"At least one energy measure will see congressional action this week, and a handful of hopeful Senate Democrats have lofty plans to cut through the partisan gridlock of recent months to move several climate and energy bills by year's end."

"Not only is Earth's surface warming, but the troposphere -- the lowest level of the atmosphere, where weather occurs -- is heating up too, U.S. and British meteorologists reported on Monday." The findings may put to rest a 20-year-old controversy over differences between satellite and surface measurements of warming.

"At the Seoul G-20 Summit [Friday], leaders of the world's 19 most industrialized nations and the EU said they have made 'substantial progress' toward phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in the 14 months since their decision to do so at last year's G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

"Leaks from carbon dioxide injected deep underground to help fight climate change could bubble up into drinking water aquifers near the surface, driving up levels of contaminants in the water tenfold or more in some places, according to a study by Duke University scientists."

A record amount of US corn-based ethanol is being exported, despite the PR campaign touting ethanol as a domestic alternative to importing foreign oil. The reason: a Congress-passed tax credit for blending ethanol with gasoline. The credit -- a giveaway adding at least $6 billion to the federal deficit -- is scheduled to expire this year.

"U.N. climate talks starting in Mexico this month will seek a complex set of interlocking deals to slow global warming but will fall well short of a new treaty, the U.N.'s climate chief said on Wednesday."

A new joint study by the World Bank and the U.N. says that the cost of preventing disasters related to climate change would be far less than post-disaster cleanup.

"The Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday unveiled what new large industrial plants will have to do to minimize their greenhouse gas emissions starting in January."

"Texas officials said Wednesday that they would refuse to implement a program that regulates the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions, despite new federal rules that give wide leeway to states to implement the program."

"Environmentalists seeking more information about a top state regulator's abrupt departure reacted skeptically Tuesday to Gov. Mark Parkinson's promise that Kansas is conducting a fair and thorough review of plans for a new coal-fired power plant. Environmental groups worry that Parkinson pushed Rod Bremby out as secretary of health and environment to ensure that the coal plant obtains a permit by year's end. The timing would allow the plant to avoid new federal rules taking effect Jan. 2 for greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming."