Here's yet another reason to stay in shape: Thinner people contribute less to global warming, according to a new study. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and transportation factors, a population of heavier people contributes more harmful gases to the planet than a population of thin people. Given that it takes more energy to move heavier people, transportation of heavier people requires more fuel, which creates ...

At every stop during his recent trips abroad, President Obama went out of his way to assure observers that he is the un-Bush: a pragmatist rather than an ideologue, with both his feet firmly planted in the reality-based world. (CNN) -- At every stop during his recent trips abroad, President Obama went out of his way to assure observers that he is the un-Bush: a pragmatist rather than an ideologue, with both his feet firmly planted in the reality-based ...

President Obama said Sunday the 34-nation Summit of the Americas was a "very productive" meeting that proved hemispheric progress is possible if countries set aside "stale debates and old ideologies." Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the summit, Obama cited a potential thaw in relations between the United States and longtime adversaries Cuba and Venezuela, but said the ultimate test "is not simply words, but deeds." Leaders did not "see eye to eye" on some important issues, but ...

The reek of unwashed toilets spilled into the street in the neighborhood of unpainted cinder block houses. Out on the main road, hundreds of residents banged plastic buckets and blocked the path of irate drivers while children scoured the surrounding area for government trucks. Finally, the impatient crowd launched into a high-pitched chant, repeating one word at fever pitch: "Water, Water, Water!" About five million people, or a quarter of the population of Mexico City's urban sprawl, woke up Thursday ...

A large ice shelf is "imminently" close to breaking away from part of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists said Friday. Satellite images released by the European Space Agency on Friday show new cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf where it connects to Charcot Island, a piece of land considered part of the peninsula. The cracks are quickly expanding, the ESA said. Scientists are investigating the causes for the breakups and whether it is linked to global climate change. The ...

Arctic reindeer herders in northern Scandinavia are getting a view from space to help them look after their herds as the region copes with climate change. Using satellite-based snow melt maps supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) backed program Polar View, herders are able to view the depth of snow and judge where the best foraging spots are to take their reindeer. "Snow is of paramount importance for reindeer herding, because its quality determines whether reindeer are ...

President Barack Obama loves to talk about the great promise of energy reform, but all it takes is one glance down Pennsylvania Avenue to get a sense of the pitfalls of such ambitious designs. That was especially clear on Tuesday, as Congress ran both hot and cold on legislation to fight global warming. The House produced a long-awaited bill to regulate 85% of ...

A helicopter believed to have 16 people aboard ditched Wednesday in the North Sea, 35 miles off the northeastern coast of Scotland, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said. The announcement came after Obama and Medvedev met in London ahead of Thursday's G-20 summit. The statement said the two leaders agreed that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms -- which expires in December -- "has completely fulfilled its intended purpose and that the ...

Social networking Web sites are set to play a crucial role in protests ahead of next week's G20 meeting of world leaders in London as demonstration organizers and police use Twitter and Facebook as key sources of real-time information and intelligence. Metropolitan Police leaders have warned that the city faces an "unprecedented" wave of protest in the run-up to Thursday's summit talks on the state of the global economy and are set to deploy huge numbers of officers to maintain ...

It's been two years since the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change laid out the definitive case that human beings were causing global warming, and two decades since NASA scientist James Hansen first told Congress of the threat of rising CO2 emissions. So, why has it taken this long for the Environmental Protection Agency to announce that greenhouse gases endanger human health? Change can be slow in Washington. On March 20 the EPA sent what is called an "endangerment ...