Top news: Smoke rises from Fukushima; Greenpeace marks World Water Day; Google takes on climate change skeptics; deforestation continues in China; deepwater oil exploration approved in the Gulf of Mexico; Norway rejects oil drilling plan.

© Joseph Agcaoili / Greenpeace Greenpeace Water Patrol volunteers call for the elimination of toxic waste from the Marikina River, Philippines, for World Water Day.

#Nuclear: A fire at the Fukushima nuclear power interrupted efforts to cool the overheating reactors on Monday. Radiation levels reportedly spiked briefly, and engineers were again evacuated from the plant. The World Food Organisation has described the contamination of food with radioactive particles as “more serious” than first expected, and the Japanese government has halted some food shipments from four prefectures around the plant.

#Water: Happy World Water Day everyone! To mark the occasion, we’ve put up some of our best photos from our water campaigns around the world – have a look, and let us know what you think.

#Climate: Google has created a team of climate researchers to help communicate the science of global warming to the public and policy makers. Using new media, the Google Science Communication Fellows program aims to educate people about the dangers posed by rising global temperatures, and combat climate change skeptics in Washington. And it couldn’t have come at a better time: according to a recent poll, the proportion of Americans who are concerned about global warming has fallen to just 51 percent.

#Forests: Investigations led by Greenpeace have shown that deforestation is continuing in the Sichuan province in China, despite national forest protection policies. Illegal logging increases the risk of landslides in the mountainous area, and is destroying the habitat of rare wild animals including bears, leopards and deer.

#Oil: Seems that the folks in the US Interior Department have short memories. Yesterday, Shell’s plan for deepwater oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico was approved - the first since the catastrophic BP spill last summer.

#Oil: In contrast, Norway rejected a plan to drill for oil off its northern coast. Fears of a disaster like the Gulf of Mexico spill in such a delicate environment – home to a large seabird population and an important spawning ground for cod – contributed to the decision. Environment minister Erik Solheim said: “The chances for such an accident are small, but the consequences would be enormous.”

Got any good environmental stories or actions you want us to highlight? Let us know in the comments below.