msnbc.com: Environment

Cavern could collapse, taking part of city

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 19:05:41 GMT

A cavern that formed over three decades as oil field service companies pumped fresh water into a salt layer more than 400 feet below could collapse, taking with it part of Carlsbad, N.M.

West Africa's giraffes escape extinction

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:48:18 GMT

Giraffe herds in Niger were nearly wiped out a decade ago but have rebounded miraculously. Experts credit a government keen for revenue that has made laws to protect them.

EarthTalk Q&A: wind aesthetics, green travel

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 19:49:03 GMT

Read answers to readers’ questions about environmental topics.

Video: Creek a poster child for Chesapeake Bay

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:33:59 GMT

Nov. 5: Southern Maryland's Mattawoman Creek, which feeds the Chesapeake Bay, serves as a good example of how to keep a waterway healthy. (NBC News Web Extra)

Newsweek: India seeks green super power status

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:17:00 GMT

Manmohan Singh's new stand on Copenhagen is just part of a plan to reposition India as a global power.

Fertilizer, exhaust tied to alpine lake pollution

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 23:19:28 GMT

Airborne nitrogen pollution from vehicle exhaust and farm fertilizer is turning algae in the alpine lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park into junk food for fish, a study says.

Legally binding climate treaty less likely

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 17:52:28 GMT

Negotiators and diplomats are working on a scaled-back version of a global climate change treaty that could be agreed by next month's deadline, without firm U.S. commitments.

Democrats advance contentious climate bill

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:37:46 GMT

Despite a Republican boycott, Senate Democrats pushed a climate bill through a key committee but the panel chairman said she's willing to amend it to attract Republicans.

California OKs $11 billion for water overhaul

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 21:46:58 GMT

California lawmakers on Wednesday passed an $11.1 billion overhaul of the state's antiquated water system in a bid to supply a soaring population while preserving a fragile environment.

Can Senate trio salvage a climate bill?

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 22:16:18 GMT

A trio of senators — each with differing politics — on Wednesday announced a rescue effort for troubled climate legislation and quickly got some key backing.

Arctic fishing soon to be limited

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 19:45:14 GMT

A plan that puts a large area of the Arctic off-limits to commercial fishing goes into effect Dec. 3, federal officials said.

Timor Sea oil leak reportedly plugged

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 15:59:37 GMT

An oil rig that had been leaking into the Timor Sea for 10 weeks was plugged Tuesday, and a massive fire blazing aboard the structure was largely extinguished, the rig operator said.

Over 17,000 species threatened by extinction

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 15:15:08 GMT

A rare Panamanian tree frog, a rodent from Madagascar and two lizards found only in the Philippines are among over 17,000 species threatened with extinction, a leading environmental group said Tuesday.

82 hatchlings offer hope for green sea turtles

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:14:58 GMT

The population of endangered green sea turtles at SeaWorld in San Diego grew by 82 in October when the eggs hatched on Shipwreck Beach without human help.

Africans get concessions at climate talks

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:14:54 GMT

African countries ended a boycott of meetings at U.N. climate negotiations on Tuesday, after winning promises for more in-depth talks on how much rich nations need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Merkel calls for strong deal on climate change

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:50:36 GMT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by exhorting the world in a speech to Congress on Tuesday to reach a deal to combat global warming.

Snowcap vanishing from Mount Kilimanjaro

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:00:53 GMT

Mount Kilimanjaro's white peak is rapidly melting, researchers report. Some 85 percent of the ice that made up the mountaintop glaciers in 1912 was gone by 2007, researchers say.

Leaking oil rig catches fire off Australia’s coast

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:43:24 GMT

A massive fire erupted on an oil rig that has been leaking into the Timor Sea, the latest drama in a 10-week saga to plug the hole.

Tribe: Wind farm would harm sacred rituals

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:07:23 GMT

The Wampanoag — the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims — say a proposed wind farm on Nantucket Sound would destroy sacred rituals, which require an unblocked view of the horizon.

Colorado county copes with methane mystery

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 21:02:28 GMT

Colorado suspends natural gas drilling around this southern plains town until someone finds out why dangerous levels of methane were getting into the groundwater.

Dead fish off Indonesia after oil leak

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:56:13 GMT

Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near Indonesia's coastline more than two months after an underwater well began leaking in the Timor Sea.

Crews clean up spilled fuel from tanker

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:07:23 GMT

Crews worked Saturday to clean up fuel leaked into San Francisco Bay and care for a dozen birds one day after an oil tanker spilled hundreds of gallons into the water.

Expert: 'Almost out' of old Arctic sea ice

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:00:12 GMT

The multiyear sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean has effectively vanished, an expert says, a startling development that will make it easier to open up polar shipping routes.

Willing to give up blue skies for climate fix?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:58:03 GMT

Geoengineering Earth's climate to curb warming could have many downsides, including obscuring blue skies. But scientists are nonetheless asking whether it should be a "Plan B."