Environment

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"Difficult access team" engineers Katie Francis (left) and Emma Cardini check the National Cathedral on Monday for potential unseen damage caused by the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the District in August. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A polar bear rests with her cubs on pack ice in northern Alaska. A federal judge in 2011 said the Bush administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to conduct an environmental impact review before issuing its ruling on the status of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. (Associated Press)

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A worker starts to cut down a pine tree last month in Houston. The lack of rain and extreme heat during a historic dry spell in Texas have taken a brutal toll on forests and city parks, and the effects could alter the state's landscape for years. (Associated Press)

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Houston guard Wade Smith (foreground) leaps toward a ball fumbled by the Texans in the end zone as Baltimore's Haloti Ngata (92) bears down. (Associated Press)

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The natural gas industry has changed the career path for Cory May, 23, standing next to pump jacks at a storage facility in Zanesville, Ohio. After completing an 80-hour shale exploration certification course, the Marine combat veteran got a job cementing wells for Halliburton that will pay $60,000 to $70,000 a year. (Associated Press)

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Oregon's Bryan Bennett eludes Arizona State defenders during the second half of the Ducks' 41-27 win over the No. 18 Sun Devils. Oregon improved to 51. (Associated Press)

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks about energy and environmental regulations at the United States Steel Mon Valley Works Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pa., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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**FILE** Brian Harrison, CEO of the bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra, invokes his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination as he appears Sept. 23, 2011, before the the House Energy Commitee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. (Associated Press)

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Ryan Homes is building 292 town homes at Dakota Crossing in Northeast Washington. The two- and three-bedroom homes have 1,642 to 2,218 finished square feet, with base prices from $327,990 to $399,990.

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Wilco released a new album last month, "The Whole Love," that debuted at No.5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. (Associated Press)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (left) endorses former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (right) for the GOP presidential nomination on Oct. 11, 2011, during a news conference in Lebanon, N.H. (Associated Press)

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Barry Warner, setting a cable restraint trap in Coolbaugh, Pa., is a lifelong trapper, skilled at capturing wild animals. "Some people think trappers don't care about wildlife," he says. "It was my love for it that took me into this career." (Associated Press)

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Austrians in traditional clothes pass a sculpture of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a body-builder pose outside the new museum.

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Mike Tidwell (right) from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network addresses a rally outside the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington on Oct., 7, 2011, against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. (Associated Press)

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In this Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, photo riot police walk past the rolled down shutter of a shopping alley in Athens during a protest. Central Athens sees major avenues and roads blocked and traffic diverted by protests nearly every day. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

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Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, right, speaks in front of Federal Court in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, with Noah Greenwood, endangered species program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. Three groups, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Nebraska Resources Council and Friends of the Earth plan to file a lawsuit in federal court in Omaha, against TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, saying TransCanada has illegally cleared a 100-mile pipeline corridor through the Nebraska Sandhills, despite a federal law that prevents the launch of projects before they receive approval. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Prisoners at Ayutthaya province prison in central Thailand wade in chest-deep water to board a bus Thursday during an evacuation as storms continue to flood the area. Other countries in Southeast Asia also have endured the worst flooding in 50 years.