"The National Park Service announced yesterday that it had more than 292.8 million recreational visitors in 2014 -- a higher annual total than any time in its nearly 100-year history."

"For some animals, there’s no such thing as a dog-eat-dog world. They rule."

"U.S. shellfish producers in the Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico will be most vulnerable to an acidification of the oceans linked to climate change that makes it harder for clams and oysters to build shells, a study said on Monday."

"Recently released documents show that fossil fuel interests paid more than $1.2 million to fund the research of a prominent climate change-denying scientist affiliated with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Now, a Democratic senator is calling for an investigation into whether other coal and oil companies are funding climate deniers."

"New research sponsored by the Department of Energy shows that buyers are willing to pay more for homes with rooftop solar panels — a finding that may strengthen the case for factoring the value of sustainable features into home appraisals."

The National Park Service has been documenting the acoustic environment in National Parks for years. But in addition to the sounds of nature --  Coyotes in Colorado, a hummingbird in Washington State, elk from Sand Dunes National Park -- the microphones also capture the sounds of civilization -- such as sirens.

"The oil and gas industry sponsors and spins research to shape the scientific debate over horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That's the conclusion of a watchdog group's analysis of more than 130 documents distributed to policymakers by industry representatives."

"The federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an accident happens in a densely populated part of the U.S."

"The Obama administration on Friday proposed standards on exploratory drilling for oil and gas in U.S. Arctic waters that would add costs for energy companies but aim to protect against catastrophic spills."

Politicians and fossil-energy companies denying climate change often point to scientist Willie Soon's work to support their position. Newly disclosed documents show that Soon's work is largely funded by fossil-energy interests, and that he violated journal policies by failing to disclose these conflicts of interest.