National (U.S.)

"NASA, the agency known for exploring space, will be spending a lot more time studying Earth in the next few years. The Obama administration has proposed a budget for NASA that includes billions of dollars for satellites and other tools to help scientists investigate Earth-bound problems, especially climate change."

The EPA is considering requiring pesticide-makers to disclose often-toxic "inert" ingredients, changing a policy of secrecy that has been in effect for nearly 2/3 of a century.

"Sixteen utilities and a trade association sued the Energy Department on Monday to halt the government’s collection of nuclear waste disposal fees, arguing that the country no longer had a disposal plan after ruling out Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a repository."

"When oil prices climbed, more people turned to wood to heat their homes, many using outdoor wood furnaces that to some are air-polluting nuisances. From Vermont to Connecticut to Indiana, some neighbors have complained about smoke from these furnaces drifting into their yards and homes, in some cases triggering asthma attacks and lung problems."

"A federal advisory panel urged the U.S. Interior Department on Friday to block a $1 billion wind project off Cape Cod opposed by local business leaders and politicians but seen as helpful to the Obama administration's energy strategy."

President Obama does not appear to have won many GOP votes for climate change legislation with his offshore drilling plan. In fact, he may have lost as many votes as he may have gained. And the chief beneficiary of the drilling plan -- the oil and gas industry -- is running ads against a climate bill.

"Impacts from a decade of extreme storms on the coastline of the northern Gulf of Mexico have left many coastal areas vulnerable to future storm events, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey warned [Thursday]."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is exploring whether to use the Clean Water Act to control greenhouse gas emissions, which are turning the oceans acidic at a rate that's alarmed some scientists."