International

"From the darkest to the most hopeful, media outlets take a look back on significant events that affected the environment in 2013."

"More analysts are urging investors to buy shares in Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) than at any time since October 2010 after the stock soared more than 400 percent over the past 12 months."

"CANBERRA, Australia -- The Governments of Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States have issued a joint statement condemning any actions at sea that may cause injury, loss of human life or damage to property or the marine environment during the 2013/14 Southern Ocean whaling season."

"It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 25 years since a cattle rancher ordered his son to shoot Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper and unionist who had become an effective international campaigner for sustainable use of the Amazon rain forest."

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian investigators have dropped charges against all but one of the 30 crew of a Greenpeace ship, who were accused of hooliganism following a protest outside a Russian oil rig in the Arctic, the group said Wednesday."

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will 'soon' pardon one of his sharpest critics — jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky — and said that a newly enacted amnesty law would free imprisoned Greenpeace activists and two members of the punk band Pussy Riot."

"How hot was November? NOAA says average global temperature, for water and land surfaces combined, was 56.6 degrees F (13.7 Celsius). It was the 37th consecutive November with above-average temperatures."

"When highly radioactive material that can be used in a 'dirty bomb' is moved to or from a hospital in New York City, it is done in the dead of night on cordoned streets with high security."

"LONDON — European food regulators said on Tuesday that a class of pesticides linked to the deaths of large numbers of honey bees might also harm human health, and they recommended that the European Commission further restrict their use."

"If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the ongoing noise about global warming, then you’ve heard of the so-called 'pause'. This is the idea that the planet hasn’t actually been warming for the past 15 years or so."