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The Supreme Court protects California's delta smelt. -

The nation's highest court upheld federal wildlife regulations yesterday that limit the pumping of river water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Water agencies in the drought-ridden state had challenged the rules, but the justices found that the Endangered Species Act requires "reasonable and prudent" measures to save the three-inch-long smelt. Fish need water—sure sounds reasonable. Los Angeles Times

A lot of my working life is about studying climate change, and the way the climate system works is really fascinating to me. Then I look at my children and think about what I know is coming their way, and I worry.

—​Professor Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh, participating in Is This How You Feel?, a project in which scientists are asked what they think about climate change.

2015 got off on the wrong foot. -

On January 1, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels hit 400 parts per million—or, in layman's terms, too damn high!  CO2 concentrations don't usually peak until May; 2013 was the first time in recorded history that the zenith topped 400 ppm. Last year, it went above 400 in March. Now we can't even get a day into the new year without hitting the dangerous milestone. Climate Central 

Denmark sets new high for wind power. -

In 2014, Denmark got 39 percent of its electricity from wind—a new world record. The country aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2020, generating half of its power from renewable sources. Not only are Danes on their way to meeting that goal but they're also being rewarded for it economically: Worldwide, about nine of every ten offshore wind turbines are made in Denmark. (Too bad about the United States.) Think Progress

This is a bad day for property rights in Nebraska. Private, foreign corporations now know they can buy their way through our state.

Activist group Bold Nebraska, after the state supreme court overturned a lower court's decision that the routing process for the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska was illegal.

Nebraska’s Supreme Court won’t stop the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. -

In a case brought by landowners, a majority of the court ruled this morning that a law allowing KXL to cross the state is unconstitutional. But a supermajority of five judges is needed to overturn the law, and the court fell one short. The three judges who didn’t find the law unconstitutional said the landowners lacked standing to challenge it, so they wouldn’t rule on its constitutionality. President Obama still plans to veto a KXL approval bill if the GOP-led Congress sends one to his desk before the federal environmental review process is complete, the White House saidHuffington Post