"Now that 2010 has gone down as one of history's hottest years, many states are choosing not to wait for Congress to tackle climate change and are taking their own steps to slash greenhouse gas emissions."

"NASA is about to launch an Earth-observing satellite with new technology onboard designed to broaden our understanding of how the Sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect Earth's climate."

"That hamburger in the hand of so many Americans does have global implications. Our meat-eating habits can impact the tropical rainforests and savannas -- and ultimately the atmosphere. Livestock may contribute some 18 percent of greenhouse gases -- and that matters for both the 1 billion hungry and 1.6 billion overweight people on the planet."

"New figures issued on Thursday in Britain show that 2010 was the second-warmest year in the historical record. That comes on the heels of reports last week from two American agencies that 2010 was tied for the warmest year in the record books."

"A massive California rain event -- one expected to occur once every 200 years -- would far surpass destruction caused by a "Big One" earthquake, causing more than $700 billion in damage and hobbling the state's economy for decades, federal scientists are warning."

"Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao of China, who is in Washington on an official state visit, said in a joint statement this afternoon that they 'view climate change and energy security as two of the greatest challenges of our time.' In an open letter today, U.S. environmental leaders urged the presidents to adopt 'a wartime-like mobilization' to cut greenhouse gas emissions."

"Fraudsters are targeting climate scientists with fake conferences in a bid to make cash and obtain details." Is it a ploy to plant spy programs on scientists' computers?

Arch Coal's announcement of a second West Coast shipping terminal signals a trend toward increasing exports of strip-mined western coal to Asian nations like China, where demand outstrips supply. The implications for greenhouse emissions and accounting schemes for controlling them are huge.

Water managers, farmers, electric utilities, skiers and some 30 million water users breathed a sigh of relief in recent weeks with news that snowpack in the basin of the Colorado River was better. The relief may be temporary. The drought that has plagued the region for 11 years may become the new "normal."