WASHINGTON, Jul 23 (IPS) - After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide.

BRUSSELS, Jul 22 (IPS) - Soil is one of the few major areas of environmental policy to remain largely outside the purview of European Union law. Humanity's survival might hinge on whether crops can continue to be grown in soil, yet just nine of the EU's 27 countries have deemed soil protection a pressing enough issue to have introduced legislation on the subject at national level.

BARCELONA, Spain, Jul 22 (IPS) - Humanity faces enormous challenges at the start of the 21st century, says Sir David King, Britain's former chief scientific advisor and now director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University in England.

Uxbridge, CANADA, Jul 21 (IPS) - Wetlands are dangerous, scientists say, in the sense that they are ticking carbon bombs best left alone. To help stave off extreme climate change, existing wetlands should be enhanced and new wetlands created so they could capture more carbon.

PATTAYA, Thailand, Jul 16 (IPS) - Three years after a devastating tsunami flattened Banda Aceh, the mayor of that coastal town on Indonesia’s northern tip reckons that restoration work is far from over. He now needs to adapt to threats posed by climate change.

TOKYO, Jul 12 (IPS) - After months of ministerial meetings that culminated in the summit of the world's seven major industrial democracies and Russia (G8) last week, the focus shifts back to United Nations negotiations on a new post-2012 climate treaty regime.

FORT LAUDERDALE, U.S., Jul 12 (IPS) - The rapid decline of coral reefs around the world offers a potent warning that entire ecosystems can collapse due to human activities, although there is hope for reefs if immediate action is taken, coral experts agreed at the conclusion of a five-day international meeting Friday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 11 (IPS) - When the president of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, addressed the U.N. General Assembly about 20 years ago, he warned of the possible death of his tiny Indian Ocean island if steps were not taken to curb climate change.

Sofia, Jul 11 (IPS) - A group of young people from several European countries are taking a cycling tour from Bulgaria to Turkey to show the world that travelling and a good life are possible without much energy consumption.

FORT LAUDERDALE, U.S., Jul 10 (IPS) - One third of reef-building corals already face extinction because of climate change, the first-ever global assessment has found.

TOYAKO, Japan, Jul 9 (IPS) - While the world's major industrialised nations expressed satisfaction over their three-day summit meetings that concluded Wednesday, non-governmental organisations, after some early and limited approval, were deeply disappointed with the outcome on the whole.

FORT LAUDERDALE, U.S., Jul 8 (IPS) - Coral reefs need to be put on "life support" if they are to survive climate change, but their ultimate survival is dependant on major reductions in fossil fuel emissions, say experts.

DHAKA, Jul 8 (IPS) - As rising seas, melting glaciers, floods and cyclones are increasingly putting millions of people at risk in South Asia, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) met here last week to find ways to mitigate the impacts of changing climate.

TOYAKO, Japan, Jul 5 (IPS) - When the leaders of seven western industrial democracies and Russia gather for their meetings Jul. 7-9 in Toyako on the northern island of Hokkaido, a mountain of wishes tabled by a multitude of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the world would have piled up before them.

TOKYO, Jul 4 (IPS) - Japan is preparing to test its leadership role at the summit meeting of seven western industrial democracies and Russia (G8) Jul. 7-9 in Toyako on the northern island of Hokkaido.