China will build 20 hydroelectric dams along the Yangtze River by 2020, according to a report on Tuesday on a government Web site. A middle stretch of the river is already the site of the world

Elected leaders in New York City will propose a suite of laws and other initiatives on Wednesday aimed at reducing energy consumption and related emissions of greenhouse gases by requiring owners of thousands of older buildings to upgrade everything from boilers to light bulbs.

As Washington tries to rebuild its strained relationships in Latin America, China is stepping in vigorously, offering countries across the region large amounts of money while they struggle with sharply slowing economies, a plunge in commodity prices and restricted access to credit.

Estimating that televisions and their electronic accessories account for 10 percent of the electricity used in an average household, California

It seemed like a symbolic tipping point for the nation in August when, in the midst of record high gasoline prices and a presidential campaign, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors abandoned its longtime opposition to offshore oil drilling.

With offshore oil drilling platforms in the distance, children played in the surf early this year in Santa Barbara County, Calif.

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin unveiled his economic recovery plan for Russia in a speech to Parliament on Monday, which in sharply focused terms explained the need to generate domestic consumer demand to substitute for shriveling oil exports.

A consortium of private investors that sought to build high-voltage electricity transmission lines to carry power from renewable sources upstate to New York City said on Friday that it was suspending its efforts.

To the Editor:

Re

Upon entering Congress in 1987, Representative Nancy Pelosi quickly became part of the solid California front against oil drilling along much of the nation's coast. The Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 and the steady push to tap the potential reserves off the state's rugged coast had galvanized Californians and made opposition to offshore drilling part of the political DNA of up-and-coming figures like Ms. Pelosi.

Nobody could ever seriously accuse the Bush administration of being too aggressive when it comes to enforcing the nation's environmental laws. But it was partly on those grounds that a federal court last week struck down the Clean Air Interstate Rule, a regulation aimed at reducing soot and smog and one of the few creative initiatives to emerge from the Environmental Protection Agency in the last seven years.