A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States.

Washington's move last week to delay a decision on a contentious pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the Gulf of Mexico has added fresh impetus to a drive by Canada to lessen its dependence on the valuable but increasingly unreliable US market. "We