Call for wildlife reserve to cover 30% of oceans: Scientists have called for almost a third of the world’s oceans to be turned into protected areas for marine wildlife — to maintain food supplies and stop damage to underwater habitats and wildlife. More than 250 scientists from around Europe signed a declaration yesterday to coincide with World Oceans Day. Guardian

A fair deal on climate change: The agreement on climate change reached at Heiligendamm by the G8 leaders merely sets the stage for the real debate to come: how will we divide up the diminishing capacity of the atmosphere to absorb our Greenhouse gases? The G8 leaders agreed to seek “substantial” cuts in Greenhouse gas emissions and to give “serious consideration” to the goal of halving such emissions by 2050 … yet the agreement commits no one to any specific targets, least of all the United States, whose president, George W. Bush, who will no longer be in office in 2009, when the tough decisions have to be made. Peter Singer in Daily Times

Conservationists fight to keep wind farms off Skyros: Residents on the remote Greek island of Skyros are engaged in a last-ditch fight to prevent the construction of one of the world’s largest wind farms on a protected nature reserve. The plans have pitched the country’s largest landowner, the Orthodox Church, against the islanders. Conservationists, echoing the debate across Europe, are split between those keen to expand Greece’s renewable energy production and those who argue the destruction in this case would too great. Independent

Liberal and Labor, make a call: how much heat can you stand?: What risk of a plane crashing do you accept before buying a ticket? If it was 85 per cent likely, you’d never fly; 10 per cent, or even 1 per cent, would be too much. Knowing that a plane might go down isn’t enough; we want to know the degree of risk. So it’s odd that we are prepared to make decisions about the planet’s future without knowing the risk or likelihood of catastrophic consequences if action is taken, or not taken. The Age

Thailand’s first nuclear plant: The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) plans to spend US$6 billion, or 204 billion baht, to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. In a speech yesterday, Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand stressed the need for developing nuclear energy as an alternative power option. Building a nuclear power plant is necessary, he said, given the rising demand for electricity and limited fuel options for generating affordable electricity in the future. Bangkok Post