NEW YORK, New York, August 6, 2008 (ENS) - With eight of the world's 10 largest cities located near rivers or seas and exposed to such climate hazards as flooding, sea level rise, and hurricanes, a United Nations-World Bank report released today offers advice on how to make these population centers more resistant to the effects of global warming. "Climate Resilient Cities" is intended to help cities curb their vulnerability and strengthen disaster risk management in the face of the frequent and extreme weather events expected as the planet's temperature climbs. >>more

By Kamyar Enshayan
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, August 6, 2008 (ENS) The past week has ushered in the summer's most sultry weather to date, but in our household, we like basic fresh air, unconditioned. So we use windows and fans when necessary. In 2007, our heat pump ran a total of 10 days the entire summer. Our total cooling cost for 2007: $20. Cool. Our primary strategy is windows management. >>more

EDINBURGH, Scotland, August 5, 2008 (ENS) - Unknown to the outside world, more than 125,000 endangered western lowland gorillas have sheltered in the remote northern forests of the Republic of Congo in Central Africa, the Wildlife Conservation Society revealed today. Documented by WCS and Congolese scientists, the discovery of these imperiled animals shows that there is hope for the conservation of other endangered species, scientists said. >>more

EDINBURGH, Scotland, August 5, 2008 (ENS) - Monkeys, apes and other primates are vanishing from the face of the Earth, with some "literally being eaten to extinction," according to the world's foremost primate authorities gathered this week at the 22nd International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh. "We've raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined," said primate expert Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International. >>more

WASHINGTON, DC, August 4, 2008 (ENS) - A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a proposal to reduce gas prices by opening new areas in the Southeast Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, while raising taxes on the major oil companies. At a news conference on Capitol Hill Friday, the self-styled "Gang of 10" unveiled an $84 billion measure they call the "New Era," more formally entitled the New Energy Reform Act of 2008. >>more