"Rows of tall turbines have already remade the landscape on wheat farms and ridgelines on private land around the region. But so far there have been no wind farms built on public land in the Northwest. That's about to change."

"For some of its beverages, The Coca-Cola Company is introducing a new type of plastic bottle made partially from plants."

"The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill by a vote of 33-25 on Thursday evening. It’s a landmark occasion, the first time a serious climate bill has made it this far in the House."

"Nearly 200 million acres of public lands, mostly in the West, could become prime generators of emissions-free electricity by extracting steam heat from the earth's core to drive electric turbines."

"A measure requiring utilities to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, overcame a legislative hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Thursday."

"The Michigan Legislature may soon create a fund to loan schools money to build windmills, solar panels or other sources of alternative energy."

The Cape Wind project to build a wind farm in Nantucket Sound won approval of a key permit from Massachusetts.

Some people are starting to weigh the environmental costs of caskets and other trappings of traditional funerals. And they have found alternatives.

"Forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say they are expecting an average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with four to seven hurricanes."

"The U.S. government will reverse a Bush administration policy and increase the role of scientists in setting air standards for criteria pollutants harmful to human health, Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the EPA, said."

"A new $6 million federal grant could be the first step toward declaring a public health emergency in asbestos-contaminated Libby, Mont., the state's senior senator said Thursday."

"Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday ordered [Washington] state to reach agreement with its single largest polluter to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by half over the next 15 years."

"The Senate yesterday unanimously approved three top-level Energy Department nominees and one Interior Department nominee."

"The Senate confirmed David J. Hayes as a top Interior Department deputy last night as two Republican senators ended a standoff with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that had held up Hayes's nomination."

In the House climate bill, "consumers would receive around $750 billion in direct and indirect handouts and subsidies through 2030 to offset the higher energy costs."