High prices for agricultural crops are driving farmers to plant more acres. Some of that land had been previously held back from planting because it is highly erodible. Changing weather patterns and inadequate enforcement of erosion protections are making things worse.

"In negotiating the budget deal that averted a government shutdown, Democrats and the White House claimed a big victory in preventing Republicans from blocking a set of environmental regulations. But as details of the compromise became known Tuesday, it was clear Republicans had won deep reductions in spending at the Environmental Protection Agency."

"New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is re-evaluating the state's participation in a regional carbon trading program and could opt to withdraw within a few weeks. Observers say the move is expected in response to pressure from GOP legislators and campaigns mounted by groups funded by billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch."

"Indoor marijuana cultivation consumes enough electricity to power 2 million average-sized U.S. homes, which corresponds to about 1 percent of national power consumption, according to a study by a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory."

"Two areas of Alaska's Cook Inlet will be designated as critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale, NOAA's Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office announced [April 8]."

"This country’s battle to curb oil imports is being plotted in high-tech laboratories and elite universities hunting for breakthroughs in alternative fuels. But the frontlines in the effort to bring such fuels to market can be found in places like a working-class neighborhood in this river town, not far from where Pony Express riders saddled up to journey west."

"A federal judge on Saturday rejected a plan negotiated between the government and wildlife advocates to remove most wolves in the Northern Rockies from the Endangered Species List."

"Extracting natural gas from shale formations using hydraulic fracturing generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than burning coal, according to a new study that drew immediate attacks from oil and gas interests already facing pressure from lawmakers and regulators worried about the environmental effects of shale-gas development."

"Dozens of large-scale clean energy projects could be derailed if a measure to defund a federal loan guarantee program becomes part of a final Congressional budget deal."