Green light: Biodiversity, Gulf oil spill and aviation

Wildlife and conservation Thought climate change was the number one environment threat? Not so, says the UN, which claims the case for saving species is "more powerful than climate change". The warning comes as a species of grebe became extinct in Madagascar , UK honeybee numbers suffered further decline and it was revealed hippopotamus was on the menu at a Beijing zoo . Elsewhere in China, Jonathan Watts blogs on efforts by Beijing to place economic value on its forest ecosystems. BP oil spill latest BP came under increasing pressure this week as it prepared for a potentially risky 'top kill' procedure to plug the oil leak. The company faces an extra $60bn in legal costs , the White House has ordered the company to cut use of dispersant by half and under US pressure BP switched on live video from the leak . Meanwhile, oil reached the delicate wetlands of Louisiana . Climate change Airport operator bowed to the inevitable and scrapped Heathrow's third runway on Monday . Adam Vaughan looked at where the anti-aviation expansion movement goes next , now the "big beast is dead". And while a new poll by EDF suggests climate change concern is declining , youth activists stepped up the pressure on new parliamentarians with the launch of an 'adopt an MP' climate campaign . Multimedia Stunning yet depressing pictures emerged from the Gulf of Mexico this week. An audio slideshow by renowned photographer Daniel Beltra said 'if Exxon Valdez was a heart attack, Deepwater is a cancer' , while videos showed workers racing to keep oil off beaches as oil reached Louisiana marshland . Elsewhere, find out what the world's smallest wallaby looks like in our week in wildlife gallery , and watch Michael Tait's brilliant film on stalking deer in the Scottish Highlands . Green living Warnings that electric cars cannot cut CO2 emissions on their own , word that the electric car grant could be axed and a reader webchat with Nissan's 'Leaf' team provided an electric car bonanza this week. On the food front, research showed people want to buy sustainable fish but are bamboozled by labels , M&S started selling Fairtrade veg and Dan Welch of Ethical Consumer debates the merits of making cats and dogs vegetarian . You can also join Leo Hickman to answer this week's question: how green is the iPad? Best of the web On the Guardian Environment Network , Yale Environment 360 asks whether we can kick our addiction to flying , an ecologist tells IPS saving the world can be pleasurable and Sandbag warns the EU carbon trading scheme is failing to cut pollution . ... And finally Ever wondered why manatees are ignored in favour of meerkats? Turns out the cute and the furry attract scientists' attention and conservation funding, according to new analysis .