NEW YORK - Institutional investors are urging companies to measure, disclose and reduce their use of water to reduce long-term financial risks as supplies dry up from overuse and as higher temperatures melt glaciers away.

"Companies need to be analyzing their water risk ... and to find ways to conserve water and minimize the opportunities for literally having their business shut down," Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of investors.

Apple Inc. had its shareholder meeting Wednesday and the media focused on the absence of its charismatic leader Steve Jobs. But there's an even more famous guy associated with Apple. Al Gore is one of my heroes. As a journalist, I covered him as a Senator 20 years ago in Washington. He was light years ahead of his colleagues on so many environmental issues -- and still is. But I'm scratching my head to understand what is going on with Gore and Apple, where he serves on the board.

Major multinational food and drink companies have a powerful role to play as drivers of economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. By sourcing materials from poor countries in the region, for sale in domestic and international markets, these businesses can create jobs for local people and boost agricultural production.

Global companies are starting to integrate the poor into their value chains as suppliers, distributors and retailers in ways that are profitable for their business.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States and China should hold a summit featuring an agreement on climate change, helping to create international support for a new global pact by the end of 2009, a former White House adviser said on Thursday.

China and the United States have often been icy rivals over trade and security, and they are also the world's top two emitters of the greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels that are stoking global warming.

Eastern DRC – Mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been seen by park rangers for the first time since the rangers were forced out of areas of Virunga National Park by Laurent Nkunda’s army 15 months ago.

Virunga National Park director, Emmanuel de Merode, successfully negotiated with Nkunda and got confirmation that Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) would be allowed to reenter and work in the southern part of the park.

The new year has started amid a global recession, making many people hesitant to even say, "A happy New Year." The biggest problem is the economy. Frankly speaking, the government should take the initiative to improve the situation.

From promises of "green jobs" on the U.S. campaign trail to record-setting global investments in renewable energy, the year was marked by an international mobilization to address the world's most daunting environmental challenges and forge a green economy. While the science is clear that the time to address catastrophic climate change is now, a turbulent year - including food crises, natural disasters, and financial ruin - demonstrated the difficult road ahead.

Recent moves by lame-duck officials, though frustrating to environmentalists, offer the president-elect time and political cover to deliberately craft rules on emissions, energy lobbyists say.

Reporting from Washington -- President Bush could be forcing President-elect Barack Obama to act almost immediately to curb global warming, after years of the Bush administration fighting attempts to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Brasilia, Brazil: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon forests has flipped from a decreasing to an increasing trend, according to new annual figures released yesterday by the country's space agency INPE.

Commenting on the figures, Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc confirmed that the government will on Monday announce forest related carbon emission reduction targets, which will link halting deforestation to the national climate change campaign.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's supermarket chains resumed selling U.S. beef Thursday, nearly five months after the government lifted an import ban imposed over fears of mad cow disease.

South Korea banned American beef in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S. The government lifted that ban in June - a move that sparked weeks of violent protests by South Koreans concerned about the health risks of eating U.S. meat.

A super-efficient system that has the potential to power, heat and cool homes across the UK is being developed at Newcastle University.

It works by burning vegetable oil to power a generator and provide electricity for the home. The waste heat from this process is then used to provide heating and hot water and is also converted to cool a fridge.