Despite the fact that some of the effects of climate change are still imperceptible to all but the most highly trained eyes, there can be no doubting the alarming picture painted by glacier melt. As these rivers of ice retreat back up the valleys they carved out, so scientists' knowledge of climate change advances, in turn helping us recognize the signs of a warming world. Now a new iPhone app is helping visitors to the Swiss Alps understand how climate ...

The unveiling Wednesday morning of the Senate's long-awaited draft legislation to reduce U.S. carbon emissions and shift the country to a clean-energy economy signals that Washington is inching ever closer to addressing global warming. The sweeping bill, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, will cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 83% by 2050 — targets that in the short-term are a bit more ambitious than a similar carbon cap and ...

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Iran broke the law by not disclosing sooner its recently revealed uranium enrichment site. "Iran was supposed to inform us on the day it was decided to construct the facility. They have not done that," International Atomic Energy Agency's Mohamed El Baradei told CNN's sister station, CNN-IBN. "They are saying that this was meant to be a back-up facility in case we were attacked and so they could not tell ...

Iran will soon tell the International Atomic Energy Agency when it can inspect the Islamic republic's recently revealed nuclear facility, the country's state-run Press TV reported. The head of Iran's nuclear program made the announcement in an interview with Press TV on Monday, but he did not give a timetable for the potential inspection. Iran revealed the existence of the covert uranium enrichment site last week, drawing condemnation from the West. The country has also launched a series of missile ...

Iran test fired a long-range Shahab-3 missile on Monday, state-run Press TV reported. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a series of missile exercises Sunday to promote the armed forces' defense capabilities. The tests, which are expected to conclude on Monday, are codenamed "Payghambar-e Azam 4" or "The Great Prophet 4," Press TV said. Shahab-3 missiles are touted by Iran as being able to strike targets within a range of about 800 to 1,250 miles (1,300 to 2,000 kilometers). The ...

The United States, France and Britain have presented "detailed evidence" to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog that "Iran has been building a covert uranium enrichment facility," President Obama said Friday before the start of the G-20 economic summit. Iran's newly unveiled uranium enrichment facility "is inconsistent with a peaceful (nuclear) program," Obama said. "Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow," he said. He called on Iran to "take concrete steps" to demonstrate it will comply with its international ...

Chinese President Hu Jintao told a U.N. summit on climate change Tuesday that China will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase reliance on clean energy sources in coming years. In what was called the first speech on climate change by a Chinese leader at the United Nations, Hu outlined some specific steps but provided no firm target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. As one of the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitters, China is a major ...

Through all the sessions and workshops at the Clinton Global Initiative, the financial crisis was undeniably the elephant in the room. For most, philanthropy had taken a back seat to the economic situation. All the attention now was squarely focused on how the world economy will play out. So perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated sessions was the one entirely dedicated to this all-consuming turmoil. Twin crises Leading finance prophets dissected and debated the issues with ...

Spanish energy company Repsol announced Friday a large natural gas find off the coast of Venezuela and visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was immediately informed, a Repsol spokesman told CNN. "We've just found this out," said the spokesman, Kristian Rix, in a phone call with CNN. Repsol believes the discovery might amount to 7 or 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which would be the equivalent of up to 1.44 billion barrels of oil, Rix said. But he cautioned, ...

If you listen to inventor Dean Kamen, the biggest health problem facing the world today is not AIDS, obesity or malnutrition. It's a shortage of water. Water is the most abundant resource on the planet, yet less than one percent of the Earth's freshwater supply is readily available to drink, according to the World Health Organization. Lack of accessible or clean drinking water, exacerbated by drought, is crippling communities in many developing countries. "In your lifetime, my lifetime, we will ...