting $40M from TVA

  September 14, 2009 12:19 PM

  The Tennessee Valley Authority will provide $40 million to help restore the image and economy of a Tennessee community that suffered a massive coal ash spill from a TVA power plant. Roane County and TVA officials announced the award Monday from the steps of the county courthouse. The TVA payment... more »

• Lead exposure linked to cardiovascular disease

  September 11, 2009 2:02 PM

  Men who've had the most environmental lead exposure throughout their lifetime could be more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, according to a new Harvard study. Although both are banned now -- old paint and leaded gas were the most common sources of lead exposure. The study included... more »

• EPA identifies 79 coal mine permits for review

  September 11, 2009 12:46 PM

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified 79 coal mine permit applications in four Appalachian states for additional scrutiny. The agency said Friday it wants to make certain the proposed surface mines won't cause water pollution and violate the Clean Water Act. The mines are in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio... more »

• Gray wolf hunts may continue, judge rules

  September 9, 2009 12:02 PM

  Gray wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho may continue, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, denying a request by environmentalists and animal welfare groups to stop the first legal hunts in the lower 48 states in decades. Plans to kill about 20 percent of the two states' estimated 1,350 wolves... more »

• Judge scuttles environmental review of Army plan

  September 9, 2009 7:12 AM

  A federal judge has thrown out an environmental review of the Army's plan to increase its training at a site in southeast Colorado. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch (maych) in Denver issued a ruling yesterday overturning a 2007 environmental analysis. The ruling says the Army didn't adequately assess the environmental... more »