"Feb. 28, 2010, was a banner day for Texas wind to set the clouds -- and electrons -- flying. In the Panhandle, gusts reached 47 miles per hour and wind generators delivered a record 6,242 megawatts of power to Dallas, Austin and other population centers. At 1 p.m., 22 percent of all the electricity consumed in the Texas grid was coming from wind."

"The corals, whales and giant clams of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are in the path of a 'coal highway' to China that may see shipments jump 67 percent by 2016, increasing the threat of an ecological disaster after a coal carrier ran aground last week."

"Seventy-five years have passed since the worst of the Dust Bowl, a relentless series of dust storms that ravaged farms and livelihoods in the southern Great Plains that carried a layer of silt as far east as New York City. Today, the lessons learned during that era are more relevant than ever as impending water shortages and more severe droughts threaten broad swaths of the nation."

"In a landmark ruling on contaminated Chinese drywall, a federal judge in New Orleans awarded $2.6 million in damages Thursday to the owners of seven Virginia homes ruined by the tainted wallboard."