Government

"Environmental groups are howling, but energy companies are mostly staying mum about the government shutdown and the trench warfare that has paralyzed Washington."

"Astronauts on the International Space Station will not be abandoned by NASA's ground crews. National Science Foundation-supported researchers working on the planet's frozen poles won't be cut off from communications, either. Flood-stricken Colorado will continue to receive aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and if a hurricane approaches U.S. shores, the National Weather Service will be there to tell us about it. But as Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress continue to squabble over which party is to blame for the first government shutdown since 1995, the impact is already being felt in all federal agencies involved with climate- and climate change-related research and policy."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will take one of the biggest hits of any federal agency if the government shuts down this week, operating with under 7 percent of its employees, according to guidance issued by the agency."

"Desiccated corn and sun-scorched soybeans have been in high supply lately -- and we're paying through the nose for them. The federal government forked out a record-breaking $17.3 billion last year to compensate farmers for weather-related crop losses—more than four times the annual average over the last decade."