A freeze on new U.S. coal plants? Responding to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over a new coal plant being build on American Indian reservation land in Utah, the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board ruled that the EPA has no valid reason to refuse to regulate the CO2 emissions that come from new coal-powered plants. [News Source]

Third runway opponents see victory in concessions. A coalition of cities around Sea-Tac International Airport spent over $15 million to block construction of a third runway. Although they failed to stop it, opponents say they succeeded in wringing major environmental concessions from the Port of Seattle. [News Source]

Traffic pollution makes asthma symptoms worse in children: study. Traffic pollution, particularly in urban areas, exacerbates symptoms of asthma in children suffering from the respiratory illness, Mexican researchers said in a study published Thursday. [News Source]

COPD deaths increase among women. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of annual deaths in the United States due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rose by 8 percent, according to a report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. [News Source]

Cockroaches, mice increase kids asthma, allergies risk. A new study has shown that developing antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins is linked to a greater risk for wheeze, hay fever, and eczema in preschool urban children as young as three years of age. [News Source]

Climate change may carry huge price tag for California. About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to a report by UC Berkeley researchers. [News Source]

State panel ramps up emissions targets. The Governor's Commission on Climate Change finished its yearlong deliberations Thursday by adopting a more aggressive plan for fighting global warming than Gov. Timothy M. Kaine had suggested last year. [News Source]

Defeating air pollution requires joint front. Environmentalists have called on Asian nations to integrate their efforts to tackle climate change and reduce air pollution. [News Source]

Environment and safety highlight Fujitsu forum. With "green" and "safety" as this year's main themes, the forum will highlight eco-friendly and safety-enhanced technological solutions. [News Source]

Victoria leads Canada in green transport. Victoria has once again beat out cities many times its size and been ranked the greenest city to get around in Canada. [News Source]

China’s journey to the dark ages. In the skies over China and South Asia, the sun itself is disappearing. The biggest cities are becoming darker as they fall beneath a vast brown cloud of soot, and even North America is vulnerable to the drifting toxic cloud. [News Source]