"Sally Jewell's first political test as President Obama's nominee for Interior secretary comes Thursday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where she will be grilled on how she plans to run the $12 billion agency that controls one-fifth of the U.S. landmass and nearly all of its oceans."

"WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Monday named two people to his cabinet who will be charged with making good on his threat to use the powers of the executive branch to tackle climate change and energy policy if Congress does not act quickly."

"Crop-friendly snowfall will be moving from the Northern Plains into the central and eastern Midwest overnight Monday and Tuesday, leaving up to an additional six to eight inches of snow, an agricultural meteorologist said on Monday."

"In storm-battered Virginia, the Republican candidate for governor still doubts the science."

"A dark realm far beneath the Earth's surface is a surprisingly rich home for tiny worms and 'zombie microbes' that may hold clues to the origins of life, scientists said on Monday."

"Two guys in a black Pontiac Vibe cruise the streets of Washington’s residential neighborhoods. The only sign of what they are up to is a gray plastic tube hanging out of the trunk. And the fact that they get out of the car frequently to place a black box on manhole covers and study its readings."

"The threat of extinction is growing for African forest elephants, according to a study released at the Cites summit in Bangkok."

"LAUREL, Md. -- NASA’s twin Van Allen Probes, robotic satellites launched last August, have now revealed a previously unknown third radiation belt around the Earth."

"Forty years ago, when North Carolina banned using deep wells to permanently dump industrial waste, some thought the issue had been decided for good. Now state lawmakers who want to turn North Carolina into the nation’s next fracking hotspot are reopening the case for injecting brines and toxins deep underground."

"Offshore wind turbines are vulnerable to sudden and catastrophic destruction in moderately stormy seas, according to new research."

"The effects of climate change on the food supply exacerbated the underlying tensions that have led to ongoing Middle East instability."

"Environmentalists have a hope. If they can block the Keystone XL pipeline, they can keep Canada from developing more of its dirty tar sands oil. It takes a lot of energy to get it out of the ground and turn it into gasoline, so it has a bigger greenhouse gas footprint than conventional oil. But the State Department report, which was released Friday, says Keystone won't have much of an impact on the development of that oil from Alberta."

"At 5pm on Friday afternoon, The New York Times posted the following announcement: 'The Times is discontinuing the Green blog, which was created to track environmental and energy news and to foster lively discussion of developments in both areas. This change will allow us to direct production resources to other online projects. But we will forge ahead with our aggressive reporting on environmental and energy topics, including climate change, land use, threatened ecosystems, government policy, the fossil fuel industries, the growing renewables sector and consumer choices.'"

"Even if foes of the Keystone XL pipeline block it, companies seeking to get Canada’s oil sands to U.S. and world markets could travel the old-fashioned way: by rail."

"Tucked away in northeast Texas, Lake Gilmer was the last major reservoir built in the state, more than a decade ago. Local officials said they had intended to share construction costs and water with a new power plant, but the power company backed out, leaving the City of Gilmer with the bill."