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China is expected to reach a milestone when the giant reservoir behind Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River reaches its maximum height this year. But officials and residents alike have expressed concerns that the project could lead to environmental disasters.
Climate change threatens many of the world's native plant species on Kaua'I, Hawaii's oldest island.
Aging trees are supposed to release more CO2 than they absorb; scientists are discovering otherwise.
December 31, 2007 · NASA on Monday dumped 29,000 lines of raw data onto the Internet to fulfill a promise to release information about the safety of air travel. NASA declined to say what the data meant, but the space agency previously had refused to release the information at all because it feared scaring the public and hurting the aviation industry.
December 31, 2007 · Seven years ago, the federal government announced grand plans to help the state of Florida restore the Everglades. Since then, almost nothing has been accomplished, frustrating environmentalists and officials in Florida alike.
December 31, 2007 · For at least a decade, nasty carpets of an invasive algae species have been fouling up pristine fishing streams in the western United States. But this year, the giant, gooey wads appeared on the East Coast, and traveling fishermen are the culprits. Web Extra: Interactive: Most Despised Invasive Species
December 31, 2007 · Starting New Year's Day, France bans smoking in bars, restaurants, nightclubs and cafes. It's a move with widespread public support, though some worry that a way of life may be lost, especially in small villages far from Paris where the cafe is often the only place for social interaction.
December 29, 2007 · A new creative space dedicated to experimental collaboration between artists and scientists opens in Paris. Le Laboratoire is the brainchild of Harvard bio-medical technology professor David Edwards. Besides teaching, Edwards writes fiction and works in theater.
December 29, 2007 · Sometime early next year, tons of African ivory will be sold at auction to Japan. Despite the international ban on the trade, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia will be allowed a one-time purge of their stockpiled ivory. Conservationists hope the sale won't reignite widespread demand for elephant tusks.
December 29, 2007 · Greenland's interior is a solid sheet of ice — hundreds of miles of frozen terrain that is seemingly inhospitable for life. But it's not as lifeless as you might expect.
December 28, 2007 · NASA astronomers are monitoring a 164-foot wide asteroid that is headed in the direction of Mars at about 28,000 miles per hour. Scientists say that the space rock has a 1-in-75 chance of colliding with the Red Planet.
December 28, 2007 · Physicists are using the largest telescope in Antarctica to probe the farthest edges of the universe. South Pole Telescope scientists discuss their 280-ton scope, what they hope it will show them — and what it's like to live and work on the southernmost continent.
December 28, 2007 · Three world explorers — a photographer, an acoustician and a scientist — talk about documenting wildlife in the most remote places on Earth. We'll track jaguars through the jungles of Belize, scope out rare mountain goats in India, and eavesdrop on barking baboons in Zimbabwe.
December 28, 2007 · Scientists say they've found a way to create cells that act like embryonic stem cells without using human embryos. That could sidestep a big political and moral debate. Yet some scientists say, not so fast.
Climate change is big news. Is the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to a crisis?
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