National (U.S.)

"The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will evaluate older coal-fired power plants for compliance with today's federal air quality standards, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced today. The state will survey air pollution from facilities throughout Virginia that were initially grandfathered by the 1970 federal Clean Air Act."

"A coalition of environmental groups today formally asked three federal agencies to make public the list of 44 coal ash disposal sites across the country that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classed as 'high hazard.'"

"The Agriculture Department will have the lead role in overseeing agriculture offsets under the House climate bill...."

"Three-quarters of Americans think the federal government should regulate the release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories to reduce global warming, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll...."

Southerners are looking to their forests for alternative fuel.

Advanced geothermal technology -- deep drilling to fracture rock far underground -- threatens to cause earthquakes when deployed along faults. The Energy Department is funding private firms to try such projects in the U.S.

"As the House barrels toward a vote on climate and energy legislation, a group headed by a prominent Republican is launching a national campaign aimed at scuttling the bill."

"The Department of Energy has released the first third of its $25 billion advanced technology loan fund for automakers to 'create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil.'