"The U.S., European Union and 12 of the world's largest nations plan to embrace 'an aspirational goal' of reducing emissions of global-warming gases by 50% by 2050, according to a draft declaration by world leaders set for release next week in Italy."

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed the federal lawsuit on ocean acidification, charging that the EPA has failed to comply with its mandate under the Clean Water Act to protect Washington State’s ocean waters from excessive CO2.

California this week put in place the toughest restrictions in the world on smog from ships, requiring reductions of more than 80 percent of soot from foreign and US ships out to 24 miles from shore. Tankers, cargo vessels and cruise ships burn bunker fuel, which has sulfur content as much as 1,000 times higher than on-road diesel. The US is moving forward to copy California's rules by 2015. Paul Rogers reports in the San Jose Mercury News.

"A unique partnership between University of Vermont researchers and a federal farm program is providing time and space for grassland songbirds to reproduce on land where their nests usually are destroyed by haying."

"People in North Texas worry about tornadoes, not earthquakes. That's not the case in the small town of Cleburne, just south of Fort Worth. They've had six quakes so far this month. Cleburne happens to sit on a huge, recently discovered natural gas deposit called Barnett Shale. There's been a lot of drilling, and some people wonder if that has triggered the earthquakes."

"Two of Florida's top politicians are pushing state and federal regulators to approve a taxpayer-funded breakwater that would slow down, but not stop, erosion threatening expensive Palm Beach County condos. But biologists fear the breakwater will block sea turtles from one of the most important nesting beaches in the state."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing tougher rules to reduce air pollution from large oceangoing ships, including oil tankers and cargo vessels."

If the United States wants to build a market-based approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it should learn from Europe's failures.

"California officials said Wednesday they are trying to avert the federal government's threat to seize six parks that could be closed to help reduce the state's ballooning budget deficit."

"When you hear about dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, they’re largely caused by pollution draining from the farm belt. It can take a long time and a lot of money to reduce pollution at factories. So they’re starting to pay farmers to cut pollution instead."

"Advocates and U.S. government agree to list the gray wolf as "threatened" in Minnesota and to put ones in Wisconsin and Michigan on the endangered list."

"The American chestnut tree, which towered over eastern U.S. forests before succumbing to a deadly fungus in the early 20th century, appears to be an excellent sponge for greenhouse gases, according to a new study."

The offshore wind farms that were to replace Germany's nuclear and coal-fired power plants aren’t coming online quickly enough.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a proposed settlement of a lawsuit that could result in scrutiny of how dozens of dangerous pesticides affect threatened and endangered species living around San Francisco Bay."

"A federal judge sided with environmentalists yesterday and threw out Bush-era Forest Service regulations that govern management plans for national forests."