Tiny particles with a huge environmental impact. Dust is a conundrum for climate scientists. No sooner do they think they’re getting a handle on its environmental impact than researchers discover more of its unexpected tricks. [News Source]

Low-carbon internet surfing. Yahoo wants to cut energy use without slowing the pulse of the Internet. Living on Earth puts an ear to the life-blood of the worldwide web- noisy, energy hungry data servers. [News Source]

IEA says recession may not affect spending on renewable energy. The global financial crisis may not affect investment in renewable energy projects this year as countries strive to cut emissions of pollutants and reach a new climate-change agreement, the International Energy Agency said. [News Source]

The start of something big? Build solar power stations in the Sahara desert and transport the electricity produced to Europe. It's an idea that is simple in theory, but hard in practice. But it is indeed a carbon-dioxide-free way of making a lot of electricity--and a collecting area the size of Austria could supply the world. [News Source]

China to become leader in green technologies. China is set to become a global leader in the implementation of environmental-friendly policies and green technologies to tackle climate change, an Italian expert told Xinhua in a recent interview. [News Source]

Wanted: fresh air. Greenhouse gases are taking up “carbon space” in the atmosphere. And past emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases from rich countries have taken up much of that space. Now the poor countries are standing up for their right to a little bit of that space too. [News Source]

OPPD unveils new power plant near Nebraska City. With all the headlines about alternative energy, cheap, abundant coal still turns on the lights in Nebraska — now and in the foreseeable future. And so the conflict between global warming and a developed world continues. [News Source]

Obama hails “historic consensus” on climate change. Barack Obama hailed a "historic consensus" Thursday on cutting pollution, saying rich nations had a duty to set an example, as world leaders also agreed to shun protectionism at a G8 summit. [News Source]

Environmentalists angry at perceived failure. What Barack Obama hailed as a “historic consensus” on climate change at this week’s G8 summit in Italy has been greeted with widespread disappointment, and even outrage, by environment and development campaigners. [News Source]

Rudd gives Copenhagen talks little hope. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been overheard pouring cold water on world leaders' chances of hammering out critical climate change limits in Copenhagen - just hours after US President Barack Obama called for global optimism. [News Source]

Barbara Boxer faces ‘challenge of a lifetime’ on climate change bill. If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more. [News Source]