"New research raises additional concerns about the harmful effects of formaldehyde, a common chemical found in everything from plywood to nail polish, car exhaust and cigarette smoke."

The South Florida Water Management District approved Gov. Charlie Crist's deal to buy 73,000 acres of farmland from U.S. Sugar Corp. for $536 million to restore the Everglades.

Some California farmers are depleting the groundwater beneath their land faster than nature can recharge it -- and climate change is likely to make things worse. While farmers resist regulating groundwater use, critics argue that not doing it "could prove catastrophic to the state’s real estate sector and its $36 billion agricultural economy."

"The Senate on Tuesday backed an amendment that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges."

"Colorado State University hurricane forecaster Bill Gray said on Wednesday he may reduce his next Atlantic season forecast because sea temperatures are cooling and a weak El Nino may appear by late summer."

"Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department on Wednesday in a dispute over oil and gas development on federal lands, but Democrats vowed they would soon make a second attempt to win confirmation."

"A lawsuit against DuPont Co. claiming its nonstick Teflon cookware coating could pose health risks to users has been dropped."

"Chicago on Wednesday became the first U.S. city to adopt a ban on the sale of baby bottles and sippy cups containing the chemical BPA."

President Obama issued an executive order empowering EPA to set a more demanding timetable for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and to penalize states that fail to meet it.

A USGS expert says the solution to problems with mercury plaguing Great Salt Lake will require more than just eliminating local sources. Also key are how it turns into harmful methylmercury and spreads through the food web.

Texas researchers say tiny flies that turn fire ants into zombies by eathing their brains may aid pest management.

"An empty gasoline tank undergoing repairs exploded Tuesday at a fuel storage facility in rural north-central Arkansas, killing three workers, authorities said."

Marathon negotiations seem to have produced a deal on key points of climate-and-energy legislation among House Democrats. Energy Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced late Tuesday that he though he had enough votes to pass the compromise. It reportedly gives away about half of the CO2 credits to utilities and other heavy industry -- instead of auctioning them.

EPA's takover of the cleanup of TVA's coal-ash spill in Tennessee came after revelations that TVA's effort to do the job by dredging threatened to become a "major toxic event."

A secret White House memo said a single federal agency complained about the cost of regulations that could result from an EPA finding that greenhouse emissions endanger health and the environment.