John M Broder New York Times

BP has asked United States regulators for permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, two company officials said on Sunday, creating a delicate situation for the Obama administration as it seeks to balance safety concerns with a desire to increase domestic oil production. The petition comes less than 12 months after a rig BP had leased the...

With the federal government set to regulate climate-altering gases from factories and power plants for the first time, the Obama administration and the new Congress are headed for a clash that carries substantial risks for both sides.While only the first phase of regulation takes effect on Sunday, the administration is on notice that if it moves to...

Delegates to the United Nations climate change conference here approved a package of measures early Saturday morning aimed at slowing the emissions of climate-altering gases and at helping the poorest nations adapt to global warming.Although the steps were fairly modest and do not require the broad changes that scientists say are needed to avoid da...

Global talks on climate change opened in Cancún, Mexico, on Monday with the toughest issues unresolved and little expectation of a breakthrough on shaping an international treaty to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases linked to global warming.But some who attended the meetings, sponsored by the United Nations, expressed muted hope that small...

The Obama administration repeatedly underestimated how much oil was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the stricken BP well, contributing to public fear about the accident and a loss of faith in the government's ability to handle it, according to a sharply critical report from the presidential commission appointed to study the disaster.The report...

Nearly three billion people in the developing world cook their meals on primitive indoor stoves fueled by crop waste, wood, coal and dung. Every year, according to the United Nations, smoke from these stoves kills 1.9 million people, mostly women and children, from lung and heart diseases and low birth weight. The stoves also contribute to global w...

BP has asked United States regulators for permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, two company officials said on Sunday, creating a delicate situation for the Obama administration as it seeks to balance safety concerns with a desire to increase domestic oil production. The petition comes less than 12 months after a rig BP had leased the...

With the federal government set to regulate climate-altering gases from factories and power plants for the first time, the Obama administration and the new Congress are headed for a clash that carries substantial risks for both sides.While only the first phase of regulation takes effect on Sunday, the administration is on notice that if it moves to...

Delegates to the United Nations climate change conference here approved a package of measures early Saturday morning aimed at slowing the emissions of climate-altering gases and at helping the poorest nations adapt to global warming.Although the steps were fairly modest and do not require the broad changes that scientists say are needed to avoid da...

Global talks on climate change opened in Cancún, Mexico, on Monday with the toughest issues unresolved and little expectation of a breakthrough on shaping an international treaty to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases linked to global warming.But some who attended the meetings, sponsored by the United Nations, expressed muted hope that small...

The Obama administration repeatedly underestimated how much oil was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the stricken BP well, contributing to public fear about the accident and a loss of faith in the government's ability to handle it, according to a sharply critical report from the presidential commission appointed to study the disaster.The report...

Nearly three billion people in the developing world cook their meals on primitive indoor stoves fueled by crop waste, wood, coal and dung. Every year, according to the United Nations, smoke from these stoves kills 1.9 million people, mostly women and children, from lung and heart diseases and low birth weight. The stoves also contribute to global w...