point of origin The first humans on the North and South American continents came from eastern Siberia, not Asia and Polynesia as is believed. Researchers at the University of Michigan, USA,

California and 15 other US states have sued the federal government after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected the state's effort to curb greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. The

SIR RICHARD BRANSON, the bearded billionaire who founded Virgin Atlantic, is fond of surprises. Next month his airline plans to test-fly an aircraft that is partly powered by biofuels, something most experts thought was years away.

Corporate social responsibility, once a do-gooding sideshow, is now seen as mainstream. But as yet too few companies are doing it well, says Daniel Franklin (interviewed here)

AL GORE has done a wonderful thing for corporate bosses. By helping to propel climate change to the top of the global agenda, he has opened up a world of new opportunities for them. Opportunities for rhetoric, for a start. The green theme allows chief executives to adopt a planetary perspective.

Set aside, for now, the really complex and costly financial implications of climate change. Ignore the tricky abstractions of carbon trading. Forget the worries over flooded cities and the ins and outs of renewable energy.