Here are just a few environmental news headlines from this week…

Beijing Air Improves, Olympic Village Earns LEED Gold

Beijing’s air quality has improved, with the sky clearly visible today after rains on Sunday and Monday reduced the air pollution, heat and mugginess that made Olympic athletes, visitors and residents uncomfortable for days. The Beijing Olympic Village Wednesday received a LEED gold award from the U.S. Green Building Council, certifying that the buildings meet criteria for sustainability and energy efficiency.

Recovery Dawns for Humpbacks and Southern Right Whales

The humpback whale and other species of large whales are now more secure against extinction than they have been in the recent past, according to the latest cetacean update of the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species released on Tuesday by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. But while some large whales are doing better, most small coastal and freshwater cetaceans are moving closer to the brink.

Once Rare, Coastal Dead Zones Are Multiplying Worldwide

Around 1910, when scientists began studying the marine areas of low oxygen known as dead zones, there were only four of them worldwide. Now, there are 405 dead zones in the world’s coastal waters, covering a total area of 95,000 square miles, according to the latest research published today in the journal “Science.”