Environment

Water in all its forms has caused trouble at the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant this week. They are reminders that the problems are far from over.

Biologists have discovered they can track hard-to-see species in streams, ponds and even the ocean by sampling the water for DNA. Scientists say the technique is an important conservation tool: So far, it's been used to track declining giant salamanders and even locate a rare whale.

The Mount Charleston blue butterfly is found only in a couple of small patches high in Nevada's Spring Mountains. But the Carpenter 1 fire, which has been raging through the area since July 1, is threatening the land and scientists fear the fire could push the butterflies into extinction.

The Cheat River runs through historic mining country in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Coal has been an economic boost to the area, but often at a cost to the environment. The Cheat was one such casualty.

The Pandoravirus is so big you can see it in an ordinary microscope. Scientists say its size may have helped fool amoebas and other potential hosts into eating it. But this virus doesn't pose a threat to humans. It's more of a Trojan virus than a surprise from Pandora's Box.

Over the past decade, fires in the American West have grown in intensity and size. "We're on a growth trajectory that is very scary," says one fire tracker. "And if we think it's expensive and dangerous now, we're just now seeing the very beginnings of how big this problem is going to be very soon."

In Montana's Centennial Valley, conservationists made a grievous mistake while trying to save the trumpeter swan — they nearly wiped out Arctic grayling. Now they're looking for ways to make sure both species get a place on the ark.

Government investigators are trying to solve an agricultural whodunit: How did genetically engineered wheat that was never approved for sale end up in a farmer's field in Oregon? Some are raising the possibility of sabotage; others suspect simple human error.

The building housing the Environmental Protection Agency got a new name on Wednesday: it's now the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building. The former president tallied his administration's accomplishments at a renaming ceremony.

Russia is preparing for the 2014 Winter Games — turning a sleepy valley in the Northern Caucasus Mountains into an Olympic village, with brand-new facilities for every Alpine sport. Officials say it will be a world-class destination for winter-sports enthusiasts long after the Games are over. Environmentalists say it's an ecological disaster in the making.