IN December 1997, representatives of most of the world's nations met in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate a binding agreement to cut emissions of "greenhouse" gases.

They succeeded. The Kyoto Protocol was ultimately ratified by 156 countries. It was the first agreement of its kind. But it may also prove to be the last.

Today, in the middle of new global warming talks in Montreal, there is a sense that the whole idea of global agreements to cut greenhouse gases won't work.

On Climate Change, a Change of Thinking

The Navy wants to increase its fleet to 313 ships by 2020, reversing years of decline in naval shipbuilding and adding dozens of warships designed to defeat emerging adversaries, senior Defense Department officials say.

Navy to Expand Fleet With New Enemies in Mind

Behind the headlines, however, intelligent design as a field of inquiry is failing to gain the traction its supporters had hoped for. It has gained little support among the academics who should have been its natural allies. And if the intelligent design proponents lose the case in Dover, there could be serious consequences for the movement's credibility.

Intelligent Design Might Be Meeting Its Maker

As an era of ordering TV shows at the push of a button gets underway, new challenges are clouding the landscape in the year ahead: What business models are going to work and who is going to get paid what?

Looking for the Proceeds in TV-on-Demand

Decius wrote:

A new front in the political wars over sex and violence in video games opened Tuesday when Senators Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman called for a new crackdown on the industry by the federal government.

Remember that a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for more of this kind of stuff. You know, children who are never exposed to reality and never have to make their own choices about right and wrong do a real good job of taking care of themselves when they go to college.

I guess it isn't really surprising that the whole Parents Music Resource Center flap with Tipper Gore and Jello Biafra from 20 years ago is playing itsself out again in the context of video games...

RE: Senators target 'graphic' video games | CNET News.com

The world's largest mass extinction was probably caused by poisonous volcanic gas, according to research published today.

No safe ground for life to stand on during world's largest mass extinction

A plan to charge an "iPod tax," or royalties on portable digital music players, unraveled Thursday after a government committee failed to reach agreement on the measure.

Plan for an 'iPod Tax' in Japan Unravels

Cows belching and breaking wind cause methane pollution but British scientists say they have developed a diet to make pastures smell like roses -- almost.

Cure for cow flatulence cooked up by scientists

The family of an Australian man convicted of drug trafficking visited him Thursday, hours before his scheduled execution, and Singapore's prime minister ruled out a reprieve. Nguyen Tuong Van is scheduled to hang early Friday morning (5 p.m. EST) at the maximum-security Changi Prison.

Singapore Leader Says Execution of Australian to Go Ahead

The Transportation Security Administration is making some of the most significant changes in the screening of airline passengers since procedures were revamped after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

What's so special about airplanes anyway?

Small Scissors in Your Carry-On? Welcome Aboard