US Government pressures the Environmental Protection Agency to water down its findings on greenhouse gases. The original conclusion of the EPA was that the gases are pollutants needing to be controlled, but “the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation.” — New York Times.

Endangered species facing significantly higher risk of extinction. “Some endangered species may face an extinction risk that is up to a hundred times greater than previously thought, according to a study released Wednesday. By overlooking random differences between individuals in a given population, researchers may have badly underestimated the perils confronting threatened wildlife, it said.” — AFP

Residents in Mexico City losing their sense of smell. More effects of the high level of pollution in the city are being discovered. “Mexico City residents can’t detect subtle smells as well as residents of neighboring Tlaxcala, researchers at Mexico’s National University (UNAM) have reported, though the regions are quite similar in both culture and climate.” — Earth Trends.

Prince Charles and Richard Branson improve their carbon footprints. Both have taken measures towards a greener lifestyle, but James Kanter asks, “Should we be praising the efforts made by the likes of Prince Charles and Branson? Or should we be pressuring them to do more to change the ways they do their jobs and earn a living?” — International Herald Tribune