The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues an Arctic report card Thursday that said global warming is changing wind patters and melting ice and glaciers -- with impacts on living things on both land and sea.

"A vast swath of icy sea, barrier islands and coastal land on Alaska's oil-rich North Slope will be granted special protection because of its importance to the threatened polar bear, under a proposal released Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."

"In the prairies of Kansas lives Wes Jackson, a man who has spent his long and rich career trying to invent a new kind of agriculture -- one that will last indefinitely."

"Michigan’s 19 coal-fired power plants will need to install technology to reduce mercury emissions by 2015, according to new rules finalized this week."

A mandatory disclosure report filed Monday in the Senate showed that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $34.7 million last quarter to influence Congress and the administration. It's a large amount and a dramatic jump.

"Supervolcanoes and cosmic impacts get all the terrible glory for causing mass extinctions, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations."

"Tossing food scraps in your garbage can is a crime — at least in San Francisco. A brand-new city law requires residents to discard food waste in a separate bin."

"Industry and public backing -- a recent poll showed 90% of voters favor measures similar to those in the legislation -- add up to a 'quick win for both parties,' supporters say."

"India and China signed an agreement Wednesday to cooperate on ways to fight climate change and pledged to establish a group to exchange views concerning international negotiations on climate change."

"DETROIT — Even though several automakers plan to begin selling electric vehicles next year, their sales may be limited by the lack of a national infrastructure to support them, speakers at a conference here on plug-in cars said on Wednesday."