"MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah (AP) — The stretch of high desert on the Arizona-Utah border gives way to towering rock formations that resemble huge mittens, chimney spires and castles. But to the west of Monument Valley lies a reminder of what has been blamed for much heartache and tragedy in Elsie Mae Begay's family: A mesa stained with a gray streak where uranium was mined decades ago."

"Firefighters battled raging wildfires across Central Texas for a second day Monday as wind-driven flames continued their relentless march through hundreds of homes and across thousands of acres."

"When state officials published the last Texas State Water Plan five years ago, they conspicuously and controversially chose not to factor man-made global warming into their planning.

Now, with just four months to go until the Texas Water Development Board is required to adopt an updated rendition of the comprehensive water-supply blueprint for the state, the agency is still deciding how to address human-caused climate change, the board chairman told a Houston audience recently."

"MILES, Texas -- After scanning the landscape surrounding this tiny (population 757) central Texas town, one immediately understands why the city's officials have decided to scratch the word 'cotton' from the annual September Cotton Festival.

Texas' record drought will damage entire ecosystems for years to come.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing an effort to determine the extent of contamination at a former uranium mining site on the Navajo Nation that marked a high priority for assessment."

"As consensus mounts, and their states confront torrid heat, these politicians maintain global warming is a hoax."