New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has petitioned the federal agency that regulates hazardous materials transport to set limits on the volatility of oil shipped by rail -- a major factor in explosions.
"In recent years, efforts to develop the Next Big Thing — whether in medicine, computer technology, pollution prevention or high-performance materials — have turned to some really, really small things: nanomaterials."
"Until fairly recently, Jonathan Lundgren enjoyed a stellar career as a government scientist. An entomologist who studies how agrichemicals affect the ecology of farm fields, he has published nearly 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals .... But recently, things have changed. His work has 'triggered an official campaign of harassment, hindrance, and retaliation' from his superiors, Lundgren alleged in an official complaint filed with USDA scientific integrity authorities last year."
"Former Massey Energy Co. chief executive Don Blankenship, once one of the most powerful men in the region’s coal industry, was convicted Thursday by a federal jury of conspiring to violate mine safety and health standards at Massey’s Upper Big Branch Mine, where 29 miners died in an April 2010 explosion."
"The House passed the Energy and Commerce Committee's broad energy legislation [Thursday] morning, sending the Senate a bill aimed at modernizing the electric grid and speeding natural gas exports."
"Grand Canyon National Park's water pipeline was among the Interior Department's most ambitious projects in the 1960s."
"The process to relicense the hydroelectric dam system on the Klamath River will likely move forward if Congress fails to act by the end of the year on historic settlement agreements to remove four of the dams."
"The Gulf of Mexico rig explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed the nation's worst offshore oil spill also led to criminal charges against four BP employees, who faced prison time if convicted. But the Justice Department's decision to drop manslaughter charges against two BP rig supervisors makes it increasingly likely that nobody will spend a day behind bars for crimes associated with the deadly disaster."
"When Monsanto genetically engineered corn and soybeans to make them immune to its best-selling weedkiller, the company pitched the technology as a way to reduce overall use of herbicides and usher in an environmentally friendly era of farming."
"A sweeping package from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, likely to clear the chamber this week, has become the latest vehicle for repeal of the crude export ban and speeding the permitting process for projects like Keystone XL."
Advertisement 
