In the last decade, almost 1 million people have been killed and trillions of dollars have been lost in natural disasters worldwide. As climate change threatens to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the prospect of even bigger disaster-related losses alone would make a case for more disaster-proofing investment.

U.S. taxpayers have so far borne the brunt of climate change costs.

Our extensive review of the publicly available studies finds that a pervasive lack of measurements makes it nearly impossible to know with confidence what the average methane leak rate is for the U.S. as a whole. How much the shift from coal to gas will reduce emissions in the U.S. hinges on several large unknowns.

Last week, the top executive team from the US-based solar company SunPower held an all-day analysts briefing -- their first for a few years.

Everyone knows water is life. Far too few understand the role of trees, plants and other living things in ensuring we have clean, fresh water.

This is a brief chronology of the current Conservative Canadian government's long campaign to undermine evidence-based scientific, environmental and technical decision-making. It is a government that is beholden to big business, particularly big oil, and that makes every attempt to shape public policy to that end. It is a government that fundamentally doesn't believe in science. It is a government that is more interested in keeping its corporate masters happy than in protecting the environment.

__ Friday News Below

Budget woes, the sequester, and system failures have seriously impacted National Weather Service warning and forecasting capabilities.

A Supreme Court ruling this week on government regulation of new cellphone towers could be a boon for U.S. EPA and could shield the agency from lawsuits, environmental law experts say.

Recently, three members of Congress and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) have made misleading or inaccurate public statements about climate change, often in the context of extreme weather.

A conference of 500 of the world's leading water scientists issued a stark declaration at the end of a four-day meeting in Germany, warning that within two generations a majority of the people on the planet will face problems obtaining ample supplies of clean water.

Consumers do end up using more energy when energy-using technology gets more efficient, but these rebound effects are minimal, experts say.

__ Thursday News Below

The Congressional Budget Office released a report on the effects of a carbon tax, noting it could raise "significant" revenue while heading off "catastrophic" climate change.

Ammonium salts could provide a viable way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via carbon mineralization, studies suggest. Removing excess carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere may be essential to curb severe climate change.

Total greenhouse gas emissions from global agriculture his 4.69 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, a 13 percent increase over 1990, according to a new study.

Frogs, toads and salamanders continue to vanish from the American landscape at an alarming pace, with seven species facing 50 percent drops in their numbers within seven years if the current rate of decline continues, according to new government research.

__ Wednesday News Below

The Energy Information Agency expects this extension could result in significant wind capacity additions over the next three years, leading to higher generation from wind.

New Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will delay approval of 20 liquefied natural gas export facilities while he studies the effect exports will have on the domestic market.