"SEATTLE — Gliding through the clear, emerald water of Puget Sound, Diver Laura James stopped when something shiny on the bottom caught her eye. She reached down and picked up a tire-flattened beer can."

"CALGARY -- The ugly scars left on the northern Alberta landscape by the oil sands have prompted calls from around the world for an independent body to gather data on the ecological damage wrought by the energy industry."

"BATON ROUGE -- About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from the Deepwater Horizon spill was brought to the surface by Hurricane Isaac, more than had been collected in eight months before the storm, the state's coastal protection agency said Wednesday. The post-storm figures were announced as members of the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority sharply criticized continuing clean-up efforts by BP and the U.S. Coast Guard and called for more resources to deal with oil that is still below the surface of the gulf, an amount believed to be equal to about 1 million barrels."

"A Duke University-led study of coal ash contaminants, published Monday, found high levels of toxic arsenic in Mountain Island Lake."

"Under fire for dumping toxic pollution into Lake Michigan, owners of the last coal-powered steamship on the Great Lakes promised four years ago they would eliminate its murky discharges in time for the 2012 sailing season."

Residents of a neighborhood just east of Hialeah have been experiencing cancer and asthma in what they see as unusual amounts. They live in an area with many industries that pollute with toxic dust and chemicals. Those companies often flout enforcement efforts by the county.

After an election and a Tennessee spill disaster in 2008, the Obama administration roared into office vowing to regulate electric utility coal ash. Now, as the tight 2012 election hinges partly on coal (and coal states), the administration's proposed regulations are on hold.

"Residents of Hinkley, made famous by 'Erin Brockovich,' weigh an offer by PG&E to buy homes near chromium-tainted water. Animosity is high between residents wanting to sell and those opting to stay."

Even with a non-regulatory approach, getting farmers to participate in water pollution control campaigns in Oregon is proving difficult.

"While backers hail their benefits, the state struggles to regulate operations that put thousands of animals under the same roof."

Efforts to remove 17 miles of dioxin-laced muck contaminating New Jersey's Passaic River seem to have failed.

"Four environmental groups have asked North Carolina’s Environmental Management Commission for a ruling that would force Duke Energy to clean up groundwater contamination near ash ponds at 14 coal-fired power plants."

"NEW BEDFORD -- A long-departed manufacturing company will pay $366 million to clean the PCB-laden harbor here, the largest cash settlement for a single site in the history of the federal Superfund program, government officials announced Wednesday."

"WASHINGTON, DC -- Chevron [Tuesday] lost its U.S. Supreme Court bid to block global enforcement of a $19 billion judgment by an Ecuadorean court in a long legal fight over contamination of the Amazon rainforest."

"Budget cuts to the ozone monitoring department were $13.3m this year, the 25th anniversary of the Montreal protocol."