"TXI will permanently shut down its four oldest, highest-polluting cement kilns in Midlothian and will stop burning hazardous waste as fuel, the Dallas-based company said Tuesday."

A wildfire near Flagstaff, Arizona, has reached 10,000 acres in size and is threatening hundreds of homes.

"A natural gas explosion in north Texas killed one member of a crew installing utility poles, and authorities were trying to figure out if the gas line had been marked before digging started."

"A seven-foot-tall Latin cross in the middle of both the Mojave Desert and a Supreme Court case on the separation of church and state has been stolen, federal officials said Tuesday."

"When you combine Albuquerque's few trees with the city's hot, dry and often windy weather, it could mean big problems for allergy sufferers. This despite a 1994 pollen-control ordinance that bars residents from planting certain types of trees."

"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 EPA  on Wednesday struck down a Texas air-pollution program that has let thousands of companies bypass rigorous reviews under the Clean Air Act."

"The city of Austin, Tex., [Thursday]  presented a wide-ranging list of recommendations for remaking its electricity system, including more energy efficiency measures and a change to the business model of the local utility."

"Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White earned more than $2.6 million serving on the board of a gas well servicing company that now is part of a congressional investigation into possible groundwater contamination."

"A federal judge in Houston on Tuesday shot down a mammoth $100 million December verdict against BP's Texas City refinery, cutting the award to less than half a million and dealing the British oil giant a rare legal victory as it struggles to overcome several years of problems at the plant."

"In a move that it says will save money and is a practical strategy for monitoring the state's waterways, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has proposed loosening its water quality standards."

"A federal appeals court this week moved to allow uranium mining operations in Churchrock, a Navajo community just east of Gallup, New Mexico."

They call it "wolf jail." Efforts to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf to a New Mexico border area depend on whether the wolves play by the rules.

"Texas, the nation's wind-power leader, set a new record for wind generation this morning, when -- at 6:37 a.m. -- about 19 percent of the electricity on the state's main grid was supplied by turbines."

"Just seven months after Arizona enacted a law that supporters said would help make the state the 'solar capital' of the nation, new legislation has been introduced that opponents maintain could kill the nascent industry."