In the Rockies today, Idaho's changing climate, a ruling on genetically modified sugar beets and pine-bark beetles are in the news.
As President Barack Obama and other world leaders discussed climate change at the United Nations on Tuesday, Idaho farmers and anglers said they've observed changes in the Gem State's climate for decades.
Wineries can now produce red wines, wheat yields are up now that the growing season is longer, but warmer temperatures in rivers threaten trout and salmon populations.
A federal district court ruled Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture erred when it approved genetically modified sugar beets without conducting a full environmental impact study.
A similar ruling on genetically modified alfalfa two years ago curtailed the planting of that crop.
And in Wyoming and Colorado, panelists at the University of Wyoming shared their opinion that the spread of pine-bark beetles in those states probably won't be abated, given the age and health of the forests and the cost of fending off the small bugs.
In British Columbia, where the bugs have killed millions of trees, Forests Minister Pat Bell said Tuesday that protected lands would not be opened up to logging to expand the timber supply for the province's sawmills.
