"Last September, the remote community of Point Lay on Alaska’s North Slope became the focus of headline news when a staggering 35,000 walruses crowded onto the shore nearby. And now, some scientists are saying a similar event could happen this summer — in fact, any time now."

"U.S. authorities banned fishing from Monday in most rivers and streams within the Olympic National Park in western Washington state, citing ongoing severe drought conditions that have harmed fish along the U.S. West Coast."

"Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday announced cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions that were immediately criticized by environmental groups and opposition politicians for lagging behind other advanced economies."

"Ohio Gov. John Kasich suggested that man-made climate change may not be real and that action to fight it could kill jobs during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday."

"Millions of people around the world are experiencing a scorching summer, as records are broken and thermostats climb this week in parts of Europe. Temperatures in Paris and Brussels exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit at a time of year when 70-degree weather is the norm, according to Accuweather.com."

The megabillionaire Koch brothers, whose agenda opposes environmental regulation, have a major impact on Republican politics -- including the 2016 presidential race. Their influence is magnified by the big donors they attract to their causes via semiannual retreats like the one that just ended at a luxury resort near Dana Point, Calif. This year, journalists got limited access to the traditionally secret conclave by agreeing not to disclose donors' identities. Now critics are asking whether such rules compromise the integrity of journalism.

As August warms waters seasonally in many parts of the U.S., harmful algal blooms are causing health hazards. A prime example is Toledo, where high levels of an algal toxin made city drinking water unusable last year. Algal blooms in the warm, shallow Lake Erie are worsened by agricultural runoff. With climate warming, new algal blooms are showing up in new places, like the Pacific Ocean.

"The campaign to stop President Barack Obama's sweeping emissions limits on power plants began taking shape Wednesday, as 16 states asked the government to put the rules on hold while a Senate panel moved to block them."