"An Environmental Protection Agency proposal that would compel [Great Lakes] vessels to burn cleaner fuel and upgrade their engines has sparked a furious behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign that has come to a head this week, pitting congressional Democrats against a Democratic administration as lawmakers allied with Midwestern and Alaskan shippers pressure the EPA to back down and protect jobs."

The House Thursday passed the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, which authorizes more than $2 billion to strengthen and coordinate research and development of solar power projects. Projects would be picked by an 11-member panel chosen by the Energy Secretary.

"The acclaimed documentary film 'Crude,' which details the 16-year struggle of indigenous peoples in Ecuador's Amazon to hold Chevron legally accountable for contamination of a huge rainforest area, opens in Washington, DC on Friday during intense scrutiny of a $27 billion liability lawsuit against the oil giant."

"VIENNA -- A draft agreement on providing Iran with fuel for a civilian nuclear research facility that could defuse tension over Iran's nuclear program has emerged from nearly three days of talks supported by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA."

"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."