There is a strong sense of déjà vu in the bleak picture that the International Energy Agency (IEA) -- sometimes described as "the rich world's energy watchdog" -- painted last week of likely global energy consumption over the next two decades.

Delegates at crucial U.N. talks on the causes and effects of global climate change are making slow progress with an agreement still some way off, sources close to the discussions said on Thursday.

A fuel oil spill from a Russian tanker into the Black Sea is killing dolphins and the nearby Sea of Azov may suffer heavy pollution if urgent measures are not taken, Russia's environment watchdog said on Thursday.

Loggerhead sea turtles are harmed most by commercial fishing gear, including longlines, gillnets, trawls, and scallop dredges. Additional threats to survival are beachfront development, pollution, motor vehicles crushing nests, collisions with boats.

The use of circular-shaped hooks lets fishing crews more easily remove hooks from the mouths of loggerhead, leatherback and other turtles caught up in long lines meant to catch fish and prevents them from bleeding to death.

"Climate activists have taken non-violent direct action to shut down the power station ... by locking onto the conveyor system and preventing coal from feeding the plant," Greenpeace Head of Campaigns Steve Campbell said in a statement.

In a report issued by the National Research Council, the scientists called on the Environmental Protection Agency to take a more aggressive role in enforcing the Clean Water Act, which aims to make U.S. waters "fishable and swimmable."

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. climate panel widens a definition of peacemaking and will raise pressure for the world to agree a new deal to combat global warming.

Jean-Louis Etienne said his 10,000 kilometer (6,214 mile) journey will serve as a benchmark for monitoring the impact of global warming on the North Pole.

Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. climate panel won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their part in galvanizing international action against global warming before it "moves beyond man's control".