"COPENHAGEN — Police officers fired tear gas and wielded batons on Wednesday to beat back hundreds of demonstrators outside the global climate meeting here, as a police spokesman said 250 people had been arrested."
 

"For more than 300 years, residents of Colombia's Pacific Coast area of Tumaco have mostly been left alone to fish or grow bananas .... But in recent years, the peace has been disturbed by new security threats, aggravated by climate change."

"Former US vice president and environmental activist Al Gore called Tuesday for world leaders to meet in Mexico City in July to complete a climate treaty under negotiation in Copenhagen."

"Africa contributes the least to global warming, but stands to suffer the most. That is the case African leaders are making at U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen. ... But ... daily survival remains the focus of many Africans."

"President Obama will not arrive at the Copenhagen climate summit until Friday, its final day, but he worked the phones Monday to push world leaders to cut a deal on a new global-warming agreement."

"Pope Benedict XVI called for urgent action to protect the environment, saying Tuesday that climate change and natural catastrophes threaten the rights to life, food, health -- and ultimately peace."

"Negotiators have all but completed a sweeping deal that would compensate countries for preserving forests, and in some cases, other natural landscapes like peat soils, swamps and fields that play a crucial role in curbing climate change."

"Environmental groups said Monday they want the Tennessee Valley Authority to be prosecuted for its huge coal ash spill in Tennessee and not shielded from penalties for polluting."

"Rates of black-lung disease are growing, most notably among younger miners, reversing decades of progress and prompting more federal scrutiny and calls to lower exposure to coal dust."

House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) announced that he would retire at the end of this Congress. Gordon faced a strong GOP challenge. The Science Committee has jurisdiction over several key environmental issues.