"About 180 nations met for U.N. climate talks on Monday amid warnings that time was running out for them to reach agreement on a hugely complex pact, due for completion at the end of the year."

The new Sierra Suntower in Southern California's Antelope Valley uses 24,000 mirrors to concentrate light onto a tower that generates steam -- and enough electricty to power 4,000 local homes.

"There might be a scientific reason that the old-growth trees in Yosemite National Park don't seem quite as big or as plentiful as those in your grandfather's early snapshots of the park."

"The brown tree snake invasion has wiped out birds on guam and left a forest to survive on its own."

"The deadly bacterium, responsible for recent pistachio and peanut recalls, can live in many wild animals and in almost any climate. and it's thriving in our modern lifestyle."

"In rural west Michigan, food processors have sprayed so much wastewater onto fields that heavy metals seeped into groundwater, contaminating wells."

After years of complaints, federal agents raided the CES Environmental Services waste-processing facility in southeast Houston.

"As California entered a severe drought, many of the city of Sacramento's biggest water users increased their watering dramatically."

"The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the united states in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say."