Environment

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On a higher plane: SkyTran is using magnetic levitation technology to build a high-speed mass-transit system. (SkyTran Inc.)

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FILE - This July 27, 2011 file photo shows a farmhouse in the background framed by pipes connecting pumps where the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa. In Pennsylvania’s fracking boom, new and more unconventional wells leaked far more than older and traditional wells, according to a study of inspections of more than 41,000 wells drilled. And that means that that methane leaks could be a problem for drilling across the nation, said the author of the study, which funded in part by environmental activist groups and criticized by the energy industry. The study was published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, is pushing to make the export of U.S. natural gas and oil easier, over the concerns of environmentalists. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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"This is right outside the house. Was twice as high at the worst, just before sunrise," Rob Lowe wrote on Instagram. (Rob Lowe/CNN)

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Illustration on the dangers of honest reporting in the current political climate by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

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A golden eagle is shown in this undated, handout photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (AP Photo/US Fish and Wildlife Service) ** FILE **

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U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, left, listens to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge manager Kimberly Hayes, right, while in a look-out tower during a tour of the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Townsend, Ga., Thursday, June 26, 2014. Jewell announced Thursday that the federal government is upgrading the wood stork to a "threatened" species, a step up from endangered that indicates the birds are no longer considered at risk of extinction. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

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FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2013, file photo, a BNSF Railway train hauls crude oil near Wolf Point, Mont. The U.S. Department of Transportation ordered railroads last month to give state officials specifics on oil train routes and volumes so emergency responders can better prepare for accidents. North Dakota's State Emergency Response Commission unanimously voted to release the state's information Wednesday June 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)