"Climate scientists, who specialize in thinking about the Earth system as a whole, are often reticent to link any one weather event to global climate change. But they say that aspects of the case of Hurricane Harvey—and the recent history of tropical cyclones worldwide—suggest global warming is making a bad situation worse."

"Hurricane Harvey has barreled into the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry, prompting the sudden evacuation of workers. Spot prices for gasoline are expected to jump Monday, but the full extent of damage will not be clear for days, companies and experts said."

"Regularly inundated by floodwaters ever since its settlement in the mid-1800s, Houston looked on warily even before Harvey roared ashore. In Houston, the chronic deluges that have repeatedly swamped its neighborhoods are getting worse and more costly — not just for locals, but for federal taxpayers."

"With little notice, more than two dozen state legislatures have passed “seed-preemption laws” designed to block counties and cities from adopting their own rules on the use of seeds, including bans on GMOs. Opponents say that there’s nothing more fundamental than a seed, and that now, in many parts of the country, decisions about what can be grown have been taken out of local control and put solely in the hands of the state."

"When Tony Tooke became regional forester for 13 Southern states in 2015, he made a promise that's shaped his reputation at the Forest Service: He wanted to meet soon with every state forester in the region."

"A rush study on the reliability of the nation's electric grid ordered by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry concedes that the rapid increase of clean, cheap solar and wind power hasn't thrown the power network out of kilter."

"The number of U.S. EPA cops on the beat has declined dramatically over the last dozen years, according to data released today by a watchdog group."

"BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Utah — Parts of this sprawling region of red-rock canyons and at least three other national monuments would lose their strict protection and could be reopened for new mining or drilling under proposals submitted to President Trump by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday, according to congressional aides and others who have been briefed on the report."