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Deforestation due to palm oil production is the single biggest threat to orangutans, but new deforestation-free standards that cover about 60% of the industry could help secure the primate's future. "We can now break the link between palm oil and the extinction of orangutans," says Michelle Desilets, executive director of the Orangutan Land Trust.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is ending more than a century where elephant acts were a defining mark of the circus. It is a smart business and political move, one that reflects a deeper change in cultural preferences. Even if animal rights activists motivated the change, in the long run it will likely attract more people more frequently to the circus, and reduce political and reputational risks to the company.

Almost two-thirds of companies say water shortages could affect business operations over the next five years, according to the CDP Global Water Report. That's driving shareholders to insist that companies plan for dealing with water scarcity. "It doesn't take many shareholders, especially big ones, to ask a few questions ... about water to make a company to do something," says Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International

The Obama administration's rule leans heavily on renewable energy to meet its goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by 2030, which is an increase of 2 percentage points from the draft it released in the summer of 2014. While states have two additional years until they must begin cutting emissions - 2022 instead of 2020 - they are expected to start devising ways to improve their environments, which will focus on shifting to cleaner burning fuels and away from carbon-heavy ones. "The trend we are on will get us there," says Rob Gramlich, senior vice president for government affairs at the American Wind Energy Association, in a phone interview. "As the nation moves from coal to gas, and as it adds more wind, solar and energy efficiency, we will reach that 32 percent target."

The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan rule will require states to begin cutting carbon emissions by 2022. "The trend we are on will get us there. As the nation moves from coal to gas, and as it adds more wind, solar and energy efficiency, we will reach that 32% target," said Rob Gramlich of the American Wind Energy Association. To comply, states can choose among options including boosting renewables, improving heat rates for coal-fired steam generators, and using more nuclear energy and lower-emitting natural gas. Forbes (8/4) 

Rocky Mountain Institute's Amory Lovins comments on the instability of oil prices and explains why efficiency and renewables are cheaper, cleaner, more reliable options. 

The Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership wrote a letter to government officials around the world on Sunday asking for long-term policies that support low-carbon energy sources. The partnership is composed of CEOs and chairmen from 11 of the world's largest utilities, including American Electric Power and Iberdrola. The companies said they generated about one-third of the world's electricity in 2014, 60% of which came from clean energy sources such as wind and solar.