"In a setback for the Obama administration, a panel of judges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruled on Tuesday that the Energy Department could not withdraw its application to open a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada."

"Key Senate Democrats offered today to scale back their ambitious efforts to cap greenhouse gas emissions but stressed that they and President Obama remain committed to putting a price on carbon this year."

"Hurricane Alex churned through the western Gulf of Mexico overnight, slowly picking up steam as officials in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas made preparations."

"As U.S. senators debate some of the most sweeping climate change laws in American history, a powerful lobbying effort led by Canadian officials and huge oil firms may be winning big concessions."

"The days of unregulated production and government secrecy are gone. But as the uranium industry revives in the West, health problems from the last boom still plague communities, and victims are still fighting for recognition."

"Earlier this month, when Ikea announced this will be its last year selling incandescent light bulbs, the retailer billed it as an early, pro-sustainability move before federal law 'bans' the famously inefficient lamps."

"About 50,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama will be dug up and moved to Florida's Atlantic Coast in hopes of keeping the hatchlings alive in the face of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill."

"In the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Alex is threatening to build into a full-blown hurricane. It could threaten the coast of Texas or Mexico, but at this point it does not appear to be headed for the blown-out oil well off Louisiana. Even so, it's quite possible that the storm could spawn 10- to 12-foot waves, which could sweep across the Gulf and complicate efforts to control the spewing oil well."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is 10 years behind schedule in setting guidelines for a host of toxic air pollutants, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general."