"Federal authorities on Monday presented a $78.5 million plan intended to block Asian carp, a hungry, huge, nonnative fish, from invading the Great Lakes."

The bright-golden spray toads, small as a dime, once lived in the spray of a waterfall on the Kihansi River in Tanzania. A dam funded by the World Bank destroyed the species habitat, and they are now extinct in the wild. They now live only in captivity.

"Sen. John McCain once led the global warming debate on Capitol Hill, pledging to force repeated floor votes on cap-and-trade legislation until it passed. ... But McCain has gone on hiatus from the issue since losing the presidential election to Barack Obama. And he is likely to keep his distance even more over the next six months due to a primary challenge from a conservative former congressman that threatens to end his Senate career after four terms."

"The Obama administration extended a helping hand to the nuclear industry last week by proposing to expand nuclear power loan guarantee authority by $36 billion, putting into action its long-stated support for the energy source. The question now is what the White House has to gain by providing a total of $54 billion in loan guarantee authority for nuclear projects."

"An influential environmental group has backed away from a settlement that would remove four dams along the Klamath River to restore salmon and steelhead runs that have been partially blocked for most of the past century on the California-Oregon border."

"Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) is poised to take the chairmanship of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, as current Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) is expected to move over to the coveted Defense subpanel."

"Tritium leaks like the one that threatens the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant are undermining confidence in other reactors around the country, three experts nominated by President Obama to join the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday at their confirmation hearing."

"Researchers at Northern Arizona University think they may have found an environmentally safe and readily available weapon against the tree-eating armies of bark beetles. It is, with apologies to the boys from Liverpool, the music of the beetles."

"HEAVY WEATHER, a new radio documentary by Barbara Bernstein explores the connections between increasing extreme weather and our changing climate and landscapes. It presents solutions that are community driven, based on decisions we make to change the ways we live and travel. Changes that actually can improve our quality of life."