"Hundreds of firefighters battled a pair of wildfires that burned out of control in Northern California for a second day on Monday, threatening a clothing-optional resort and forcing the evacuation of some 500 homes. Meanwhile, authorities said a U.S. Forest Service firefighter was killed in Idaho while battling a blaze there."

"If you had to pick ground zero for climate change, you might pick the Sahel, the grasslands between the Sahara in the north and African tropical rainforests in the south. The region is immensely fertile—when it isn't being slammed by recurrent droughts and floods. Many human lives are suspended in a fragile balance with the volatile climate of this region."

"The United States will suffer a series of severe droughts in the next two decades, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Moreover, global warming will play an increasingly important role in their abundance and severity, claims Aiguo Dai, the study’s author."

"The Department of Interior on Monday proposed a mixture of new oil and gas development and environmental protections in a vast swathe of Arctic land."

"An El Nino weather pattern is underway and will last until winter, Japan said on Friday, foreshadowing disruptive conditions that could harm crops from Australia to India at a time of rising fears about global food supplies."

"President Barack Obama moved to stem the impact of the worst drought in 50 years as he directed the department of agriculture to buy up to $170m of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish."

"ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Bureau of Land Management biologist Rob Horn carries a foot-long cylinder full of mice into a lush forest searching for northern spotted owls."

"A federal investigation into two researchers who wrote a famous report on drowned polar bears is finally over, according to their lawyer. But the scientists still haven't been allowed to see a copy of the investigation report or its conclusions, says attorney Jeff Ruch of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility."

"Noting the occasion of the 15th annual Lake Tahoe Summit, a conference examining the environmental and developmental issues affecting the iconic alpine region straddling the California and Nevada borders, California Governor Jerry Brown announced the launch of a website dedicated to combating skeptics of climate change.