More than 2,400 scientists and policymakers convened in Stockholm last month for the 2008 World Water Week summit. This year's summit was focused on sanitation access, although a variety of interdisciplinary research was presented for discussion.

Inadequate sanitation is a known cause of infectious diseases and death in the developing world. In response, improvement in sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation became part of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Mother Nature's calendar has been showing increasingly less resemblance to the seasonal patterns of the past, with tangible effects on both humans and the natural environment. Pollen-releasing grasses, shrubs and trees have started to appear earlier, expanding the hay fever season. Drought, forest fires and invasive alien species have caused serious damage to some of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems.

Many vulnerable species are facing reduced numbers because the adaptations that have served them for thousands of years make them unable to survive small changes in temperature or precipitation. When faced with climate change and other threats to their habitat, some species may not be able to relocate quickly enough to save them from extinction. A new technique called assisted colonization may prove to be an innovative solution.

We are looking for a highly motivated and innovative person to play a significant role in the ongoing development and management of EarthTrends. The successful applicant will help to fulfill WRI's mission of guaranteeing public access to information and analysis related to sustainable development and the environment.

On May 1, 2008, the Regulations on Government Disclosure of Information officially took effect, making China one of 70 countries worldwide that has enacted comprehensive freedom of information (FOI) legislation. The objective of the Chinese regulation specifically is "to ensure that citizens, legal persons and other organizations can obtain government information by lawful means and increase government transparency."

Speaking before an enthusiastic crowd at a sold-out DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., former Vice President Al Gore issued a challenge to "repower America." Gore's challenge is undoubtedly ambitious: he wants the entire U.S. electricity sector to shift to zero-carbon sources like wind, solar, and geothermal in the next 10 years.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt, especially in the most fragile and marginal ecosystems around the world. In particular, coral reefs, which are extremely sensitive to changes in the temperature and acidity of the water in which they form, are being destabilized by a changing ocean environment. Several scientific studies have demonstrated that many of the world's coral reefs are precariously close to total failure. A new study, while confirming this conclusion, does offer some hope.

March 28, 2008, saw the launch of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). As stated in its mission, this new cabinet-level ministry will take responsibility for China's environmental governance. MEP is tasked to develop and organize the implementation of environmental protection; to manage all related planning, policy and standards; and to coordinate across jurisdictions and levels of government to solve the country's major environmental problems.

Most discussions around international climate change—the Kyoto Protocol, the Lieberman-Warner Bill introduced on the floor of the U.S. Senate last month, and the G8 discussions taking place this week—include targets for emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHG). A more direct question was addressed at the Tallberg Forum in Sweden last week: regardless of emissions, how much CO₂ can actually accumulate in the Earth's atmosphere without causing enormous and irreversible impacts on human society and the natural environment?

To the list of air pollution's health effects, add another one: loss of sense of smell.

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. The primary difference: Mexico City has much higher levels of air pollution.