"Nearly two-thirds of the coal-ash dams across West Virginia might need repairs, and a quarter of them are ranked as being in poor or unsatisfactory condition, according to a report released Thursday by the state Department of Environmental Protection."

"Federal investigators entered a smoldering fuel depot for the first time Sunday to investigate what may have caused an explosion that forced hundreds to evacuate and spewed thick, toxic smoke across the region."

"Thanks to El Nino, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season has been the quietest in more than a decade, offering a reprieve for residents in the danger zone and a chance for insurance firms to refill depleted coffers."

"A powerful fall storm packing strong winds and rain drenched fire-scarred hillsides around California on Wednesday, and residents from north to south braced for possible mudslides and debris flows."

"President Obama travels to New Orleans this week for a town hall meeting -- and for a look at the recovery in the city battered by Hurricane Katrina four years ago. It will be Obama's first visit since the presidential campaign, when, as a candidate, he had a long list of promises for the city."

"A house capable of floating atop rising floodwaters made its debut [Oct. 6] in New Orleans."

"Sen. Robert C. Byrd on Wednesday blasted Massey Energy for what he called 'disregard for human life and safety,' following the company's refusal to help fund a new school so Marsh Fork Elementary students could move away from a Massy coal processing plant and slurry impoundment."

"Victims of the tsunami that swept across the South Pacific had only minutes to escape the deadly waves and in some cases didn't receive alerts of danger, despite years of work to upgrade early-warning systems across the region."

"Imperial Sugar Co. and managers of its Georgia refinery ignored known dangers of explosive dust for decades before a chain of dust-fueled fireballs erupted at the plant last year and killed 14 people, investigators said in a report Thursday."

"The record rains of the past few days flooded out sewage treatment plants in Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties [GA], dumping millions of gallons of untreated sewage into local waterways."

Residents in Georgia and Alabama returned to waterlogged homes after flooding caused by torrential rains caused at least nine deaths.

"The Tennessee Valley Authority said Monday that it would spend $43 million on economic development projects in Roane County, Tenn., the site of a huge coal ash spill at one of the authority’s power plants last December."

Ironworker Joe Picurro volunteered to help work on "the pile" at Ground Zero that resulted from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Now he is nearing death from the air he breathed there. He is one of thousands suffering similar diseases.

"Members of Congress Thursday demanded a shake up at the agency that regulates the transport of hazardous materials, saying officials for years have quietly waived safety rules because of a cozy relationship with industry."

"The Station fire in the San Gabriel Mountains has taken an enormous toll on the environment."