Mortgaqe companies send Sandy victims prayers and "virtual hugs," but won't give stricken homeowners a break on payments while they make emergency repairs and wait for insurance payments or government aid.

The giant sequoia's ability to grow faster as it ages makes it a champ at carbon sequestration.

"The Obama administration is getting more push-back from House Republicans about federal research aimed at assessing the health risks associated with a booming natural gas industry."

"NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge presiding over litigation spawned by the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill has dismissed all claims against the manufacturer of a chemical dispersant that was used to break up crude gushing from BP's blown-out well."

"The Natural Resources Defense Council thinks it has the perfect solution to regulating planet-warming emissions from existing power plants. But can the group sell the Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency on it?"

"SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- A group of Swarthmore College students is asking the school administration to take a seemingly simple step to combat pollution and climate change: sell off the endowment’s holdings in large fossil fuel companies. For months, they have been getting a simple answer: no."

"Activists step up pressure on president to turn vague promises made since re-election into concrete policies for the future."

Did the White House Office of Management and Budget put public health at risk to make President Obama's reelection a safer bet? Working in deep secrecy for the past year, OMB blew off legal deadlines to hold up new Congressionally passed food safety rules that even the food industry supported. Now the Food and Drug Administratiion is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by consumer advocates over the delay.

"Eric Cantor is rarely shy about his position on disaster relief aid. Even before Hurricane Irene made landfall last year, the House majority whip's office said extra spending on recovery efforts should be balanced by spending cuts elsewhere. But in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Cantor and many of his conservative colleagues have suddenly gone mostly silent on such disaster relief 'offsets' -- even though New York and New Jersey are collectively asking for a whopping $79 billion in federal aid."

"WESTLAKE, La. -- In an ambitious bet that the glut of cheap natural gas in the United States will last for many years, a South African energy company announced on Monday that it would build America’s first commercial plant to convert natural gas to diesel and other liquid fuels."