KANSAS CITY/WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday farmers could proceed with planting genetically altered alfalfa without any of the restrictions that opponents say are crucial to protect organic and conventional farm fields from contamination.The decision, closely watched by supporters and protesters around the world for its potential implications on biotech…

When thinking of the wettest place on land, most people think about rainforests such as the Amazon, which can get up to 78 inches of rain per year. All this precipitation supports the Amazon’s rich plant life which helps moderate carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. It is then quite alarming to learn that the…

Once hailed as ‘America’s best idea’, Yellowstone was the world’s first national park. Changing the way we interact with nature, the Pulitzer prize-winning author Wallace Stegner put it best when he said national parks “reflect us at our best, not our worst”. In the gigantic 3.5million square miles of land, Yellowstone is host to a…

On Friday, Jan. 28 in Antarctica, a research team investigating the last 100,000 years of Earth’s climate history reached an important milestone completing the main ice core to a depth of 3,331 meters (10,928 feet) at West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS). The project will be completed over the next two years with some additional…

President Barack Obama announced a new clean energy program in Pennsylvania on Thursday, seeking to show he remains focused on jobs in a state that may be essential to his 2012 re-election prospects. Obama outlined a plan in his State of the Union address last month to encourage clean energy technologies and to double by…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed its investigation of the Gowanus Canal Superfund site in Brooklyn, N.Y. The investigation confirmed the widespread presence of numerous contaminants in the canal and identified the sources of contamination. The investigation also identified characteristics of the canal that will influence future plans for a cleanup. A companion human…

Combs on female red grouse are bigger during the breeding season and among fitter, more mature adults – just like they are in males – a new study led by scientists from the University of Aberdeen shows. This is the first experimental evidence that suggests these male-like traits in females are dependent on the individual’s…

The Obama administration has given passenger rail the strongest federal push since the days of Abraham Lincoln in hopes of spurring job growth and keeping pace with a rising China. In early 2010, Washington allotted $8 billion in stimulus cash to fund 13 high-speed rail systems spread across 31 states, including projects in Florida, the…

While a team of Russian scientists were drilling ice core samples from their Vostok base in Antarctica, new satellite imagery revealed the outline of a lake the size of New Jersey buried two miles underneath the ice. Scientists have been drilling through the ice and are now just 100 feet away from breaking into the…

The Gulf of Mexico should recover from the massive BP oil spill by the end of 2012, the administrator of the $20 billion victims compensation fund said Wednesday. By that time, most of the harmful effect of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history will have dissipated and the economy should have picked up,…