Election results may help DNR (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) In recent years, the state Legislature and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have disagreed over everything from air pollution to protections for a cousin of the garter snake. [News Source]

Casinos prepare for possibility of smoking ban.

New Jersey’s Casino Association will mount a legal challenge if Atlantic City Council adopts a smoking ban on gaming floors, but casino executives have begun to look at ways to cut their losses should the ban become a reality.

[News Source]

Worm wranglers to the rescue. California Environmental Protection Agency officials have turned to some unlikely allies to help curb the amount of waste going into landfills from their downtown office building. [News Source]

Election results may help DNR. In recent years, the state Legislature and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have disagreed over everything from air pollution to protections for a cousin of the garter snake but the altered political landscape could change all that. [News Source]

Bloomberg administration is developing land use plan. The Bloomberg administration wants to reclaim as many as 1,700 acres of polluted land in New York City and transform them into environmentally sound sites for schools, apartments and parks. [News Source]

Rural commuters: Drive solo no more. People who commute from remote rural homes in Amador, Tuolumne and Calaveras counties to jobs at schools, casinos and government centers, or in big Valley cities such as Sacramento and Stockton now have a way to find each other and form carpools. [News Source]

Plant construction could begin as early as spring. A final decision by federal and state authorities on a proposed coal-fired power plant east of Great Falls is expected in March and, if approved, construction would begin very soon after, regulators and power plant officials said last week. [News Source]

State plan falls far short of clean air. As predicted by environmental groups, state plans to clean up the air in the Galveston-Houston-Brazoria region come nowhere close to meeting federal standards by the 2010 deadline. [News Source]

Indoor air pollution only gets worse as temps dip. Indoor air pollution is one of the top five most urgent environmental risks to public health, according to the EPA. And that risk can rise in winter, as people shut tight the windows and doors and unwittingly trap unhealthy air inside. [News Source]

Local house has green peace of mind. A 2,500 square-foot "simple little ranch" house with radiant-heat floors, solar panels, and a hot water system designed for a space shuttle will be one of the most energy-efficient homes in New Jersey. [News Source]

Joining the wind power revolution. The 5-year-old Fenner project with its 20 wind turbines -- each one standing as high as a 35-floor building and capable of generating enough power for 750 homes -- is America's energy future. [News Source]