National (U.S.)

What do you buy when you buy a carbon offset? Susan Hess follows the $4.50 she paid to offset the CO2 emitted for a train trip to Seattle in Gorge Outdoors, July 24, 2009.

What will happen to all the "clunkers" traded in for gas-sipping new cars under a new federal rebate program?

"In an interview with Yale Environment 360, John Kerry praises the carbon cap-and-trade legislation now being debated in the U.S. Senate, describes its importance to upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen, and explains how he plans to help the landmark legislation clear the Senate and become law."

"The 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico, an area choked by low oxygen levels that threatens marine life, is smaller than expected this year but more deadly, the government said on Monday."

"The Senate [Monday began debate] on a $34.3 billion fiscal 2010 energy and water spending bill as environmental groups press lawmakers to strip provisions they say will damage wetlands and fish habitat in Missouri."

"It will be hot, dry and a bad fire year for much of the West, Forest Service researchers are predicting."

Wood has been hailed as a renewable fuel and is being used in New England power plants. But it is not undergoing some serious scrutiny of its environmental consequences.

"A growing interest in sustainable food is luring children back to their parents' farms."

"An effort to improve the safety of fruits, vegetables and processed foods is running into objections from a broad collection of farm interests, including livestock producers, organic farmers and small-scale growers."

Drifting clouds of sprayed agricultural pesticides often harm the crops of nearby farmers. Even kids are sprayed. Regulation, typically done by states, is often ineffective.