"A county's ban on hydraulic fracturing and drilling conflicts with both state and U.S. law, a federal court in New Mexico found this week."

"What's the best way to drill for oil in a mostly untouched Alaskan tundra, home to migrating caribou, abundant waterfowl, and Native Alaskan hunting and fishing grounds? It depends on which federal agency you ask."

"President Obama is tapping Brian Deese, the deputy director of his budget office, to replace veteran aide John Podesta when he departs the White House next month."

"President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order establishing a new panel that will advise the federal government on preserving the Alaskan Arctic."

"Vapor produced by electronic cigarettes can contain a surprisingly high concentration of formaldehyde — a known carcinogen — researchers reported Wednesday."

"Specialty crop farmers were at the [Iowa] capitol today complaining of damage to their produce from pesticide drift."

"A second large oil spill into Montana's Yellowstone River in less than four years is reviving questions about oversight of the nation's aging pipeline network."

"Nearly 50 environmentalist organizations sent a letter Wednesday to every member of Congress, urging them to oppose granting President Barack Obama 'fast-track' authority to pass new free trade deals."

"It is nearly 27 years now since a NASA scientist testified before the US Senate that the agency was 99% certain that rising global temperatures were caused by the burning of fossil fuels. And the Senate still has not got it – based on the results of three symbolic climate change votes on Wednesday night."

"For 24 years, traveling across the stark and dusty moonscape of what once was a glimmering 110-square-mile lake framed by snow-covered mountains, Ted Schade was a general in the Owens Valley water wars with Los Angeles. This was where Los Angeles began taking water for its own use nearly a century ago, leaving behind a dry lake bed that choked the valley with dust, turning it into one of the most polluted parts of the nation.
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