Cochabamba summit calls for ecological tribunal

The climate summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia, closed with a call for creation of an International Tribunal on Environmental and Climate Justice.

Obama plans “dramatic reductions” in n-arms —but not “no first use” pledge

The Obama administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review will call for “dramatic reductions” in the nuclear arsenal—but no pledge that the US will never launch a first strike.

Disappearing Alaska village takes climate suit to Ninth Circuit

The Native Alaskan coastal village of Kivalina, its lands rapidly eroding, is appealing a suit against oil and power companies, charging that climate change endangers their community.

Canada: sea ice melting faster than expected

Sea ice in Canada’s Arctic is melting faster than previously expected, Ottawa’s largest climate-change study yet has found—raising a worst-case scenario of an ice-free Arctic by 2013.

US, Russia agree to nuclear arms reduction treaty

The US and Russia have reached an agreement for the first nuclear weapons treaty since 1991, calling for reductions in both the number of warheads and delivery systems.

White House to boost nuclear weapons funding

President Barack Obama is set to boost funding for nuclear weapons programs next year by more than $7 billion, an increase of $624 million from FY 2010.

More than 50 countries submit climate change plans under Copenhagen accord

The Justice Department is investigating whether Blackwater bribed Iraqi officials to allow continued operations in the country following shooting deaths in 2007.

US imperialism to outsource lunar invasion

Seeking ways to trim the federal budget, the Obama administration has decided to outsource the planned invasion of the Moon to the private sector. Cue Blackwater.

UN climate panel admits error; glaciers keep melting

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admitted an error in claiming Himalayan glaciers could vanish by 2035—but this doesn’t mean the glaciers aren’t melting.

Obama orders government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020

President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 28% by 2020, pursuant to Executive Order 13514, signed in October.

Study: global economic growth “isn’t possible”

Continuing global economic growth “is not possible” if the world is to stop devastating climate change, according to a report by the New Economics Foundation (Nef).

UN report: indigenous peoples threatened worldwide

The world’s 370 million indigenous people suffer disproportionately high rates of poverty, and are often threatened with extinction, according to the first UN report on the question.