"Congressional Republicans conceded defeat on Wednesday in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law as the House and Senate approved last-minute legislation ending a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and extending federal borrowing power to avert a financial default with potentially worldwide economic repercussions."
"WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The U.S. government shutdown is threatening a long-awaited deal to create the world's largest marine sanctuary in Antarctica. Americans are among the most enthusiastic proponents, but they might not make it to the negotiating table.
The U.S., New Zealand and other countries have sought a sanctuary in the pristine waters of the Ross Sea for the past decade, and there are hopes that previous objectors Russia and Ukraine will agree to a new, smaller proposal when the nations that regulate Antarctic fishing meet next week in Hobart, Australia.
"Drought in the high northern Colorado mountains, tied to long-term changes in ocean-surface temperatures in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, has been linked to a massive spruce beetle outbreak, according to researchers at the University of Colorado."
"Nuclear power plants: Some regions have many more safety violations than others, suggesting inconsistent enforcement of nuclear power plant regulations, according to a GAO study."
"The news for environmental journalism in the United States is grim and getting grimmer."
"CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- The news for environmental journalism in the United States is grim and getting grimmer."
"Washington -- A virulent outbreak of salmonella poisoning traced to three Foster Farms chicken plants in the Central Valley has peculiar features that food safety experts said should alarm regulators and consumers alike -- in particular, the number of people who are coming down with a form of the disease that is resistant to antibiotics."
"By agreeing to hear a narrowly focused challenge to one portion of the Obama administration's global-warming regulatory agenda, the Supreme Court on Tuesday cast uncertainty on the scope and timing of President Obama's ambitious efforts to fight climate change—an issue on which, like his signature health care law, he hopes to build his legacy."
Major news outlets lionized a study of methane drilling leaks -- hailed by industry as showing minimal climate impacts -- that scientists now say was riddled with flaws.
"National parks from the Sierra Nevada to the Great Smoky Mountains are increasingly being fertilized by unwanted nutrients drifting through the air from agricultural operations, putting some of the country’s most treasured natural landscapes at risk of ecological damage, a new study has found."
"The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday sought to calm a furor over its apparent proposal to reduce ethanol use in gasoline next year, saying that no final decisions had been made about the contentious mandate."
