Environment

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Scorched earth: Ground crews depend on air tankers to help fight blazes such as the giant Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, one of California's largest wildfires ever. Story, A7. (Associated Press)

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A military C-130 drops a load of fire retardant on a wildfire near Pine, Colo., on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. A new wildfire in the foothills southwest of Denver forced the evacuation of dozens of homes Wednesday as hot and windy conditions in much of Colorado and elsewhere in the West made it easy for fires to start and spread. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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In this citizen journalism image which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrians inspect the rubble of damaged buildings due to heavy shelling by Syrian government forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Aug. 26, 2013. (Associated Press/Aleppo Media Center)

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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, facing a secession movement, said "when I think of Colorado, it means all of our diverse communities and people." (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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Colorado Rural Protection firefighter Molly McGee fights the Rim Fire in the Stanislaus National Forest Thursday, Aug.22, 2013. (AP Photo/The Modesto Bee, Andy Alfaro)

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Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (right) and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz sign a petition supporting Native Hawaiian sovereignty in Honolulu in July 2012.

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**FILE** Four oil pumps near a subdivision near Frederick, Colo., are seen here on Jan. 18, 2012. Oil and gas drilling in Colorado is no longer confined to the state's most rural areas. Energy companies are moving to drill in populous Front Range communities prompting local planners to suggest regulations that energy companies complaints far exceed county authority. Politicians from both parties are calling for legislation clarifying that locals can't set their own rules when it comes to drilling. (Associated Press)

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NASA has asked for suggestions on how to re-purpose three mobile launch platforms, built in 1967, that are going unused at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each two-story structure weighs around 8.2 million pounds, and is 160 feet long and 135 feet wide.

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The price for a gallon of gas on Lee Highway in Arlington and across Virginia has pushed the state toward the bottom nationally, ranking 45th overall since the gas tax was lowered. (andrew harnik/the washington times)