"Lawmakers have agreed to lift the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports as part of a spending and tax package announced by congressional leadership on Tuesday night, according to a GOP lawmaker. In exchange, Republicans agreed to extend a series of expired or expiring renewable energy tax breaks."

"A landmark deal to curb global warming dented shares of fossil fuel companies and lifted renewable energy stocks on Monday, although some price swings were muted by the non-binding nature of the pact."

"Florida's Everglades has an ecosystem known for its sawgrass, cypress trees, alligators — and perhaps soon, oil wells."

"About 5,000 oil and gas wells sit on national wildlife refuges — some of the prettiest land that American taxpayers own — and more than a thousand of them are spewing oil and brine because regulations written a half-century ago don’t force owners to plug leaks that are harmful to animals."

"A contingent of powerful U.S. representatives are pressing the chief executives of six of the country's largest fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell, to answer questions about when the companies first understood that burning fossil fuels drives climate change and whether they became active partners in an effort to downplay the harm that could result."

"Global carbon dioxide emissions may be dropping ever so slightly this year, spurred by a dramatic plunge in Chinese pollution, according to a surprising new study released Monday."

"The Obama administration is concerned that a subsidy of coal mine cleanup could leave taxpayers with multibillion-dollar liabilities, a U.S. Interior Department official said on Tuesday."

"A months-long investigation shows how the energy giant pressured the Interior Department during the company's gung-ho Arctic push—and got most of what it wanted (except oil)."

"Last May, four months before the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell suspended exploration in offshore Alaska, Christopher Putnam needed to get something off his chest.

"Emission controls required on out-of-state power plants have yielded big reductions in mercury pollution in Western Maryland's air, a study has found. So far, however, the state's fish remain as contaminated with the toxic chemical as ever, researchers say."

"The Barnett Shale's emissions have been vastly underestimated, sweeping Environmental Defense Fund-backed study finds."