"Advocates for coal miners said Thursday that they expect a new direction for the nation’s mine safety agency under its new chief, former miner and top union official Joseph Main. On a voice vote, the Senate confirmed Main on Wednesday night as the head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration."

"Scientists writing in the current issue of Science magazine point out a huge error in existing biofuel laws that could actually make climate change worse. They say these rules inadvertently encourage deforestation, which in turn contributes to global warming."

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."