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Bid for environmental rights pact to kick off in Paris

Politicians, legal experts and activists will launch a campaign in Paris on Saturday for a global pact to protect the human right to a clean, healthy environment. The initiative comes just weeks after President Donald Trump announced that he would pull the United States out of the 196-nation Paris Agreement on curbing dangerous global warming. The new pact, being blueprinted by top legal minds from several countries, should eventually be put to the United Nations for adoption, and impose legally-binding obligations on signatory states, its drafters say. Fri, 23 Jun 2017 12:34:08 -0400

Solar eclipse 2017: The best places to see the rare phenomenon this August

NASA produced these extremely accurate maps of the 2017 solar eclipse. On August 21, for the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will cut through the entire continental United States. If you’re in the bull’s eye center of the moon’s shadow known as the totality — the sky will go dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day, stars will appear, birds will become confused and start chirping their nighttime songs. Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:25:10 -0400

Rolling sequoia: Idaho tree tied to John Muir set for move

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Not very often does a 10-story-tall, 800,000-pound landmark change locations. Especially one that's alive. Thu, 22 Jun 2017 21:09:03 -0400

Ancient Egypt: 3,000-Year-Old Wooden Toe Discovered Near Luxor is World’s Oldest Prosthetic

A big wood-and-leather toe from Egypt is the oldest prosthetic discovered so far, researchers believe, and provides an insight into the world of ancient medicine. Researchers at the University of Basel found that the wooden toe had been refitted several times to the shape of the woman who wore it, that it had signs of wear and that the user, a priest's daughter, wanted the prosthetic device to be comfortable. "By using a sophisticated way of fixing the individual parts of the prosthesis to each other, the artificial limb had a balancing effect and gave, to some extent, a freedom of movement," Andrea Loprieno-Gnirs of the University of Basel told CNN. Fri, 23 Jun 2017 11:15:13 -0400

US halts Brazil beef imports after failed safety tests

The United States announced Thursday a halt to all imports of fresh beef from Brazil, the world's second-largest producer, citing "recurring" concerns after large shipments failed food safety tests. The ban will remain in place until satisfactory corrective actions are taken, the US Department of Agriculture said in a statement that will again put the reputation of Brazil's industry under the spotlight. All meat imported to the US from Brazil has been inspected since March, when some of the country's top meat producers became embroiled in a tainted-meat scandal. Thu, 22 Jun 2017 23:52:08 -0400

We're learning more and more about the animals that vastly out-live humans

If humans have any hope of living forever, we should probably take a hint from the dozens of... Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:33:00 -0400

Coal company sues John Oliver for being John Oliver

A U.S. coal company is firing back at John Oliver after the Last Week Tonight host slammed its CEO in a June 18 show. On Wednesday, Murray Energy filed suit against Oliver, HBO, and Time Warner for defamation. The lawsuit accuses Oliver of hosting a "false and malicious broadcast" and of carrying out a "meticulously planned attempt to assassinate the character and reputation" of Bob Murray, the Ohio company's chief executive. SEE ALSO: Richard Branson: Business leaders are 'baffled' by Trump on climate change Oliver's show also skewered President Trump's pro-coal platform and promises to revive the long-suffering industry. The Trump administration has made a big spectacle in recent months of championing coal while sidelining efforts to address climate change. President Trump and Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, have often invited hardhat-wearing miners on stage to celebrate the rollback of key federal regulations — including orders to reduce carbon emissions and toxic air pollution from coal plants and limit water contamination from surface mining operations. Like Trump and Pruitt, Murray has frequently accused the former Obama administration of waging a "war on coal" that's led to steep losses in mining jobs and waning coal production. The 77-year-old magnate has blamed his industry's troubles — including widespread bankruptcies and mine closures — on President Obama's "evil agenda," though energy experts say coal's misfortunes have more to do with cheap natural gas. On his HBO show, Oliver poked holes in Trump's claims that his administration can erase the coal industry's broader economic problems and revive thousands of jobs. He also stressed the serious, and sometimes fatal, harm that coal miners can face while in the mines — including those owned by Murray Energy. In 2007, safety lapses at Murray Energy's Crandall Canyon mine in Utah resulted in the "needless deaths" of nine miners and rescuers, the U.S. Labor Department found. Federal regulators in 2015 accused Murray Energy of attempting to silence miners who filed confidential safety complaints to regulators. President Trump signs a resolution in February disapproving a rule addressing the impacts of surface coal mining operations on "surface water, groundwater, and the productivity of mining operation sites."Image: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty ImagesThe coal company in recent years also terminated health benefits — including medical, prescription drug, and life insurance — for hundreds of its employees, a decision it largely blamed on Obama-era policies. Oliver, in his characteristically over the top way, called Murray a "geriatric Dr. Evil" who is "on the same side as black lung." The talk-show host pointed to a satirical article in the United Mine Workers of America's journal describing a squirrel hopping onto Murray's porch and telling him, "You shouldn't be operating your very own mines." To drive home his point, Oliver brought out a person in a giant squirrel costume. Murray CEO Bob Murray speaks to reporters in 2007 near Huntington, Utah, during the Crandall Canyon mine disaster.Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images"Bob Murray, I didn't really plan for so much of this piece to be about you, but you kinda forced my hand on that one," Oliver said. He clearly anticipated the suit, saying: "And I know you're probably going to sue me over this. But, you know what? I stand by everything I said." Murray Energy took him up on that offer. The lawsuit, filed in a West Virginia circuit court, seeks financial damages and a court order barring rebroadcasts of the Last Week Tonight segment. "The false and defamatory statements in this broadcast severely and destructively impact Mr. Murray, and all of Murray Energy ... as well as coal mining itself," Murray Energy said in a press release. An HBO spokesman told the Associated Press that the show didn't violate Murray Energy's rights or those of Murray. WATCH: This portable charger is powered by energy created with your hand Thu, 22 Jun 2017 13:41:00 -0400

Scientists debate: could renewable energy entirely replace fossil fuels in U.S. by 2050?

Scientists generally debate their studies and projections in relatively civil language, but perhaps the currently adversarial tenor of U.S. politics has spilled over into science. A 2015 study on the potential for renewable energy use in the U.S. has now produced not only a stringent attack, but a harsh rebuttal to that attack in language rarely seen among academics. Two years ago, Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and the director of its Atmosphere and Energy program, published a paper. Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:00:00 -0400

Gorgeous Laser-Cut Maps Put the Ocean on Your Wall

A new way of looking at water. Thu, 22 Jun 2017 12:48:47 -0400

'Breast Cancer Genes': How Much Do They Increase Cancer Risk?

Women who carry genetic mutations in the "breast cancer genes," called BRCA1 and BRCA2, have about a 70 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes, according to a new study. The findings are based on an analysis of nearly 10,000 women with mutations in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, mutations that are known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The new study is more rigorously designed than some earlier research that looked at how much the risk for these cancers increases in women who have these genetic mutations. Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:53:00 -0400