National (U.S.)

"Top Republican presidential candidates blasted the Obama administration’s landmark climate rule for power plants."

"First, the National Park Service said it would cut back on selling its visitors bottled water to reduce the litter left behind. Now, Congress — under pressure from the powerful bottled water industry — is threatening to cut off the federal money the Park Service is using to replace the disposable plastic water bottles with refilling stations."

"As we sip our lattes and espressos and read the daily headlines, climate change can seem like a distant threat.  But travel a few thousand miles to the source of your caffeine fix, and the turbulence is all too real."

"The bankruptcy filing by Alpha Natural Resources comes on the same day that the Obama administration released its Clean Power Plan, which calls for more reliance on renewable energy sources."

"Greater sage grouse numbers in the West have grown by nearly two-thirds since 2013, marking what could be a significant rebound to the bird's previous several years of decline, according to scientists in Western states."

"A device commonly used to measure the methane that leaks from industrial sources may greatly underestimate those emissions, said an inventor of the technology that the device relies on."

"Two years after President Obama issued a landmark executive order setting federal priorities for advancing chemical security, a slew of agencies continue to plod toward regulatory changes, to the frustration of some environment and public health organizations that would like to see faster improvements."

"The U.S. has more than 11,000 flood control dams. Many were built more than half a century ago, and delayed maintenance is starting to catch up with them. The problem is particularly acute in Oklahoma, which has more than 2000 dams and which, this year, has record rainfall."

"Lawmakers are primed for a fight over the future of a critical environmental conservation program."

"NEW YORK -- Several news organizations gained rare access Saturday into a private gathering of influential Republican donors hosted by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit organization backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch. But journalists covering the three-day event, held at a luxurious California resort, had to agree to an unusual restriction. They weren’t allowed to report the names of any of the 450 donors attending without the individual’s permission."