National (U.S.)

"A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants has quickly spread to nearly every state in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic, and the weather over the next week may determine whether the outbreak abates or whether tomato crops are ruined."

"A Great Lakes study linking a pesticide in fish to diabetes adds to the growing chorus of studies suggesting that environmental contaminants may play a role in the widespread disease."

"A new burst of coal-fired power plant construction now underway -- the largest in decades -- will put 43 new coal plants on American soil in the next five years, and all of them will escape the performance standards written into the climate bill now moving through Congress."

"So many of us have an old bike collecting dust in the garage. More often than not, they end up in the garbage. But ...one group has found a unique way to recycle them."

"For years, the stumbling block for making renewable energy practical and dependable has been how to store electricity for days when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing. But new technologies suggest this goal may finally be within reach."

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) penned a response criticising AK Gov. Sarah Palin's July 14, 2009, Washington Post op-ed slamming the Democrat's cap-and-trade plan. The blogosphere buzz built by Palin's foray into climate matters suggests she may still have a role to play in U.S. politics. Both Republicans and Democrats seem to hope so.

Wal-Mart is throwing its hat into the crowded ring of green-labeling schemes for merchandise -- and hoping to crowd out other certifiers of sustainability.

"Honeybees may not be the first thing that come to mind when you think of Brooklyn. Yet ... a growing number of urbanites who keep bees in cities across the country. Their motivations vary."

"The U.S. Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a legal decision between the Interior Department and Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N) that, if allowed to stand, could cost the government billions of dollars in lost oil royalties from energy companies."

"The Senate confirmed on Wednesday retired astronaut Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden as administrator of NASA, just in time for the space agency's 40th anniversary celebrations of man's first steps on the moon."