Public

"The salamander, long a metaphor for the Mexican soul, risks extinction unless its sole habitat, the canal system of Xochimilco, can be restored."

"Hundreds of problems have been found at European nuclear plants that would cost 25bn euros (£20bn) to fix, says a leaked draft report."

Nancy Rabalais, a marine ecologist dedicated to studying the "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, has won one of this year's MacArthur "genius" grants. Rabelais directs the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Chauvin, La., and, since the mid-1980s, she has conducted the major monitoring program collecting basic data on seasonal oxygen levels and nutrients in Gulf waters.

"Getting a suction tag onto a 5-ton orca can be tricky, but the scientific rewards are big. Scientists are using the devices to gather underwater data about orca behavior to find out how vessel traffic might be affecting the endangered whales."

"At 9:30 a.m. on a warm day in March, eight men and two women stepped off Pennsylvania Avenue and into the northwest gate of the White House. They were top-level refining executives from the world's largest oil companies, Chevron Corp., Marathon Petroleum Corp. and BP PLC, escorted by Jack Gerard, the brash president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's top lobby."

"Fixing the botched repairs at the Crystal River nuclear plant north of Tampa Bay could cost nearly $3.5 billion and take eight years, in a worst-case scenario."

"Who is the most famous hunter in America? If you’re over 30, the first names that come to mind are probably Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent or Dick Cheney. If you’re under 30, the answer is easier. The most famous hunter in America is Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook."

"HOMER, Alaska -- Kris Holderied, who directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, says the ocean's increasing acidity is 'the reason fishermen stop me in the grocery store.'"

"On October 8, as Americans celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, President Barack Obama will travel to California to establish the César E. Chávez National Monument in honor of the late labor and human rights leader."

"[Wednesday] night's inaugural presidential debate may seem a logical place for the candidates to discuss the role of federal lands in providing energy, recreation and job opportunities at a time of stubbornly high unemployment."