"California launched an ambitious effort Wednesday to expand renewable energy and increase energy efficiency, advancing Gov. Jerry Brown's plans for battling climate change."

"New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests pregnant women living near fracking wells in Pennsylvania are more likely to give birth prematurely or have high risk pregnancies."

"Environmental groups filed a lawsuit to try to put a wrench in an Oakland developer's plans to ship coal through the city."

"A lawsuit by WildEarth Guardians claims regulators ignore climate impacts in approving mine expansions on federal land in the Rocky Mountains."

"Republican senators repeatedly pushed the secretary of Energy Tuesday to support lifting the ban on oil exports and explain why President Obama does not agree."

"Deep in the thickly forested hills in its east, India last month started production at what it hopes will in five years be Asia's biggest coal mine."

"The Senate Finance Committee opened a probe Tuesday into Volkswagen's use of a federal tax credit intended for fuel-efficient cars as the company's emissions-rigging scandal widened."

"Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank, said it will cut back on financing for coal mining projects, in the latest blow to the industry that’s viewed as a key contributor to global warming."

"After watching the price of oil and the size of their profits plunge, a dozen top executives from some of the nation’s largest oil exploration companies flew to Washington late last winter on an urgent mission: push Congress and the White House to allow unlimited exports of American crude oil."

"The Justice Department unveiled final details of a record-setting civil settlement with BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a deal the department said would ultimately cost the London-based oil giant $20.8 billion."