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"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have announced their first-ever direct grants to states and cities to study the potential effects of climate change in the United States."

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, who held President Obama's nomination for OMB director hostage over the deepwater drilling ban, has said she will now hold it hostage until she is satisfied with the pace at which drilling permits are granted.

"Tariq Yousafzai, a water and environmental engineer with detailed knowledge of his country's water infrastructure, sees evidence of climate change in the flood disaster that inundated one-fifth of his country. But a more immediate concern of his is the massive deforestation that has silted up the waterways and left Pakistan more vulnerable to storms than ever. "

"At the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the justices heard arguments in a case that drug manufacturers say could open the floodgates to thousands of lawsuits — mainly from parents who contend that vaccinations caused their children's autism. At issue is how far a federal law reaches in barring state lawsuits over vaccines."

"The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from the oil industry and others in the Gulf Coast, on Tuesday lifted the moratorium on deep water drilling that it imposed in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill.

"Google is backing a plan to lay undersea cables to connect offshore windmills off the mid-Atlantic coast, a step the Internet giant hopes will boost wind power as an energy source."

"The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including large parts of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a new study finds."

"With climate legislation stalled in Congress and U.S. EPA just months away from regulating greenhouse gases for the first time, 37 states have taken sides in a court battle that could end up steering U.S. climate policy for years."

In a hotly contested Maryland race for House of Representatives, incumbent Democrat Rep. Frank Kratovil plays up his environmental credentials in a a district where the livelihoods of farmers and watermen (plus a tourist industry) depend on the environment. His opponent, Republican Andy Harris, offers a stark contrast and is making a strong showing."