"The brown pelican, listed as an endangered species even before the 1973 U.S. Endangered Species Act existed, is officially back from the brink of extinction, the Interior Department said on Wednesday."

"On some days, Russell Keith could simply look up at the sky to gauge how busy his day would be as a paramedic at the largest U.S. base in Iraq. Dark green smoke meant the contractor could count on a 30 to 40 percent spike in his patient load, he told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee last week during a hearing on contractor oversight."

"CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Republicans in Charleston County censured their own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, saying he puts bipartisanship before the party on issues like climate change."

"The Ninth World Wilderness Congress in Mérida, Yucatán, [is] an event that draws together top conservation officials and activists from across the globe to tackle trans-national wilderness issues."

"West Virginia political leaders promised Tuesday to speak "with one voice" to clarify the Obama administration's proposals to more strictly regulate mountaintop removal coal mining."

"Nearly half of lakes and reservoirs nationwide contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic metal mercury, according to a federal study released Tuesday."