The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, September 22, will hold a hearing on the National Flood Insurance Program, which is teetering under some $19 billion in debt. The NFIP is set to expire Sept. 30, just as the hurricane season reaches its height. Congress has allowed the NFIP to expire four times already this year.

"Continued climate change will drive Mexican farm workers to migrate to the United States in greater numbers, environmental experts predicted on Monday."
 

"The eco-conscious city plans to build more than 680 miles of new bikeways in the coming two decades at a cost of $613 million."

"California last week became the first state to integrate green building practices .... not everyone is thrilled about it."

State lawmakers in some states are overriding local ordinances that ban drying laundry outdoors. While some people like clotheslines as an energy-saver, others think them an eyesore.

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency is being sued again over accusations that it violated the Endangered Species Act by issuing flood insurance without determining whether development would impact imperiled plants and animals."

A tangle of New Jersey lawsuits raises issues about what restrictions should be placed on builders seeking to develop farmland where pesticides were formerly used.

For many small town mayors, growth is all good. After all, more houses means more tax revenue, more retail, more jobs. One Alabama mayor agrees, but he also recognizes green space is an amenity worth keeping. And for that, the timing couldn’t be better. The Environment Report's Gigi Douban reports.