"Four previously abundant species of bumblebee are close to disappearing in the United States, researchers reported Monday in a study confirming that the agriculturally important bees are being affected worldwide."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), incoming chairman of the House Energy Committee, used to be in favor of reducing the carbon dioxide emissions which are the biggest cause of global warming. Now he is against it.

"The Obama administration today eased requirements for oil companies whose deepwater drilling activities were suspended by last year's moratorium imposed in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."

"U.S. EPA's plan to sidestep state officials and oversee climate rules in Texas has been temporarily blocked by a federal court, making the Lone Star State the only place where businesses cannot apply for greenhouse gas permits that the Obama administration now requires."

"The battle over whether oil companies should be allowed to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is nothing new — but the fight over nearby public land called the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is."

"Top 10 lists are often relentlessly negative: the 10 most-polluting industrial plants, the 10 most befouled beaches, and so on. The spirit of this list is slightly different: Good or bad, these are environmental moments in 2010 that are most likely to reverberate in the world of environmental news in 2011 and beyond."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will directly enforce new greenhouse-gas rules in parts of Arizona after the state refused to submit its own program for controlling the pollutants."

"The headline news for the coal industry in 2010 was what didn't happen: Construction did not begin on a single new coal-fired power plant in the United States for the second straight year."

"Japanese and American officials discussed taking action to weaken a prominent anti-whaling group, with Tokyo insisting that Sea Shepherd's confrontations on the high seas actually hurt efforts to reduce whaling, U.S. diplomatic cables show."

"Transocean Ltd, the world's biggest offshore rig contractor, aims to stop a seventh U.S. body from investigating the accident that sank one of its rigs while causing the largest U.S. offshore oil spill."