"LAKE MEAD, Nev. -- The sinuous Colorado River and its slew of man-made reservoirs from the Rockies to southern Arizona are being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years."

"Three coal-fired generators that opened in the 1960s near Farmington, N.M., closed Monday as part of a $182 million plan for Arizona Public Service Co. to meet environmental regulations, the utility reported."

"The Obama administration on Thursday detailed final regulations easing the path toward technology needed to allow new coal-fired power plants to operate."

"Climate change and energy will be a major policy battleground in the 2014 midterms, advocates on both sides of the issue promise."

"Rain is so important in Malawi's agriculture-based economy that there are names for different kinds of it, from the brief bursts of early fall to heavier downpours called mvula yodzalira, literally "planting rain." For generations, rainfall patterns here in the southeast part of Africa have been predictable, reliable. But not now."

"The driest year on record is turning the golden hills of California to dust, drying up wells, pastures and cash reserves in a season that is traditionally lush and generous."

"Canadian insurers are grappling with the prospect of financial damage from yet another severe storm, capping off a brutal year that raised serious questions about how the industry will deal with the costs of climate change."

"SOUBISE, Grenada -- When Hurricane Ivan slammed into this small island almost a decade ago, Esley Sanderson leaped from inside his house to save his life."

"Hash marks went down next to each species on [Mike] Newhouse’s clipboard. With a gloved hand, he brushed flakes off the paper. Forget about a white Christmas, this was a white Christmas Bird Count, part of Audubon’s 114th annual census of our feathered neighbors."

"DE KALB, Miss. – America’s newest and cleanest coal-fired power plant comes with a catch: The heat-trapping carbon dioxide removed from its smokestack pollution will help force more oil out of the ground."