"The federal government is taking a new approach to conservation with a $1.2 billion program in the Farm Bill that will include competitive grants for soil and water improvements in eight regions, including the longleaf pine forests of North Carolina and other Southern states, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday.

'This is a new day,' Vilsack said in an interview.

"The world's food supplies are at risk because farmland is becoming rapidly concentrated in the hands of wealthy elites and corporations, a study has found."

"A vast peatland has been discovered in a remote part of Congo-Brazzaville."

"Ecuador’s government has issued an environmental permit for oil drilling in the pristine Amazon reserve that President Rafael Correa initially offered to exempt from exploration if rich countries would pay his government."

""President Barack Obama signed a proclamation Wednesday formally designating nearly half a million acres of land in Doña Ana County as a national monument — a move that comes after years of heated local debate over the proposal."

"Louisiana Republicans work to quash lawsuits seeking oil and gas industry funds to restore the coastline."

"President Barack Obama plans to announce a new national monument on Wednesday, protecting nearly half a million acres in southern New Mexico."

"Saying there’s a 'race against time,' an advocacy group said this week that climate change – leading to sea level rise and worsening wildfires – is putting some of the nation’s most significant historical sites at risk."