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President Obama set his green plan into action Monday, potentially reversing several Bush-era decisions on global warming and fuel efficiency.

DENVER, CO (MARKET WIRE) CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, procurement, construction, and operations firm, has been ranked 86 on FORTUNE's 12th annual '100 Best Companies to Work For' list. This is the fourth time the company has earned a spot on the prestigious list. The full list and related stories appear in the February 2 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands January 26 and at www.fortune.com on January 22.

The people most threatened by global warming are those who live in low-lying areas near the seashore. In this puzzle, you are going to try to protect as much of the fictitious (but representative) Whit Island as possible. Whit at its highest point is only 10 feet above sea level but the previous government had ignored the issue until an unusual storm swept several houses into the sea--and at the next election, the government, as well. [More]

Even if global carbon emissions were halted today, damage from the already rising thermostat would continue for 1,000 years, says a sobering study. Continuing with business as usual would create permanent dust-bowl conditions in the U.S. Southwest and around the Mediterranean.

Even if carbon dioxide emissions were halted today, global warming and the environmental disruption that comes with it would continue for 1,000 years, says a sobering study. Scientists are urging politicians to proceed with caution as they set new target levels for emissions.

How long will global uranium deposits fuel the world's nuclear reactors at present consumption rates?Steve Fetter, dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, supplies an answer: [More]

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Scientific American.Rising electricity prices and last summer’s rolling blackouts in California have focused fresh attention on nuclear power’s key role in keeping America’s lights on. Today 103 nuclear plants crank out a fifth of the nation’s total electrical output. And despite residual public misgivings over Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the industry has learned its lessons and established a solid safety record during the past decade. Meanwhile the efficiency and reliability of nuclear plants have climbed to record levels. Now with the ongoing debate about reducing greenhouse gases to avoid the potential onset of global warming, more people are recognizing that nuclear reactors produce electricity without discharging into the air carbon dioxide or pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and smog-causing sulfur compounds. The world demand for energy is projected to rise by about 50 perc

Editor's Note: This story was originally printed in the December 2005 issue of Scientific American magazine. Despite long-standing public concern about the safety of nuclear energy, more and more people are realizing that it may be the most environmentally friendly way to generate large amounts of electricity. Several nations, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam, are building or planning nuclear plants. But this global trend has not as yet extended to the U.S., where work on the last such facility began some 30 years ago. [More]

The world's largest penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of this century due to the melting of Antarctic sea ice caused by global climate change, scientists say.

The Obama administration is pushing forward with plans to aggressively limit greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming, it was reported on Sunday.