"Conservation groups said four species of native bumblebees are close to extinction and called on the federal government Tuesday to begin regulating the shipping of bees raised commercially as crop pollinators."

The New York Times' Green Inc. and Wheels blogs round up news from the Detroit Auto Show. The news is all about electric vehicles. Several foreign makers may beat U.S. firms to market or undercut them on price.

"Industry representatives have repeatedly visited the White House to discuss pending regulation of coal ash, raising suspicions that industry may be influencing the rule. In December, amid these meetings, EPA announced it was backing away from its earlier pledge to propose coal ash regulations by the end of 2009."

"Advocates for comprehensive climate legislation should look no further than the nation's unemployment rate as they ponder their chances for success this year."

"Stormwater runoff can be one of the main ways that urban areas create pollution. In some cases it can dramatically suffocate marine life. It can also cause flooding. One small town in Maryland is on the receiving end of its region's runoff. ... It's trying to set a national example with its approach to solving the problem."

"If CPS Energy, San Antonio’s City-owned utility, took a solitary human form, it would be a headless corpse bouncing gently under a white hospital sheet on its way to the morgue."

"The agency's environmental and health concerns about phthalates, PBDEs and two other chemical types marks a shift in federal policy and is sparking policy changes in advance of anticipated regulations."

"The treeless ecosystem of mosses, lichens, and berry plants is giving way to shrub land and boreal forest. As scientists study the transformation, they are discovering that major warming-related events, including fires and the collapse of slopes due to melting permafrost, are leading to the loss of tundra in the Arctic."

"China has begun operating what is, by several measures, the world's fastest rail line."

"It sounded like a good idea: Provide a little government money to convert wood shavings and plant waste into renewable energy. But as laudable as that goal sounds, it could end up causing more economic damage than good."