The Christian Science Monitor

Jonathan Jarvis, named the head of the National Park Service last month, says that he'll work with the National Academy of Sciences to fight global warming, which he says is "the greatest challenge ever to face national parks."

The Feds have given the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) $151 million to look at some highly unusual ways of creating energy. Are they so crazy they just might work -- or just plain crazy?

With barely a third of its metro stations in operation, there is some doubt over whether Dubai's metro will be a success.

A coalition of community groups in L.A. has banded together to address the lack of access to healthy food in sections of East and South Central Los Angeles.

The economic downturn has brought much development in Moscow to a halt. But for some preservationists, that's a good thing.

The ailing auto industry has many manufacturers in the Midwest transitioning to the renewable energy market, opening factories to build wind turbine parts and solar panels.

Mayor Yu Qun has transformed the city of Baoding, China into what some are calling the world's first "carbon-positive" city -- mainly by shifting away from polluting industries to the renewable energy industry.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was part of an appeals-court panel in 2006 that favored a private developer with the authority to seize land by eminent domain.

Thousands of stimulus-funded transportation projects are underway this summer, creating thousands of delays on the nation's roads.

The UK government recently announced the sites of four new planned "eco-towns". But local opposition to the projects remains high.

A new city bike sharing design concept not only gives people access to bikes, but also provides power for the local bus system and even pays riders to do it.

Beekeeping is on the rise in urban areas, despite laws to the contrary. Some beekeepers are concerned about the decline in bee populations and are doing their part to change that- other see it as a way to nurture local food movements.

By 2100, vast stretches of the Mississippi Delta will be lost to sea level rise, according to a recent study. More than 5,000 square miles could be lost, including much of New Orleans, researchers say.

The Christian Science Monitor reports on America's fastest-growing cities, many of which were slow to feel the effects of the recession and hope to use their momentum to push through it.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a list of the fastest-growing cities, in terms of population growth. Those on the list are hoping their growth will pull them through the recession.

When an immigration raid brought down the dominant employer in tiny Postville, Iowa, last year, nearly half of the town's population were either deported or lost their jobs. As the town struggles to regain its feet, its learned some tough lessons.

The economic downturn is hurting Dubai, as glitzy skyscraper projects come to a halt. But the biggest pain is being felt among the hundreds of thousands of migrant construction workers who came to the city seeking their fortunes.

Farm workers are getting laid off and other consumers face strict water use limits. The current drought, exacerbated by environmental restrictions on pumping from the San Joaquin Delta, has made Californians competitive for the resource.

U.S. states and officials are looking North to Canada where public-private partnerships have successfully funded infrastructure projects for years in British Columbia.

The recession is causing San Francisco to tighten its belt. Budget cuts are falling heavily on the city's health and human services.