"Industry officials applauded the Obama administration plans to open East Coast waters to oil exploration Tuesday while coastal residents warned about dangers to wildlife, natural beauty and tourism."

"Political pressure continues to build on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar  as he prepares to announce his decision this week on the fate of a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., that has been stalled for nine years."

An in-depth look at the Grand Canyon ecosystem reveals an unprecedented convergence of threats.

National Geographic takes a breathtaking look at Mount St. Helens, and the Washington ecosystem around it, both as it was before the devastating volcanic eruption of 30 years ago and as it is today after recovery.

"Seventy-five years have passed since the worst of the Dust Bowl, a relentless series of dust storms that ravaged farms and livelihoods in the southern Great Plains that carried a layer of silt as far east as New York City. Today, the lessons learned during that era are more relevant than ever as impending water shortages and more severe droughts threaten broad swaths of the nation."

"Federal government scientists say a 'growing body of evidence' shows that mountaintop removal coal mining is destroying Appalachian forests and dangerously polluting vital headwater streams."

"The drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the planet's most shocking environmental disasters, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday as he urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the problem."

"The Obama administration on Thursday imposed strict new environmental guidelines that are expected to sharply curtail 'mountaintop' coal mining, a controversial practice that has enriched Appalachia's economy while rearranging its topography."

"CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- The federal government cleared the way for the expansion of one of the nation's biggest coal mines Thursday over the concerns of environmentalists who said the coal could contribute to climate change."

"Shell Oil has crossed another hurdle in its plans to drill three exploratory petroleum wells in the Arctic Ocean. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it had approved a clean air permit for Shell to operate its drilling ship in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast."

"FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. --  The challenges facing a proposed coal-fired power plant on the country's largest Indian reservation are stark: the withdrawal of a key federal permit, no secured customer or transmission line, and uncertainty over the future of climate change.

The Navajo Nation acknowledges the challenges, but both the tribe and its partner in building the $3 billion, 1,500-megawatt Desert Rock Energy Project say they are committed to moving forward. Environmentalists who have fought the project contend it will be nearly impossible to do so."

"The topmost peak of Ontario's most outstanding geologic feature, the Niagara Escarpment, is under threat from two proposed quarries. But now the quarriers must deal with the massed opposition of a national nonprofit organization, a provincial regulatory agency and two local community groups."

"The Obama administration on Friday moved another step toward blocking the largest mountaintop-removal mining permit in West Virginia history."

"An energy company with government approvals to launch the first significant U.S. oil sands project is trying to raise money to build a plant in eastern Utah that would turn out 2,000 barrels of oil a day."

"Water quality downstream from surface coal-mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky greatly exceeds recommended toxicity limits, according to previously unreleased sampling data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."