RECENTLY, an advertisement showed how super-models are trying to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle through their outfits made with materials that are less polluting, less harmful to the environment and the earth, which, in other words, is called a green method of living. Comparing black, a trendy colour for evening parties, with this green way of resource utilisation is not only interesting but also reflects the fact that global environmental issues -- climate change to be precise -- have caught the attention of everyone. The problem

Mountain pine beetles that are destroying forests along much of the Rocky Mountain range are doing so much damage that they may affect climate change, Canadian researchers reported on Wednesday. The damage is nearly equivalent to the polluting effects of forest fires, they report in the journal Nature.

Satellite data show that changes in the sun are contributing to global warming but to a smaller extent than human activity, a space scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington told a group of petroleum geologists Wednesday. "The sun is playing a role that you can detect, but it's not the dominant role," Judith Lean told a crowded session at the 2008 convention of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in San Antonio.

China plans to build a major emissions-free coal burning power station by 2015, the project chief said on Wednesday, putting it at the front of a tight global race to build the first commercial scale plant. GreenGen president Su Wenbin said he has escaped the funding and planning problems that have delayed similar ventures in the US and Europe because tackling climate change is a top priority for Beijing. "In China our system is different. When we decide to do something we can just push on with it...we know we will get government support," he told Reuters in an interview.

Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi has issued an environmental appeal ahead of July's Group of Eight summit in her prefecture, calling on each of Hokkaido's 5.6 million residents to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from homes by 10 percent, or 1.1 kg a day, from current levels. The targeted figure is bigger than the 1-kg-a-day proposal by the Environment Ministry. Takahashi said at a symposium in Sapporo on Monday she expects the appeal to become a regional model used the world over for environmental preservation.

Canada's greenhouse gas emissions increased by 25 percent from 1990 to 2005, the highest amount of any G8 nation, according to government figures released on Tuesday. Canada has only about 0.5 percent of the world's population but contributes about 2 percent of global emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change, according to Statistics Canada.

Hokkaido Gov Harumi Takahashi issued an environmental appeal Monday ahead of July's Group of Eight summit at the Lake Toya hot spa resort, calling on each of Hokkaido's 5.6 million residents to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from homes by 10%, or 1.1 kilograms a day, from current levels. The targeted figure is bigger than the 1-kg-a-day proposal by the Environment Ministry.

Norway will give Tanzania $100 million over five years to cut deforestation in the east African country and try to reduce carbon emissions blamed for climate change, according to a deal signed on Monday. Norway, the world's number five oil exporter, plans to make its economy "carbon Neutral" by 2030, partly by buying emissions quotas abroad to offset its own greenhouse gas production.