Harpswell, Maine is a small fishing community in the mid-coast region. One half of the town is narrow neck of land, jutting into Casco Bay, and the other, a string of three islands connected by bridges. As the town library puts it, "On the west is a single peninsula, Harpswell Neck, a thin finger of granite, pine and rolling meadows dotted with classic 19th century homes, a scattering of working farms, white churches of architectural perfection and the no-nonsense front yards of the Neck’s scores of working lobstermen." The townspeople are friendly, and most were born and grew up there. The town seems to consist of a couple of long, scenic roads, a few houses and some breathtaking views.

After weeks of haggling over the details, a Congressional conference committee has finally come up with a compromise energy plan which it is ready for approval by a White House eager to enact the legislation.

British agricultural scientists have found that a genetically modified (GM) variant of rapeseed has cross-fertilized with local wild charlock plants, creating a herbicide-resistant "superweed" in the process. The transformation of a plain charlock into a superweed is something scientists had thought to be "virtually impossible."

The Sierra Club’s climate campaigner, Dan Becker, routinely bashes the auto companies. Here’s a typical outburst, from PBS: "They churn out more and more gas-guzzling SUVs, so now we’re producing less-efficient cars on average than we were in 1980." Given his background, it was surprising to hear his kind words in a press release dated July 11: "For years," he said, "the Sierra Club has pressured Ford to make more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. They are now beginning to do that, and we want to help them succeed."

According to a report released last week by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), American babies are born with an average of 287 chemical contaminants in their bloodstreams. The findings are based on tests of 10 samples of umbilical-cord blood taken by the American Red Cross across the country. The most prevalent chemicals found in the 10 newborns were mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and the Teflon chemical PFOA.

Even with a strong majority in Congress and control of the White House, the GOP is still having trouble getting its ducks in a row regarding its stance on global warming. Against the backdrop of President Bush for the first time acknowledging scientific consensus that man-made greenhouse gases are increasing global temperatures, House Republican Sherwood Boehlert of New York last week publicly denounced a request by House Energy Committee Chairman (and fellow Republican) Joe Barton of Texas to gather extensive research data as well as financial information from three scientists who authored a controversial 1998 study finding that the 20th century was the warmest century on record, and that temperatures began to increase sharply during the 1990s.