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"Global mining giant Rio Tinto said Monday it is considering dumping its stake in Alaska’s Pebble Mine, a huge open pit mine planned for the best remaining wild salmon stronghold on Earth."

"In the Brazilian state of Pará, an army of 25,000 workers is building the world’s third largest hydroelectric plant, a controversial construction project –because of the dam’s low efficiency, its environmental impact and its effects."

"ST CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio -- Farmers in the close-knit Amish community who eschew electricity and most technology, are among landowners capitalizing on a new financial trend in the United States energy boom - selling decades of future oil and natural gas royalties for an immediate pile of cash."

"Repair crews are working around the clock to restore electricity to about 500,000 households in Ontario and Quebec after an ice storm snapped branches, brought down power lines and crimped travel in Canada’s two most populous provinces."

"The history of the Chesapeake Bay oyster hasn't always been a pure one. So you could forgive a chef for being skeptical about the big bivalve comeback being staged in D.C. and the surrounding area this winter as oyster season gets underway."

"It's not uncommon for environmental protesters to face arrest, but here's an apparent first: On Friday, Oklahoma City police charged a pair of environmental activists with staging a 'terrorism hoax' after they unfurled a pair of banners covered in glitter -- a substance local cops considered evidence of a faux biochemical assault."

"WASHINGTON — Sen. Barbara Boxer’s longtime relationship with environmentalists has been strained by compromises she’s made in the committee she leads to get major pieces of public works legislation through a divided Senate."

"Is genetically engineered food natural? The Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group representing some of the world’s biggest food and food-related companies, including ConAgra Foods, Bayer CropScience, and the Coca-Cola Company, thinks so. And it’s pressing the Food and Drug Administration to see things its way."

"DE KALB, Miss. – America’s newest and cleanest coal-fired power plant comes with a catch: The heat-trapping carbon dioxide removed from its smokestack pollution will help force more oil out of the ground."

"Today's number: 1.6 million. That's 1.6 million acres — about the area of the state of Delaware. That's how much land was removed this year from the federal Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, which pays farmers to keep land covered with native grasses or sometimes trees. Most of that land now will produce crops like corn or wheat.