"BRUSSELS -- The 'Type 2  plug developed by the German company Mennekes will be the common standard for charging electrified vehicles across the European Union, the European Commission has announced."

"Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, a surprising study theorizes."

"WASHINGTON -- Three months after Superstorm Sandy ravaged coastal areas in much of the Northeast, Congress on Monday sent a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure for storm victims to President Barack Obama for his signature."

"Believe it or not, there’s a Chesapeake Bay fish in even worse shape than the recovering striped bass, the troubled blue crab and even the imperiled bay oyster. The Atlantic sturgeon, pushed to the brink of extinction by overfishing and development, is little more than a memory in the Potomac River, ready for a spot in a museum."

"Lord Stern, author of the government-commissioned review on climate change that became the reference work for politicians and green campaigners, now says he underestimated the risks, and should have been more 'blunt' about the threat posed to the economy by rising temperatures."

"Last fall, when Democrats and Republicans seemed unable to agree on anything, one bill glided through Congress with broad bipartisan support and won a quick signature from President Obama: the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011."

"Dawn Morrow is not allowed to go outside. The brown soupy mix hanging over the Grand Valley spells disaster for her lungs, which already are compromised by a rare lung disease with a long name, lymphangioleiomyomatosis."

"MORGAN HILL -- Ten years ago this month, community leaders were shocked by the discovery that a company that manufactured road flares here had disposed of toxic chemicals improperly, creating a 10-mile-long underground plume of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel."

"'Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa?,' thunders the headline of a recent Guardian piece. Hard to say, but reality check: It isn't just vegans who enjoy quinoa. Like many occasional meat eaters I know, I've been eating it for years. Quinoa is also big among gluten-intolerant omnivores. So quinoa's truth—unpalatable or not—isn't just for its vegan fans to bear."