Environment

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The temporary facilities for spent fuel and radioactive waste are four years behind schedule. Ignalina, built in the 1980s, is turning out to be a hard lesson for Europe: It’s one thing to kill a nuclear power station; getting rid of the remains is another headache entirely. (Associated Press)

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The Ignalina nuclear power plant in Visaginas, Lithuania, was two weeks away from decommissioning when this photo was taken on Dec. 15, 2009. Fuel remains in the reactor core three years later. (Associated Press)

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The new Chinese passport outlines all of the South China Sea as part of China’s territorial waters. The Philippines has protested China’s depiction of its claims. The potentially oil- and gas-rich waters also are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Bangladeshi firefighters battle a blaze at a garment factory in the Savar neighborhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh, late on Nov. 24, 2012. At least 112 people were killed, an official said. (Associated Press)

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Oil field workers may be having more rigs to climb in the future. Energy leaders now, more than ever, are portraying oil and gas production as a key way of generating tax revenue, spurring job creation and saving the nation from going off the looming “fiscal cliff.” States such as Pennsylvania and North Dakota continue to expand fracking, creating tens of thousands of jobs and pumping millions of dollars into local economies. Any federal action to limit fracking would pour cold water on the growth in those states and give fresh ammunition to the vocal environmental opposition in New York, California and elsewhere. (Associated Press)

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Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee delivers his state-of-the-state address in the House Chamber, at the Statehouse, in Providence, R.I., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Don McMahon, right, director of facilities management at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission in Atlantic City, N.J., takes the Audas family on a tour to show them all of the items people have donated for Hurricane Sandy victims on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. They will return to the mission on Friday to volunteer. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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The Audas family drops off donations at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission in Atlantic City, N.J. on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. They will return to the mission on Friday to volunteer. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Robert Redford is a trustee of Pitzer College, which is creating an environmental studies program in his name. (Associated Press)

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Pulte Homes is building 340 single-family homes at the Hamlets at Red Cedar in Leesburg. The Chastworth model, with 4,589 finished square feet, is priced from $735,990.

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**FILE** Steam and smoke rise from a coal burning power plant in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Dec. 16, 2009. (Associated Press)

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U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar signs an agreement on Colorado River water usage as Mexican Commissioner Roberto Salmon looks on Tuesday. It amends a 1944 treaty granting Mexico 1.5 million acre-feet of river water yearly. (Associated Press)