Environment

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Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stands onstage in the rain Jan. 20, 2012, as he is introduced by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley during a campaign rally at the Harmon Tree Farm in Gilbert, S.C. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A woman shields herself from rain with a campaign poster Jan. 20, 2012, as Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a rally at the Harmon Tree Farm in Gilbert, S.C. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands with supports during a campaign stop at Harmon's Tree Farm in Lexington, S.C., Friday, Jan., 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Firefighters wait for water Jan. 19, 2012, before attacking an outbuilding adjacent to a home in Pleasant Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more and forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate their neighborhoods. (Associated Press/The Reno Gazette-Journal)

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Porto Ercole, along the Argentario coast of Italy, is seen here on Jan. 18, 2012. A half-million gallons (2,400 tons) of fuel inside the capsized Costa Concordia cruiser liner risk polluting some of the Mediterranean's most pristine sea. (Associated Press)

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Toll Bros. is building 62 town homes and single-family homes on sites of one-eighth to one-quarter acre at Shady Grove Crossing in Derwood. The Crestbrooke model, with 3,170 square feet, is priced from $702,995.

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Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat, speaks Friday in front of a painting by a Haitian artist at a Miami middle school about reconstruction in Haiti since a January 2010 earthquake there. Mr. Nelson is seeking a third Senate term this fall. (Associated Press)

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An early-morning walk in the snow is unusual for residents in Vancouver, Wash. Some residents enjoyed the snowfall in a region where heavy accumulations are rare, while emergency management officials worried about potential flooding. (Associated Press)

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Jimmy Glotfelty, executive vice president of external affairs for Clean Line Energy Partners, tells editors at The Washington Times that wind power could eventually replace natural gas. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A wind turbine is part of the First Wind project in Sheffield, Vt. Gov. Peter Shumlin wants Vermont to get 90 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2050. If the goal can be accomplished, it would largely eliminate the state's reliance on fossil fuels. (Associated Press)

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Li Na of China returns a ball to Australia's Olivia Rogowska during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

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In this 2009 photo released by researcher Bryan Lessard of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), a newly discovered horse fly in Austrlia with its golden-haired bum is shown at the Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, Australia. (Associated Press/Bryan Lessard, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization)

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Wind turbines stand behind houses in Feldheim, Germany, near Berlin. This tiny village of 37 gray homes and farm buildings clustered along the main road in a windswept corner of rural eastern Germany is already putting into practice the nation's vision of a future powered entirely by renewable energy. (Associated Press)

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner will play in the AHL during the NHL lockout. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

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Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had 1,364 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground this season. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healy breaks ice in the Nome Harbor on Jan. 13, 2012. The Healy has been escorting and breaking ice for the Russian tanker Renda since Jan. 3, 2012, on its way to Nome to deliver 1.3 million gallons of fuel. Now comes the tricky part: getting more than a million gallons of diesel and gasoline to shore through a mile-long hose without a spill. Nome and the villages of Noatak and Kobuk face fuel shortages that illustrate the vulnerability of relying solely on deliveries by sea or air, particularly during an especially bitter winter. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen)

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A fisherman casts a net into a commercial farming pond in Xuejia, southern Taiwan. The fish farmers on the terraced plains above Taiwan's west coast are riding a Chinese boom, thanks to import duties Beijing lowered to win over the island's voters. (Associated Press)