Opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to run from the Alberta tas sands to refineries in the US finally got their wish on Friday when president Obama pulled the plug on the project.

With Keystone down and Exxon under investigation, it's been a tough week for the oil business

On Thursday, word came that ExxonMobil is being investigated for possibly misleading shareholders on the risks climate change poses to its business. On Friday, President Obama killed the Keystone XL oil pipeline to the US from Canada, citing the threat of climate change from burning fossil fuels. The oil business has seen worse weeks, but perhaps not many.
Ocean waves hit perilously close to a house in Majuro. Marshall Islands.

'I'm fighting for the survival of my country in the battle against climate change'

The Marshall Islands are imperiled by climate change. And it's not some theoretical future problem. It's a now problem.
Climate conditions in much of the Persion Gulf/Arabian Peninsula area will often push past the limits of human adaptability by the end of this century under current greenhouse gas pollution trends, according to a new report in Nature Climate Change. These

Climate change may soon make much of the Persian Gulf region too hot for humans

It's always been hot in the Persian Gulf region. But a new report finds that without action to limit climate change, the combination of rising temperatures and humidity will often push much of the region beyond the limits of human adaptability.
Ninety five percent of urban Tanzanians use charcoal for cooking fuel, and the trade supports more than a million jobs. But charcoal production is taking a massive toll on the country's forests. After a failed attempt to ban the trade the country is now t

Tanzania is trying to turn the charcoal trade from an enemy to a friend of the forest

The illegal charcoal trade is a big contributor to deforestation in countries like Tanzania. After trying and failing once to curb the business, the country is now trying a new approach. The World's Sam Eaton has the story.
Toxic foam is a reality of life during the rainy season in parts of Bangalore, in eastern India. The foam froths up when rains churn up lakes laced with millions of gallons of residential and industrial pollutants, including phosphate laundry detergents b

Flaming, frothing lakes in India's Silicon Valley

When the rains come to Bangalore, India, residents have to navigate a bizarre urban hazard — a lake that froths up and fills the city with a toxic and sometimes flammable foam.
Marine biologist Alice Lawrence assesses coral bleaching at Airport Reef in American Samoa.

'Global bleaching event' threatens corals around the world

Coral reefs support a quarter of the life in the sea and the livelihoods of half a billion people. But they're facing a serious threat from rising ocean temperatures.
Can humans replicate this wonder of nature, to help in the battle against climate change? Leaves, and the photosynthesis that powers them, suck CO2 out of the air and turn it into a valuable raw material. Scientists are trying to do the same, and use the

Take air. Suck out CO2. Make fuel. A lab advance hints at a future for artificial photosynthesis

Researchers believe that artificial photosynthesis that sucks excess CO2 out of the air could one day help fight climate change. But capturing the gas is only half the challenge. The other half is what to do with it once you've got it. Lauren Sommer reports on a potentially breakthrough technology that uses artificial photsynthesis to turn CO2 from the air into industrial chemicals and natural gas.
Trees and other green plants are nature's tools for sucking CO2 out of the air, but scientists say there aren't nearly enough trees to remove all the waste gas we've put into the atmosphere. So some are trying to create new devices that work like trees —

Is an artificial tree part of the solution to climate change? These guys think so.

Trees are nature's tool for pulling carbon dioxide out of the air, but there aren't enough trees in the world to suck up all the CO2 humans are putting there. That's why researchers are pushing to create artificial leaves to help fight climate change. The World's Ari Daniel visits with two teams of researchers pursuing different approaches to the formidable challenge.
A woman carrying a baby, both wearing masks, make their way down a street and away from the site of explosions, in Tianjin, China.

Chinese residents hurt by the chemical blasts in Tianjin stand up to the government

The current crisis is only the beginning for residents displaced by devastating explosions at the Chinese port of Tianjin. Traces of cyanide and other toxic chemicals have been reported in the air, which have prompted further questions and concerns.
The 17th Street Canal breach in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Ten years later, the lessons of Hurricane Katrina apply to all of us

With storms intensifying and sea levels rising, the lessons of Katrina are lessons for all of us.

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