Reuters: EU law is enough for now to regulate shale gas exploration, although changes might be needed to protect the environment once Europe enters the development phase, a study commissioned by the EU has found. \nShale gas exploitation in the United States has transformed the global supply-demand balance. \nIn Europe, however, development is less advanced and EU member states Bulgaria and France have banned shale gas activity because of environmental concerns. \n\"The legal study confirms that there is...
Reuters: A cancer-causing cadmium discharge from a mining company has polluted a long stretch of two rivers in southern China, and officials warned some 3.7 million people of Liuzhou in the Guangxi region to avoid drinking water from the river, state media reported on Friday. \nPollution of waterways by toxic run-offs from factories and farms is a pressing issue in China, prompting authorities to call for policy tightening, though the problem shows no sign of going away. \nOfficials opened sluices at four...
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Last year's extreme weather across the U.S. - 2011 was the most expensive year ever for natural disasters - is raising concern among scientists and policy-makers about the nation's ability to withstand a shifting climate. \nDamage from tornadoes, floods, droughts, hurricanes and wildfires caused more than $200 billion in losses and 1,000 deaths across the nation last year. Florida escaped major damage, but saw record high temperatures over the summer, after a much colder than normal winter. \nThe...