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Reports on the controversy surrounding a US government position paper on combating global warming. The delay of legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions; The reason environmentalists are upset.

Comments on the efforts of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to address criticisms on the absence of programs related to problems of global climate change and the country's dependency on foreign oil. Announcement of plans to encourage private companies to set limits on their own carbon emissions; Inadequacy of the government's programs.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article by Martine Maron and colleagues concerning the commitment of a country to establish biodiversity conservation areas providing a baseline for determining additionality of offset initiative based on habitat protection.

Describes the British government's white paper on environmental policy, titled `This Common Inheritance.' Environmental pressure groups claim the paper has few new initiatives; Environment Secretary, Chris Patten, suggests more radical action in the future.

Over two centuries of economic growth have put undeniable pressure on the ecological systems that underpin human well-being. While it is agreed that these pressures are increasing, views divide on how they may be alleviated. Some suggest technological advances will automatically keep us from transgressing key environmental thresholds; others that policy reform can reconcile economic and ecological goals; while a third school argues that only a fundamental shift in societal values can keep human demands within the Earth's ecological limits. Here we use novel integrated analysis of the energy-water-food nexus, rural land use (including biodiversity), material flows and climate change to explore whether mounting ecological pressures in Australia can be reversed, while the population grows and living standards improve. We show that, in the right circumstances, economic and environmental outcomes can be decoupled. Although economic growth is strong across all scenarios, environmental performance varies widely: pressures are projected to more than double, stabilize or fall markedly by 2050. However, we find no evidence that decoupling will occur automatically. Nor do we find that a shift in societal values is required. Rather, extensions of current policies that mobilize technology and incentivize reduced pressure account for the majority of differences in environmental performance. Our results show that Australia can make great progress towards sustainable prosperity, if it chooses to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article recaps facts about nature and science that were discovered previously. In June 1,1958, the Clean Air Act of 1956 was implemented. Clean Air Act bans dark smoke from any chimney in England and Wales. The ban is applicable to all buildings, railway engines and ships, however it directly affects industrial and commercial premises. 100 years ago a notable paper was read by professor W. Phillips related to children's capacity for attention. After referring to various experimental inquiries, he came up with an assumption that a child's attention declines more quickly in the afternoon and that math is the subject that demands more attention than any other subjects.

The article reports on the prohibition of using plastic shopping bags to clean up the environment and save energy in China. It states that starting June 1, 2008, shopkeepers are not permitted to distribute plastic bags for free to their costumers. Establishments who fail to comply will be penalized. Also, the production and sale of ultrathin bags having the measurement of less than 0.025 millimeters thick will also be banned. The development was welcomed by environmentalist groups, however, a social survey found that half of the consumers opposed the ban.

The article discusses the practice of carbon offsetting, which allows people to support climate-friendly projects anywhere the world. Details of carbon offsetting schemes and emissions trading are presented. Organizations like Carbon Neutral Company and Atmosfair sell credits to the people for their carbon offsetting efforts. The article, however, stresses on the need for proper regulation and accreditation for the success of offsetting.

The authors state that governments should not use compensation that developers pay for damaging biodiversity to meet existing environmental conservation targets such as those under the Convention on Biological Diversity. They comment on biodiversity offsetting schemes which usually try to achieve no net loss of biodiversity and mention the schemes don't always end biodiversity loss but may instead offset existing losses. They suggest offset-funded protected areas should be tallied separately.

Opinion. Comments on Christopher Patten's (British Secretary of State for the Environment) white paper on environmental policy. Bad press unjustified; Lack of policy on strategic issues.

The article offers information on government policy regarding carbon trading and carbon emission. It says that the expansion of trading in carbon emission was not affected by the failure of the international negotiations on binding the targets for national carbon-emission. It states that carbon emission trading is considered to be one of the contributors in global market mentioning a 142 billion U.S. dollars spending in 2010. It also explores the continuous growth of carbon emission trading.

The author reflects on the smarter environmental policy of California. The author informs that fuel providers in California have been finding ways to shift to cleaner processes such as focusing on the production of biofuels. Also the average carbon intensity of petrol and diesel substitutes has been dropped by 5 percent and 6 percent respectively from early 2011 to the end of 2012.

The article presents a study which investigates the ecological effects on the loss of biodiversity. It notes that life is non-equilibrium phenomenon that involves a dual-diffusion process. It mentions that the evolution of an ecological community corresponds to the dynamics of the distribution of occupied regions in real space and genome space. Moreover, they found out that models on ecological communities that incorporate mutation and spatial dispersal can yield results that explains the researchers observation.

The article reports on the commitment of the central government in China to intensify efforts in cleaning up the environment. However, the intention of government has been bombarded with various challenges making it difficult to assure that the implementation of changes in rules and environmental regulations is successful. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE)and the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that a remarkable number of cities violated several environmental laws. The information which was released in the Internet aims to alert the government and exert effort in responding to the problem.

The article reports that the European Commission (EC) has announced that power stations in Europe will have to pay for permits to release carbon dioxide in Europe. Accordingly, the proposal will become a law in the European Union's 27 member states in 2009 following its approval. The move aims to cut green-house-gas emissions across the European Union by at least 20% in 2020. One of the proposals of the commission is that power plants and energy-intensive industries will no longer receive a generous allocation of emissions allowances which is free of charge.

A letter to the editor is presented concerning the environmental policies of the Bolivian government of Bolivian president Evo Morales regarding hydrocarbon exploration within environmentally protected areas within Bolivia and the construction of a highway across the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS).

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article which discusses the consideration of environmental and energy policies in China to the economic realities of environmental decline and governance in the country.

The article underscores that the United States has lessened the acceptable limit for airborne lead. It states that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised the airborne lead standard for the first time in 30 years, lessening the maximum permissible concentration by 90%. Environmentalists expressed their appreciation on this development. The standard of 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter is within the range pushed by a science advisory panel that studies air quality issues.

The article focuses on the need for the European Union (EU) to revise the directive regulating the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. The idea was raised after EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas inappropriately overturned the recommendation of his scientific advisers and plans to reject the applications for two GM varieties of insect- and herbicide-resistant maize from Sygenta AG and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. EU countries anticipate that the revision will limit the use of political motives in analyzing applications for GM crops.