"Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today unveiled legislation to revamp management of 8.3 million acres in six national forests in eastern Oregon with the backing of both timber and conservation groups that have long battled over the land."

"Facing antitrust scrutiny over its practices in the biotechnology seed business, Monsanto has said it will not stand in the way of farmers eventually using lower cost alternatives to its genetically modified soybeans."

"The White House is promoting a $5 billion increase in tax breaks for clean energy manufacturing in hopes of contributing to job growth and expanded use of renewable energy."

"The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal."

"In a little more than a year, a regional push to cap greenhouse gases has raised millions for Maryland energy programs, with supporters calling it a model for easing climate change on a national or even global scale."

"In New Mexico, a tribal attempt to protect Mount Taylor sparks a battle over ancient claims to the land."

"Around the world, whenever airborne particles increase, so do deaths from heart and lung diseases. Now new evidence is emerging that some particles may be more dangerous than others. A growing body of research – much of it in New York City – suggests that breathing nickel and other metals may put acute stress on the lungs and heart, resulting in illnesses and deaths at particulate levels below national standards."

"In 2005 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management offered up thousands of acres of federal land in Colorado to drilling. Because the land was in the heart of an area that supplies drinking water to 55,000 people in the western part of the state, the plan drew stong opposition from local communities."

The effluent stream of an East Chicago, Indiana, wastewater treatment plant is clean enough to fool salmon into spawning there.

"President Obama will not arrive at the Copenhagen climate summit until Friday, its final day, but he worked the phones Monday to push world leaders to cut a deal on a new global-warming agreement."

"Sammy Haddock started working with elephants when he joined the circus at 20, in 1976, a young man's dream. He walked them, groomed them, cleaned up after them. More than once, he later confessed, he beat them."

"Large swaths of toxic algae have punished U.S. coastal towns at record levels this year, shutting down shellfish harvests and sickening swimmers from Maine to Texas to Seattle."

"It is not easy to reinvent the wheel, but researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are giving it their best shot."

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.

"Rates of black-lung disease are growing, most notably among younger miners, reversing decades of progress and prompting more federal scrutiny and calls to lower exposure to coal dust."