"The Interior Department is firing back at American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard, saying he made several 'inaccurate statements' yesterday when charging the Obama administration with slowing development of oil and gas resources."

"A day after delivering a State of the Union address aimed at showing recession-weary Americans he understands their struggles, President Barack Obama intends to award $8 billion in stimulus funds to develop high-speed rail corridors and sell the program as a jobs creator."

"Massey Energy President Don Blankenship and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday evening debated the future of coal and the science of climate change, agreeing on little but drawing still more national attention to the crucial issues that face the Appalachian coalfields."

"The three Republicans vying for the chance to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) this fall were tripping over themselves yesterday in a rush to capitalize on momentum generated by a rare special-election upset in a liberal stronghold 3,000 miles away."

"TVA's new spokesman — brought in to help rehab its credibility after the coal ash disaster — was enmeshed at his previous job at NASA in a Bush administration controversy in which climate change scientists said they were censored."

"The League of Conservation Voters on Thursday launched a $350,000 ad blitz for the Massachusetts special election that accuses Republican candidate Scott Brown of supporting 'Bush-Cheney policies' on energy."

After getting major concessions in return for bare acquiescence on the House climate bill, the nation's main agribusiness lobby declared it will try to kill climate legislation altogether in the Senate, using conservative rhetoric about a federal "power grab" and expressing doubt about whether human activities are causing global warming.

"Newly released federal documents have revealed some potentially inconvenient truths about the environmental impact of Alberta's oilsands industry, along with the risks and economic costs of the Harper government's climate change strategy."

"Former San Joaquin Valley congressman Richard Pombo will formally announce his comeback bid Tuesday, igniting a heated competition to replace retiring Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa."

Al Armendariz, the new EPA Regional Administrator for Texas and surrounding states, comes from a background as an environmental activist.

"A beef industry group has challenged a ruling by U.S. environmental regulators that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, saying the move would hurt agriculture."

"EPA Administrator Lisa Perez Jackson and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., reached a Christmas Eve accord that will give the National Academy of Sciences a role in the EPA's review of the risks of formaldehyde, and allowed the Senate to confirm Paul Anastas as the EPA's director of research and development."

House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) announced that he would retire at the end of this Congress. Gordon faced a strong GOP challenge. The Science Committee has jurisdiction over several key environmental issues.

"For eight months, the Quebec government has been holding on to a report that explores the link between asbestos-related cancer and Canada's only community that still mines the substance."

"A scientist who is one of the central figures in the uproar over pirated e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as the unit's director while the university investigates the incident."