A growing number of industries turning their eyes to the vast real estate in the U.S.' deep offshore waters — a region that may soon become a busy, crowded place. But balancing commercial and environmental interests in those waters may require regulatory oversight that does not yet exist.

Is the developed world outsourcing its carbon dioxide emissions? And if so — should we help pay for them?

Energy, climate change mitigation and healthcare reform grabbed most of the U.S. policy headlines in 2009. But a few other policy gems  — for example, human spaceflight, renewable energy projects on public lands, mining reform and natural hazards — have started coalescing in Congress. EARTH contributor Corina Cerovski-Darriau outlines some of the less high-profile topics we can expect to see debated in 2010.

The Department of Defense is the world’s largest energy consumer and a leader in energy research and development. If the department can find a low-carbon, domestic source of energy, it will also go a long way toward solving the world’s energy challenges.

International law forbids the terrestrial contamination of other worlds, yet space-faring nations have been sending unsterilized spacecraft to planets for more than 20 years. As more missions and more nations get involved in space exploration, it's time to reexamine the Outer Space Treaty and issues of planetary contamination.

It's MBARI CEO Marcia McNutt.

Ravaged by war, drought and natural hazards such as earthquakes and landslides, Afghanistan’s people face many challenges. Two stories in the most recent issue of EARTH magazine highlight the daunting challenges these scientists dealt with in the past and continue to face.

The first climate report from Barack Obama's presidency synthesizes existing scientific data and has a strong message: Climate change isn't coming; it's already here. The next question: What the country should do about it.gdmfu52rxt

Instead of debating whether oil production is about to go into terminal decline, the author writes, let's just make "peak oil" — and therefore a post-peak oil world — happen as fast as possible.

Last year, Congress asked the Department of Energy to store spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned reactors at a temporary facility. But in December, DOE said it lacks the authority to do that.

There are four words that should be at the heart of an economic recovery package, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Science, science, science and science."

No more private jets: The auto industry's Big Three seem to have gotten the message about looking poor when you're asking for a government bailout. One possibility? Carpooling.

With sea levels projected to rise, the tiny island nation of Maldives is in desperate straits. So its new president has announced a radical plan — to use tourist dollars to buy a new homeland.

With the world's largest natural gas reserves and the eighth-largest oil reserves, energy is critical to Russia's economy. But does Russia's aggressive posture threaten global energy supplies?

With oil and natural gas prices soaring, coal’s proponents are calling for more vigorous mining of West Virginia's coal. But mining pollution is also garnering widespread attention.