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"When armed anti-federal government militiamen occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, they added strain to Harney County, Oregon’s already-weighty list of woes, which include a shrunken economy and the decline of a once-abundant timber industry."

"Suspicion over federal plans to restore endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest has spread to Colorado and Utah, where ranchers and officials are fiercely resisting any attempt to import the predators."

"Gov. Charlie Baker still remembers the case of Pittsfield and GE from his first tour of duty in state government."

"In Oklahoma, now the country's earthquake capital, people are talking nervously about the big one as man-made quakes get stronger, more frequent and closer to major population centers. Next door in Kansas, they're feeling on firmer ground though no one is ready yet to declare victory."

"Public enemy No. 1 for climate change and no longer the fossil fuel utilities prefer to burn to generate electricity, coal has few allies these days. But one state is still fighting to save the industry: Wyoming."

"A government watchdog agency has filed an objection to Alpha Natural Resources' proposal to pay executive bonuses of up to $11.9 million in 2016, arguing the bankrupt coal company cannot justify the additional pay at a time when it has recorded steep losses and sought to cut retiree benefits. "

"The controversial Mount Polley mine received both millions of dollars in contracts and a written warning from Canada’s environment department prior to a massive breach of a dam with mining waste in 2014, according to a newly released federal memorandum."

"About 14 million people face hunger in Southern Africa because of a drought that has been exacerbated by an El Nino weather pattern, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday."

"The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997, a study released Monday showed."