"The new chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday that she had asked the agency’s staff to look into the likely effects of climate change on nuclear power reactors."
"Firefighters battled wildfires across the U.S. West on Tuesday, including a massive out-of-control blaze that has destroyed 60 homes and burned more than 20,000 acres between two national forests in Washington state."
"President Obama promotes wind energy in Iowa while Mitt Romney defends the coal industry before a group of miners in Ohio."
"Sea ice in the Arctic is disappearing at a far greater rate than previously expected, according to data from the first purpose-built satellite launched to study the thickness of the Earth's polar caps."
"Hundreds of firefighters battled a pair of wildfires that burned out of control in Northern California for a second day on Monday, threatening a clothing-optional resort and forcing the evacuation of some 500 homes. Meanwhile, authorities said a U.S. Forest Service firefighter was killed in Idaho while battling a blaze there."
"If you had to pick ground zero for climate change, you might pick the Sahel, the grasslands between the Sahara in the north and African tropical rainforests in the south. The region is immensely fertile—when it isn't being slammed by recurrent droughts and floods. Many human lives are suspended in a fragile balance with the volatile climate of this region."
"The United States will suffer a series of severe droughts in the next two decades, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Moreover, global warming will play an increasingly important role in their abundance and severity, claims Aiguo Dai, the study’s author."
"The Department of Interior on Monday proposed a mixture of new oil and gas development and environmental protections in a vast swathe of Arctic land."
"An El Nino weather pattern is underway and will last until winter, Japan said on Friday, foreshadowing disruptive conditions that could harm crops from Australia to India at a time of rising fears about global food supplies."
"President Barack Obama moved to stem the impact of the worst drought in 50 years as he directed the department of agriculture to buy up to $170m of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish."
