Environment

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Rescuers and medics land by helicopter at a nuclear site in Marcoule, France, on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, after an explosion at a plant that treats nuclear waste. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) ** FILE **

In this March 15, 2011 photo, provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a Taylor's checkerspot butterfly is seen in Oregon. A federal judge on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 approved a pair of sweeping settlements that require the government to consider endangered protections for more than 800 animal and plant species. (AP Photo/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS A person searches for anyone who may be occupying a building last month as raging floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene cross Route 100, closing the main road to traffic in Waitsfield, Vt. As the soggy Northeast tries to dry out from flooding and Texas prays for rain that doesn't come, it seems like an ideal match of oversupply and unquenchable demand. It isn't.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS "It is better that we all lose something than lose everything, forever," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said about new economic measures.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS A truck passes a cornfield near an intersection Thursday in Palmyra, Iowa. Tall stalks obstructing drivers' views are an increasing fall hazard in the Corn Belt as farmers expand their fields closer to the edges of roads.

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The muddy interior of a Mini Cooper is seen in the parking lot of a Courtyard Marriott hotel on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Addison Edward, of Alexandria, Va., closes the door to his friend's Isuzu Trooper on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria on Sept. 9, 2011. The vehicle was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Addison Edward, of Alexandria, Va., attempts to start his friend's Isuzu Trooper on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria on Sept. 9, 2011. The vehicle was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A sign reading "Not responsible for theft or damage to vehicles or contents" is seen in the basement parking lot at Alexandria Tech Center 4 on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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The basement parking lot at Alexandria Tech Center 4 on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., is seen here on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Melvin Coto (left) and Jose Billalovos, employees with a clean-up and landscaping company, remove tree limbs and debris from a parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Nick Pyteo (left), a supervisor for a clean-up and landscaping company, chops up a large tree limb before hauling away a truckload of debris from a parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A cleaning crew removes mud from an office building's parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A cleaning crew removes mud from an office building's parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Muddy water sits inside the headlight of a Mini Cooper in the parking lot of a Courtyard Marriott hotel on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A clean-up crew collects tree limbs and debris that washed into the parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A cleaning crew removes mud from an office building's parking lot on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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William Borden takes photographs of the flood damage to his Lexus in the parking lot of Strayer University in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Mud dries on the hood of a car parked on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 9, 2011, after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A large gas-powered water pump is employed Sept. 9, 2011, in the basement parking lot under the Alexandria Tech Center 4 on Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va. The lot was flooded after heavy rains pounded the region the previous night. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)