"Fields along the Mississippi River Delta once gleamed white in the autumn with acre upon acre of cotton ready to be picked. But to see the decline of a cash crop once nicknamed 'King Cotton' one need look no further than the 300 acres (121 hectares) that Michael Shelton farms in Clarksdale, Mississippi, about 75 miles (1201 km) down river from Memphis."

"Power grids that work at a fraction of the scale of a traditional utility have gained support from banks and developers as a way to bring power to the 620 million people across Africa that lack access to electricity."

"The Senate will vote as early as this week to block President Obama’s climate change rules for power plants."

"German automaker Volkswagen is apologizing for its violations of federal air pollution emission standards with a full-page ad in 30 U.S. newspapers, The Verge reports."

"The first map showing the world's hidden groundwater was published on Monday, bringing us closer to estimating how much there is, and when it will run out if we over-use the resource."

"Overuse of antibiotics in animal feed is making it harder for doctors to treat life-threatening infections in young children, a report from U.S. pediatricians warns."

"Climate change leaders from around the world are applauding the French government's decision to press on with a landmark U.N. conference in Paris at the end of the month, even in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks. But just how robust the event will be is still unclear."

"Campaigners looking to this weekend’s G20 leaders meeting in Antalya, Turkey, for progress on the climate agenda have been left disappointed."

"One recipe for renewable natural gas goes: Place manure from about 2 million hogs in lagoons, cover them with an impermeable material and let it bake until gas from the manure rises. Then, use special equipment to clean the gas of its impurities and ship the finished product out."