"The Chesapeake's blue crabs, in decline for a decade, are in the middle of an extraordinary comeback, officials in Maryland and Virginia said Wednesday. The estuary's crab population has more than doubled in two years, they said, reaching its highest level since 1997."
"The United States is leading an effort by a handful of antiwhaling nations to broker an agreement that would limit and ultimately end whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland, according to people involved with the negotiations."
"An attempt by the Army Corps of Engineers to correct old data on water flows in the Mississippi may have led to underestimates of the current risk of flooding along the river, scientists argue in a new study."
"Interior Department policies don't ensure accurate measurement of oil and gas production on federal leases that generates billions of dollars in royalty payments each year, according to a government audit released today."
"After critical audits, the federal government said Wednesday that it would substantially tighten the certification process for products bearing the Energy Star label, its stamp of approval for an energy-efficient product."
"When Sen. David Vitter persuaded the EPA to agree to yet another review of its long-delayed assessment of the health risks of formaldehyde, he was praised by companies that use or manufacture a chemical found in everything from plywood to carpet."
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is about to take over as stage manager in the uphill push to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation."
"After a year of working with environmental groups, government regulators and the chemical industry, a leading advocate for chemical regulation has devised a plan to remake the nation's chemical laws -- a 34-year-old set of regulations that all players agree is outmoded and ineffective."
"The UK and continental Europe could be gripped by more frequent cold winters in the future as a result of low solar activity, say researchers. ... But they added that the phenomenon only affected a limited region and would not alter the overall global warming trend."
"Researchers testing bushmeat smuggled into the U.S. have found strains of a virus in the same family as HIV, according to preliminary findings to be released Wednesday."
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