Environment

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Tropical Storm Irene caused road and building damage along Route 15 in New York, Thursday, Sept.1, 2011. Utility companies continue to bring New York electricity customers back on line, but almost 182,000 are still blacked out four days after Irene pounded the state with drenching rains and high winds. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

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**FILE** In this photo from June 15, 2011, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson testifies on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** In this May 26, 2011, file photo, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) headquarters is seen in Rockville, Md. The risk of an earthquake causing a severe accident at a nuclear power plant is up to 24 times greater than previously believed, according to an AP analysis of preliminary government data, and the nation’s nuclear regulator believes that a quarter of reactors may need modifications to make them safer. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Workers install safety netting at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday after the landmark was damaged Aug. 23 by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake. A cathedral spokesman said no additional debris is expected to fall, adding that the netting is strictly a precautionary measure.

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A worker attaches a chain to a washed-out rail line in Phoenicia, N.Y., in the Catskill Mountains. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Irene caused $1 billion in damage in New York, most of it from flooding upstate.

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In this Jan. 31, 2010 photo, a visitor inspects a Honda Motor Co.'s hybrid Fit at the Japanese automaker's headquarters in Tokyo. The Fit subcompact beat Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid last month to top Japan's auto sales model rankings, its first return to that spot in nearly two years, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Friday, Feb. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

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Richmond American Homes is building 50 single-family homes on half-acre sites at Stonewall Manor in Triangle. The Amherst model, with 2,800 square feet, is priced from $419,950.

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This computer-generated graphic provided by NASA shows images of objects in Earth orbit that are currently being tracked. Space junk has made such a mess of Earth's orbit that experts say it may need to be cleaned up. (Associated Press/NASA)

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Paterson, N.J., firefighters suit up for a possible rescue on the city's Bridge Street as the swollen Passaic River floods on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Vermont National Guardsmen load ready-to-eat meals and water for residents of Fair Haven on Wednesday. Vermont Emergency Management officials said all but one of the state's communities left isolated by flooding had been reached by ground crews as of Wednesday.

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Asian carp were on display at a Capitol Hill hearing last year about ways to prevent introduction of the invasive species into the Great Lakes. Now, six attorneys general have called for a wider push to protect the lakes from invasive species by cutting off their artificial link to the Mississippi River basin. (Associated Press)

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A produce store in Ship Bottom, N.J. lets customers know Hurricane Irene didn't knock it out of business. Shore towns recovering from the storm hope tourists weren't scared away for the remainder of the summer season. (Associated Press)

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (left) takes a helicopter tour Tuesday of hurricane damage to North Carolina with Gov. Beverly Perdue (center) and Sen. Kay R. Hagan. Also Tuesday, she said she wants the National Guard to stay on the U.S.-Mexico border. (Associated Press)

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A tattered American flag recovered from World Trade Center debris is part of the Smithsonian Institution's upcoming special display of 9/11 "relics," positioned on tables rather than from behind exhibit glass. (National Museum of American History)

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A broken bed lies in the mud in Gombe village in the Bulambuli district of Uganda, about 175 miles from the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011. Landslides killed at least 40 people on Monday, including children buried in their homes, officials said. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

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BURLINGTON FREE PRESS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS North Main Street in Waterbury, Vt., was underwater, and almost 50,000 Vermont utility customers were without power Monday in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. Hundreds of roads were closed and a number of bridges were destroyed by the storm. Irene dumped 11 inches of rain on the state.

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Vehicles line up to fill their tanks at the only gas station catering to cars and trucks opens in Buxton, N.C., Monday, Aug. 29, 2011, following Hurricane Irene. Buxton is one of the communities cut off from the mainland by Hurricane Irene. The hurricane caused several breaches in N.C. Highway 12. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Chuck Liddy)