As the price of petrol edges ever higher, can a change in driving habits use less fuel - and salve a car fan's conscience?
Proponents of a motoring technique known as "eco-driving" - who include the AA, the Energy Saving Trust and the government - claim that it will not just cut emissions of carbon dioxide, but could also improve fuel efficiency by up to 30%.
Irish scientists have isolated a bacterium that can convert a toxic waste product into safe, biodegradable plastic. This week, scientists Kevin O'Connor and Patrick Ward, of the Department of Industrial Microbiology at University College Dublin, announced that they have discovered a bacterial strain that uses styrene, a toxic byproduct of the polystyrene industry (which produces Styrofoam, among other things), as fuel to make a type of biodegradable plastic, polyhydroxyalkanoate, known as PHA.
The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada's northern shores has broken in two - far earlier than expected. In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water - one of them covering 98km (61 miles) in a week. Their progress has been tracked amid fears they could edge west towards oil and gas installations off Alaska.
An expedition to a remote forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo has uncovered six new animal species.
Conservationists discovered one new bat species, a new rat and two new species each of shrews and frogs.
Arctic sea ice is expected to retreat to a record low by the end of this summer, scientists have predicted.
Measurements made by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) showed the extent of sea ice on 8 August was almost 30% below the long-term average.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has welcomed new figures showing that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 25%. President Lula said this had prevented the release of millions of tonnes of CO2 gas into the atmosphere. The government says environmental policies, including measures against illegal logging, have had an effect. Environmentalists welcomed the figures, but said falling commodity prices and economic conditions were also a factor.
Ozone could be a much more important driver of climate change than scientists had previously predicted, according to a study in Nature journal. The authors say the effects of this greenhouse gas - known by the formula O3 - have been largely overlooked.
"Ozone could be twice as important as we previously thought as a driver of climate change," co-author Peter Cox, from the University of Exeter, UK, told the BBC News website.
Wall Street hit a sharp skid today as more worrisome signs about the health of the housing market emerged and oil prices remained near record levels.
Near-record oil prices also seemed to be rattling investors today. The price of a barrel of oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange topped $77 in trading today for the first time since last summer before falling back to $74.95, down 93 cents. Prices have closed above $77 a barrel only once before.
Scotland's seabirds are having a "disastrous" breeding season, according to RSPB Scotland. It said mid-season reports had found cliffs, where there should be thousands of birds, almost empty. RSPB Scotland said climate change appeared to be disrupting food supply, but added that more research would need to be done.
The Inn by the Sea, set on a pristine stretch of the Maine coast just south of Portland, is keen to keep up the deluxe standards that have earned it a AAA four-diamond rating. At the same time, managers say they are eager to do what they can to keep carbon dioxide emissions under control. Lamps in the guest rooms and public spaces have been fitted with energy-efficient light bulbs. In October, the hotel began using a mix of regular oil and fats and vegetable oils instead of pure oil for heating.
A woman who paddled her outrigger canoe from Florida to Maine to promote ocean conservation was met by a flotilla of small boats Friday as she completed her 2 1/2-month journey in the harbor of Camden, Maine. The 40-year-old mother of two set out on her solo coastal venture on May 7 in a 20-foot outrigger canoe that she said was made in China. Following the Intracoastal Waterway and hugging the Atlantic coast, Pellegrino paddled about 40 miles a day and stopped at 74 communities.
After three years of planning and permitting, Lempster wind farm developer Iberdrola, the world's largest wind power development company, received the last of the required state approvals for New Hampshire's first wind farm this month. When the project is complete, a dozen wind turbines 400 feet tall will stand along the Lempster Mountain ridgeline and generate enough electricity in a year to power roughly 10,500 homes.
