STUFF ... Argentina partnering up with China over shale gas ... USDA awarded ski area $235K to install solar system ... 5-yr drought in central TX worst since '50's. 50K of region's 145K acres of rice eliminated from water restrictions ... Floods in Philippines causing evacs, Manila standstill ... Indian farmers adapting to falling water tables, unpredictable rains ... Wildfire costs in US over $1B already this year ... Unusual conditions bred tiny avocados this year ... Drillers in south TX having trouble finding enough water to frack because of drought ... Study: support for global limits on CO2 drops as cost estimates rise. (Surprise?) ... State regulators call on EPA to keep GHG emissions rules flexible ... Prices down in Cal's 4th cap-and-trade auction ... China carbon permits exceeding EU prices ... Watchdog says NRC's enviro reviews "too complicated" ... Dolphin deaths continue to rise along US East Coast ... Appeals court ruled against EPA in PA coal power plant case ... NRC granted temp license to NY's Indian Point #2 reactor ... 62 countries now have policies to support biofuels ... FL utility to cut 1K jobs ... DOE: up to 20% of coal power plants in east US expected to close within 5 yrs. Low NG prices, GHG emissions regs ... Poll: most Americans don't support global warming-focused civil disobedience ... Conservatives angry over Fed grant for climate-themed video game ... Senators calling for antitrust probe of oil comps over ethanol ... TX coal export terminal plans dropped ... IG: DOE fails to enforce appliance efficiency standards ... Ferrari plans to make more hybrids ... Japan's nuke watchdog may raise status of new Fukushima leak to "serious". (How about "really serious"?) 300K liters leaked from 1 storage tank of a thousand. China "shocked" to hear contaminated water still leaking from plant. Next step is removing 400 tons of spent fuel from damaged reactor bldg. Never before attempted at this scale. Contains radiation equiv to 14K x amount released by Hiroshima bomb. Over 1,300 fuel rod assemblies ... Some solar manufacturers may boost capacity on surge in Asian demand ... Wind power market to shrink this year and next in Europe, MidEast, Africa on subsidy cuts ... Correcting an item from yesterday: Intergov Panel on Climate Change now 95 to 100% confident human activity the primary influence on global warming. (Not 95% as reported yesterday.) ... US Energy Initiatives (USEI) began making biodiesel with partner ... Land speed record for motorcycles broken using E85. '06 Suzuki hit 209. So did the rider ... EU's overcapacity for biodiesel production continues to weigh on prices ... EC dropped anti-dumping duties for Indonesia biodiesel ... Brazil's oil profits to fund ed, healthcare ... Canada's U of Regina R&D'ing enhanced heavy oil recovery process. Boosts recovery rate to 85% ... Alta Devices with AeroVironment developing solar-powered drone. Remains airborne over 9 hrs ... Super-heated particles from sun expected to hit Earth magsphere by Friday. Grids vulnerable ... Vestas to supply 200 2Mw wind turbines to EDP for US projects. Built in Colo. Deliveries start '14 ... SunEd to separate out semicon ops in IPO to fund development of solar farms, pay down debt. Stock up 18-23% today ... Welspun commissioned largest PV solar plant in Asia ... Union Investment closed 2nd equity round for clean/renewable infrastructure fund.