"A Gulf of Mexico drilling rig has partially collapsed off the coast of Louisiana after catching fire because of a ruptured natural gas well, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday."

"SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- To address thousands of raw sewage discharges  in violation of the Clean Water Act, the San Antonio Water System has agreed to a $1.1 billion upgrade to its infrastructure and will pay a $2.6 million civil penalty."

"At first glance, Daliuta in northern China appears to have a river running through it. A closer look reveals the stretch of water in the center is a pond, dammed at both ends. Beyond the barriers, the Wulanmulun’s bed is dry."

"After a three-decade delay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first controls that would significantly curb power plant discharges of toxic coal ash and sludge into the nation's waterways, according to a report by five national environmental organizations."

"The operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said on Monday that contaminated ground water had likely been flowing into the sea, acknowledging such a leakage for the first time."

"PITTSBURGH -- The boom in natural gas drilling has cast two opposing documentary filmmakers in unlikely roles."

"A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site, the Department of Energy told The Associated Press."

"Coastal habitats like reefs and marshes protect people from natural disasters—in the right locations."

BERLIN -- Sea levels could rise by 2.3 metres for each degree Celsius that global temperatures increase and they will remain high for centuries to come, according to a new study by the leading climate research institute, released on Monday."

"Reports from a landmark meeting to debate protections for Antarctic wildlife suggest that Russia has stalled U.S. and European initiatives to establish no-kill zones in the Southern Ocean."

"An extensive new study confirms a long-suspected link between crippling birth defects and the nitrate contamination that threatens drinking water for 250,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. has started taking measures to contain highly radioactive groundwater at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, but its strategy is based on a theory that is disputed by industry experts."

"The area of ocean set aside as a nature preserve could double or triple in the coming days, depending on the outcome of a meeting in Germany. Representatives from 24 countries and the European Union are considering setting aside large portions of ocean around Antarctica as a protected area. And the deal may hinge on preserving some fishing rights."

"Japan's nuclear regulator says radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima power plant is probably leaking into the Pacific Ocean, a problem long suspected by experts but denied by the plant's operator."

"WASHINGTON -- Environmentalists on Monday filed a petition with the U.S. government requesting regulatory safeguards for 81 particularly vulnerable marine wildlife species, from corals to sharks."