Environment | WPN World People News

Tajikistan, Muzkol Range.

A controlled burn of oil from the BP oil spill sends towers of fire hundreds of feet into the air over the Gulf of Mexico. June 9, 2010.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), The ASPCA®(The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), and Animal Protection of New Mexico are dismayed over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent decision to approve an application for a horse slaughter facility at Valley Meat Company LLC in Roswell, N.M. on the grounds that killing horses for human consumption is inhumane and creates a serious health risk to consumers. Similar applications are pending for Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, Mo., and Responsible Transportation LLC in Sigourney, Iowa, and could be approved.

The floods in India’s Uttarakhand State, which may have claimed as many as 5,000 lives, were prompted by an unusually high amount of rainfall. The disaster, possibly the largest so far this year, underscores what is at stake in the UN’s upcoming climate talks in Warsaw, Poland.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for much of the southwestern United States, as temperatures climb to near-record levels.

More emphasis on environmental protection, mandatory top-ups for young farmers in all member states, stronger farmers' organisations and less red tape when spending EU funds. These are the main lines of the agreement on farm policy struck by Parliament, Council and the Commission. Decisions still need to be taken on capping direct payments to bigger farms and distributing funds between farmers.

Fire rages on a pulp concession in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia. It is not clear whether the cleared land will be used for acacia plantations or illegal oil palm cultivation

Namibia, Namib Sand Sea

Mexico, El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve