Gov. Charlie Crist says the state needs to find new energy sources and combat climate change.
Crist told about 600 participants of the conference that Florida already is feeling harmful effects from global warming.

“Due to declining rainfall, parts of Florida … are currently experiencing long-term drought conditions,” he said.

As one solution, Crist said: “Florida will pursue global solar energy sources. After all, we are the Sunshine State.”

Among other energy sources the state needs to utilize more: wind, ethanol and hydrogen, Crist said. Read more>

A homegrown peace agreement this spring has led to a softening of rhetoric on all sides. Perhaps best known for fomenting political violence on the streets of Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, members of the pro-government Young Patriots group now sport T-shirts with slogans such as “Ivory Coast is back” and “Take my hand, caravan of peace.” It’s the latest sign that peace is breaking out in this war-torn West African country. Read more>

Gas-guzzlers rule in Montana, but one salesman is trying to grow a niche market for the environmentally friendly Zenn car. Read more>

Fewer high school students were having sex and more were using condoms in 2005, according to the latest government report on the well-being of the nation’s children. The teenage birthrate hit a record low. More young people were finishing high school, and more tots were being read to. Read more>

Experts say the conference will probably be a combination of political deal-making, cease-fire talks and a massive group therapy session.

Formal repentance and forgiveness are sometimes more important to resolving disputes in Somalian culture than dividing up power and money, experts say. Many say an official reconciliation among Somalia’s warring clans is the missing ingredient that has prevented the Horn of Africa nation from restoring peace and security since the 1991 collapse of the Mohamed Siad Barre dictatorship. Read more>

Shipping lanes near Boston’s busy port take a detour to try to prevent ship-whale collisions. Instead of frolicking and feeding in the middle of a dangerous ocean “highway” filled with massive cargo ships with sharp propellers, endangered humpback whales named Echo, Owl, Glo, and Pepper now find themselves on a much safer shoulder. Read more>

The heat wave hitting the Sun Belt’s homeless population is being met with new rigor. “The community responded,” says Jacki Taylor of the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness. “And not just in Phoenix. There’s been a statewide effort to reach out and help care for our men, women, and children on the streets.” Read more>

On July 1, England joined the rest of the United Kingdom in making enclosed public areas smoke-free. Much of the rest of the world has already introduced similar legislation. Ireland became the first country to impose a comprehensive ban in 2004, followed by New Zealand, Italy, and Sweden. Now, most of Western Europe has antismoking legislation, but only Ireland and the other parts of the UK go as far as England in making no allowance for separate smoking areas. Read more>

Archaeology and cultural officials in Nepal have welcomed a decision to remove seven historic monuments from a list of world heritage sites in danger. The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) listed seven monuments in the Kathmandu valley as endangered in July 1993. It said they were being threatened by high-rise constructions. The Nepalese government has welcomed the latest move, saying it will work harder to conserve ancient buildings. Read more>

Republican support for the Iraq war is slipping by the day. After four years of combat and more than 3,560 U.S. deaths, two Republican senators previously reluctant to challenge President Bush on the war announced they could no longer support the deployment of 157,000 troops and asked the president to begin bringing them home. Read more>