A senior Danish official says his country hopes to set an example for the world with an ambitious scheme to cut carbon emissions by 70% in little more than a decade, but it has no illusions that it can have a meaningful impact on global warming by itself.    “To …

Young people afraid for their futures protested around the globe Friday to implore leaders to tackle climate change, turning out by the hundreds of thousands to insist that the warming world can’t wait any longer.Marches, rallies and demonstrations were held from Canberra to Kabul and Cape Town to New York. …

Walmart Inc. told staff on Friday that it was discontinuing the sale of e-cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery products at its U.S. stores.  In an internal memo seen by Reuters, the retailer said growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty were behind its decision.    “We will complete our …

A day of worldwide protests against climate change is underway that organizers predict will draw more than one million participants, the largest-ever expected demonstration decrying the man-made causes of a warming planet.Friday’s protests began across Asia, where hundreds of thousands of students and others took to the streets calling for …

Nearly 1,000 young people marched Friday in Kampala to protest land, forest and wetland degradation around the country.Statistics from Uganda’s forest authority show that between 1990 and 2015, the country’s forest cover dropped by half — from 24 percent to 12.4 percent.In addition, a 2015 report by the U.N. Development …

The Associated Press contributed to this report.SYDNEY/BANGKOK — Thousands of students took to the streets of Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries Friday to kick off a global strike demanding world leaders gathering for a U.N. climate summit adopt urgent measures to stop an environmental catastrophe.“We didn’t light it, but we’re …

If the skies above North America seem quieter, it’s because of the massive drop in the bird population in the past 50 years.A report in the journal Science says there are 3 billion fewer birds in the United States, Canada and Mexico than 1970 — a 29% drop.Conservationists call it …

Federal regulators have opened a criminal probe into e-cigarette-related lung illnesses in the United States.There were seven deaths and 530 confirmed or suspected cases of serious illness related to vaping by late Thursday.The Food and Drug Administration says it has no intention of prosecuting e-cigarette users, but says its criminal …

With world leaders about to gather in New York for a U.N. Climate Action Summit next week, millions of young people from Australia to Iceland will take off from school or work on Friday to demand urgent measures to stop environmental catastrophe. Protests, inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, are planned in 150 countries. The aim …

New U.N. data shows sub-Saharan Africa lags behind all other regions in the world in reducing child and maternal mortality. Estimates by the World Health Organization and U.N. children’s fund UNICEF reveal conflict, fragile health systems, and poverty are some of the factors accounting for millions of preventable child and …

Putting her stamp on the health care issue that worries consumers the most, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to lower drug prices for seniors on Medicare and younger people with private insurance.Pelosi, D-Calif., would empower Medicare to negotiate prices for the 250 costliest drugs, including …

The state that made smog famous is losing its half-century-old authority to set air pollution rules.    President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on Twitter that the Environmental Protection Agency was withdrawing California’s authority to issue stricter vehicle efficiency rules than the federal government.    The move was the latest in the administration’s efforts …

Canada reported its first hospitalization for severe respiratory illness linked to vaping Wednesday, following an outbreak in the U.S. that has killed seven people and sickened hundreds.    The Middlesex-London Health Unit said in a statement that “a youth has been diagnosed with severe respiratory illness that has been linked to …

A Parisian startup enterprise looks to ease congestion in one of the world’s densest urban transportation networks.  Entrepreneurs created a green machine unlike any you have ever seen outside of Hollywood films. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi dredges this story from the river Seine. …

India’s government on Wednesday decided to ban e-cigarettes, expressing concern at the alarming rate at which vaping is becoming popular among the country’s youth and causing breathing illnesses.The ban was approved by the Cabinet. The government is expected to issue an ordinance soon prohibiting the manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, …

Fifty-seven percent of teens say they “fear” climate change, according to a new survey by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post. The survey comes as Greta Thunberg, a climate-change activist from Sweden, brought her well-publicized climate campaign to Washington last week.  Called Fridays for Future, it has …

The Trump administration is poised to revoke California’s authority to set auto mileage standards, asserting that only the federal government has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy.Conservative and free-market groups have been asked to attend a formal announcement of the rollback set for Wednesday afternoon at …

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg offered a blunt message to Congress on Tuesday as she brought her campaign for urgent action on climate change to the U.S. Capitol.”I know you’re trying,” she told Democratic senators at an invitation-only forum, “but just not hard enough. Sorry.”Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey thanked the 16-year-old …

As some world leaders question whether the world is facing a climate emergency, more than a dozen cities are stepping up to tackle global warming and sustainable development and will next week pledge to report their progress to the United Nations.Sixteen cities will commit to implementing global goals to end …

It may be possible to help tackle climate change while still munching on the occasional bacon sandwich or slurping a few oysters, a new study suggested on Tuesday.Scientists found that diets in which meat, fish or dairy products were consumed only once a day would leave less of a footprint …

Federal health officials have activated emergency measures to tackle the recent spate of lung illnesses blamed on electronic cigarettes.”CDC has made it a priority to find out what is causing this outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping-related injuries and deaths,” the organization’s head, Dr. Robert Redfield, said Monday.Redfield said activating the …

Who would want what’s possibly Europe’s largest landfill in their own backyard? That question lies at the center of a protest against construction of a massive garbage dump in northern Russia — an environmental issue that has come to symbolize growing frustration towards Moscow’s sway over Russia’s far-flung regions. The fight over …

The nation’s worst measles epidemic in 27 years could be in its final stages as a week went by with no new reported cases.“To get to zero is tremendously encouraging,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University expert on vaccination policy.The current epidemic emerged about a year ago and took off …

U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Alex Azar has applauded Uganda’s efforts to control the spread of Ebola in east and central Africa; however, while the U.S. remains the primary funder of Uganda’s health care sector, the secretary did not shy away from asking the East African country to …

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing to enact a statewide ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns connected to vaping, especially among young people.The Democrat announced Sunday that the state health commissioner would be making a recommendation this week to the state Public Health and …