"The man nominated by President Barack Obama to administer the Endangered Species Act rarely used it to protect species, according to agency statistics released Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility."

"The federal government today issued five leases to allow wind-energy companies to explore the possibility of building wind farms off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware."

"The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will evaluate older coal-fired power plants for compliance with today's federal air quality standards, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced today. The state will survey air pollution from facilities throughout Virginia that were initially grandfathered by the 1970 federal Clean Air Act."

"A coalition of environmental groups today formally asked three federal agencies to make public the list of 44 coal ash disposal sites across the country that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classed as 'high hazard.'"

"The Agriculture Department will have the lead role in overseeing agriculture offsets under the House climate bill...."

"Three-quarters of Americans think the federal government should regulate the release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories to reduce global warming, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll...."

Southerners are looking to their forests for alternative fuel.

Advanced geothermal technology -- deep drilling to fracture rock far underground -- threatens to cause earthquakes when deployed along faults. The Energy Department is funding private firms to try such projects in the U.S.