"Superstorm Sandy made one thing clear to millions in the New York metro area: Despite modern transportation and communication systems, and extensive water and electricity services, nature is still in control. The same is true in Sacramento."

"JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- At the time of day Friday when most workers are making plans for happy hour, Cheryl Johnson is making a final scan of the online job listings at the Jersey City One-Stop Career Center. Her skirt suit is wrinkled. Johnson lost her job after Hurricane Sandy lashed the mid-Atlantic states three weeks ago."

"Federal appeals court judges today indicated that environmental groups may face an uphill battle in challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of a reactor design and the country's first new nuclear construction in more than three decades."

"California's largest greenhouse gas emitting businesses paid $10.09 per metric tonne (1.1 ton) for the right to release carbon, raising almost $300 million for the cash-strapped state and its energy companies in its first-ever carbon permit auction."

"A U.S. industrial accident investigative board served Black Elk Energy with a subpoena on Monday, seeking information about last week's offshore Gulf of Mexico oil platform explosion that left one worker dead and another missing."

"With the U.S. intelligence budget shrinking, the CIA has quietly shut down its Center on Climate Change and National Security -- a project that was launched with the support of Leon Panetta when he led the agency, but that drew sharp criticism from some Republicans in Congress."

"Slowing cargo vessels near coastlines by 10 to 15 miles per hour could dramatically cut ships’ air pollution, according to a new study. But only a few U.S. ports have initiated such efforts."

"The first time Bill Ferullo saw the white plumes drifting from a natural gas fracking site, he got out of his car to take pictures. 'I didn't know what it was,' he recalled. 'But two minutes later my chest was burning. It burned all night.'"

"VISAGINAS, Lithuania -- The parking lot outside the atomic power plant is weedy and potholed. Bus stops that once teemed with hundreds of workers are eerily empty."