National (U.S.)

The American chestnut, which was virtually wiped out by an exotic blight, may be making a comeback.
 

"New government data show forests play a key role in offsetting U.S. industrial emissions, but the ability of Western lands to sequester carbon is shrinking as the planet warms."

"Four years after redrawing its levee-design assumptions to ensure that the failures of Hurricane Katrina were never repeated, the Army Corps of Engineers  has embarked on a study that threatens to relax the new, more stringent standards in ways that would reduce costs — and result in less protection in some areas."

Tighter regulation of toxic chemicals that often threaten people's health isn't going to happen in the current Congress. The reason: a strong industry lobbying effort.

"Have hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from major oil companies compromised the ethics of energy research at such institutions as UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Stanford?"

"The Obama administration made a gesture of support for the ethanol industry on Wednesday, with a declaration by the Environmental Protection Agency that gasoline retailers can sell fuel blends containing up to 15 percent ethanol for use in late-model cars."

"The decade-long  effort to pass comprehensive climate legislation  framed around a declining cap and trading for carbon dioxide emissions died an ignominious death. Now new proposals focused on a  substantial ramp-up of investments in energy innovation are percolating — and instantly being attacked."

Ranchers are finding new ways to deter wolves.

Interviews suggest that politics initially blinded the Obama administration on oil drilling.

"Tests have revealed high levels of lead in children's products sold at Walmart and Target, a consumer group working with the California attorney general's office said today."