Might rock help soak up warming gas?

A rock found mostly in Oman can be harnessed to soak up the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at a rate that could help slow global warming, scientists say.

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Team Obama: RFK Jr., California’s Nichols, bandied as possible EPA chiefs. For environmentalists, one huge question is who will be tapped to run the Environmental Protection Agency. [News Source]

Power struggle may open rift among House Democrats. Opening a split among congressional Democrats that could affect Barack Obama's efforts to curb global warming, a California environmentalist is trying to wrest control of a crucial House committee from its chairman. [News Source]

Bush officials moving fast to cut environmental protections. In the next few weeks, the Bush administration is expected to relax environmental-protection rules on power plants near national parks, uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, and more mountaintop-removal coal mining in Appalachia. [News Source]

Are alternative fuels reliving the 1980s? Tumbling gas-pump prices make motorists smile, but not Peter Vanderzee. They remind him how falling oil costs sank his effort to unshackle the United States from Middle East oil two decades ago. [News Source]

The greening of the eco-villains. Between 1990 and 2004, Canada’s total emissions of greenhouse gases rose by 26 per cent. Yet, over the same period, the Canadian chemical industry cut its emissions by 60 per cent, according to the industry. [News Source]

The Netherlands, a low country, seeks higher ground. In this tiny, low-lying country, where much of the land has been clawed from the sea, people like to say that while God may have created the world, it was the Dutch who created Holland. [News Source]

Chinese cave speaks of a fickle sun bringing down ancient dynasties. A chunk of stalagmite from a cave in China recorded the monsoon rains that destroyed the Tang dynasty. A possible culprit: a temporary weakening of the sun--pointing to the potentially devastating effects that climate change can have. [News Source]

Chinook salmon’s last meal? A cooler ocean is feeding hungry salmon, but their ultimate survival remains uncertain. [News Source]

Crops viable despite climate change. Irish agriculture will be capable of adapting to climate change and most crops cultivated will remain viable. [News Source]

Groundwater could mitigate drought - SADC. Preferential warming in Africa as a result of climate change is expected to increase the variability of rainfall, flow of rivers and levels of lakes, reducing their reliability as sources of freshwater. [News Source]