Daily Roundup: December 1, 2010

Change of Heart: The Obama administration promised not to pursue offshore drilling in the East Coast, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico, for seven years. Huffington Post

Talks Get Heated: At the world climate summit in Cancun, Japan said it does not plan to extend beyond 2012 the carbon-cutting pledges set under the Kyoto Protocol. New York Times

Engine-Powered Search: The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the most searched item of 2010, according to Yahoo! The World Cup, Miley Cyrus, and the iPhone also made the top ten. Yahoo! News

Efforts Work: The rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is the lowest in recorded history, Brazil announced. TreeHugger

Cheesy Gift: Declining to comment on the USDA’s cheese-marketing business, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack presented Stephen Colbert with a cheese sculpture of his head. Grist

--Natalya Stanko