"While big oil and gas companies provided the cash for anti-regulation campaigns, the farm lobby offered up a sympathetic face: the American farmer."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) a financial hardship waiver this year temporarily freeing its Montana refinery from U.S. biofuel laws, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters."

"If the new Democratic House of Representatives brings back a panel to address global warming, the Tampa Bay area will have a prominent seat at the table. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is likely to chair the climate change committee if it materializes, giving the region a powerful voice in Congress' efforts to address this looming threat."

"President Donald Trump on Friday teed up an expected Senate vote on a stopgap government spending measure that includes the funds he sought for his border wall — and pressured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to "use the Nuclear Option" to get the bill passed."

"Donald Trump isn’t getting the “big, beautiful” wall he wants at the border with Mexico anytime this year. And it’s highly unlikely he’ll get it in 2019 or 2020."

"The White House’s nominee to head a top US conservation agency lacks her predecessors’ experience, while her political connections raise potential conflicts of interest, a Guardian analysis has found. Aurelia Skipwith, who started her career at the agrochemical giant Monsanto, has been nominated to lead the interior department’s Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species and wildlife refuges."

"Nine Eastern states have committed to cut transportation emissions in their region by designing a new cap-and-trade system. It's the latest and perhaps most significant example of states working together to fill a void left by the federal government to address climate change."

"WASHINGTON — The Trump administration released an “action plan” Wednesday against devastating childhood exposure to lead, but critics said it held little new to protect millions of American children living with high levels of the metal.

"About a dozen retailers have pledged to stop selling paint removal products that can kill their customers, but formal restrictions promised by a federal agency have yet to materialize."

"Michigan legislators were poised Tuesday to remove legal protections from many of the state’s wetlands and other inland waterways, which provide wildlife habitat and perform vital tasks such as preventing floods."