"Global warming isn't just an issue for Democrats, according to a report released yesterday by George Mason and Yale universities. Sixty-two percent of self-identified Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said in a national survey that the United States should or probably should take action to address climate change despite uncertainties, the report says."

President Obama's declared initiatives on environment and climate are going forth in an intense swirl of conflict in electoral and legislative politics. Money is involved.

"The first crossing of the United States by a solar-powered plane is expected to start in just over a month, its creators said on Thursday, as they make final preparations for an attempt two years from now at the first round-the-world flight without any fuel."

"WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency's latest proposed tightening of limits on sulfur in gasoline, and its previous rules, will most likely have the perverse consequence of retarding the development of cars running on batteries, advanced biofuels or hydrogen -- all promising but expensive technologies that have not become mass-market products."

"The so-called 'Monsanto Protection Act,' a controversial provision protecting the biotech giant from litigation, has found an unusual critic in the tea party."

"LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Federal pipeline safety officials on Tuesday issued a corrective action order to ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. after one of its pipelines ruptured last week in central Arkansas."

"SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend $9.75 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act violations at coal-fired power plants in three states."

"Tesla sold more of its electric cars than expected in the first three months of the year, and it adjusts its first-quarter guidance to 'full profitability.'"

"Current climate-induced drought is slipping into a trend that scientists say resembles some of the worst droughts in U.S. history, like the Dust Bowl."

"These are good times for Libbey, a 125-year-old American glassmaker that nearly went bankrupt four years ago. The company’s shares have risen to almost $20 from below $1, sales of its tableware are at a record high, and its energy-intensive factories saved more than $5 million in 2012 as natural gas prices fell."