Ecologists fear EU diluting climate change battle plans (SpaceDaily) BRUSSELS, Oct 5 (AFP) Oct 05, 2008 European Union plans to tackle climate change reach a crucial phase on Tuesday with votes in the EU parliament, amid fears among green groups that pressure from industry is watering the proposals down. [News Source]

Russians Say Global Warming Happening (Angus Reid) (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More people in Russia believe that climate change is a reality now, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 51 per cent of respondents say global warming is already happening, up six points since May 2007. [News Source]

State files petition against Desert Rock. The state of New Mexico claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to consider effects on ozone, visibility, carbon dioxide and other hazardous air pollutants when it approved the 1,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant. [News Source]

‘Dirty fuels’ profit by bailout bill’s tax breaks for renewable energy. The renewable-energy tax incentives tucked into the financial bailout passed by the House on Friday include billions of dollars in breaks for old-fashioned fossil-fuel processes. [News Source]

A near-record Arctic melting. This summer, the share of the Arctic Ocean covered by sea ice was the second-lowest since satellite measurements began in 1979. [News Source]

Oysters will fail the acid test. Sydney oyster lovers are in for an unpalatable surprise. A global conference in Monaco next week on the rising acidity of the world's oceans will hear research that shows a detrimental effect on local oyster species. [News Source]

Fewer male reptiles due to warming — and that’s good? A trend toward more females and fewer males in a type of Australian reptile may actually benefit the species in the short-term, a discovery that's contrary to previous research, a new study says. [News Source]

Report says global warming would scorch Pa. Apples and sweet corn, brook trout and smallmouth bass, fall foliage and winter snow cover will all disappear from PA if emissions causing global warming continue at their current rates. [News Source]

New Aspen nonprofit works to save lodgepole pines. The burgeoning death rate of the state's lodgepole pines is virtually unstoppable no matter what is done to slow the spread of the mountain pine bark beetle infestation in Colorado, a new nonprofit in Aspen warns. [News Source]

Poverty-linked diseases come back in Argentina. Poverty-related diseases such as Chagas, rabies and yellow fever are making a comeback in Argentina because prevention campaigns cut during a deep economic crisis seven years ago have still not recovered. Deforestation and global warming are also contributing. [News Source]

Noisier oceans may be “disaster” for marine animals. As the world's oceans become more acidic, the underwater sounds that whales and other marine mammals depend on for survival may turn into a confusing racket, a new study says. [News Source]