State of the Union: President Obama is going to put energy front and center in his big speech tonight, setting the tone for an election year when energy issues are expected to be critical. Anyone want to bet on whether the word "climate" will be mentioned? The Hill
China's year in green: As China celebrates the new year, take a look back at the top environmental stories from the world's most-populated country in the Year of the Rabbit. A slideshow. Guardian
Low flow: Newly released emails reveal that the White House pressured scientists to underestimate the size of BP's Deepwater Horizon spill. The director of the U.S. Geological Survey and head of the team charged with estimating the flow rate called dealing with the White House communications team "a nightmare" and dropped this bombshell: "The press release that went out on our results was misleading and was not reviewed by a scientist for accuracy." Mother Jones
You don't need a weatherman: More than half of TV forecasters (who often have scant scientific credentials) deny that human civilization is driving climate change. A new campaign, Forecast the Facts, is calling them out. Think Progress
City of Angels ... and chickens: Los Angeles has 34,000 lots zoned for small-scale agriculture, but livestock-raising residents of these bucolic neighborhoods are feeling under attack by -- what else? -- real estate developers. Los Angeles Times
The Oscars of clean energy: The $3.5 million "Future Energy Prize" was awarded last week. Brian Merchant reports on the spectacle, which was every bit as lavish and weird as you would expect from a clean energy awards ceremony in oil-soaked Abu Dhabi. Treehugger
Two great tastes that taste great together: Solar panels go great on wind farms (and help solve the problem of what happens when the wind dies down), says the company that will sell you solar panels with your wind turbines. Bloomberg
Shocker: People who live near main streets are more likely to walk. NRDC's Kaid Benfield looks at a new study that confirms common sense. Treehugger
Skeptic tank: Bjorn Lomborg, the blonde-tufted Dane champion of climate inaction, is closing his skeptic think tank. Guardian
"Sustainable" is not: Judging by this graph, writing for OnEarth is going to get a lot easier in 100 years. xkcd
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: President Obama and his chief speechwriter work on the State of the Union address, via The White House on Flickr
