"A corridor of land protected by Puerto Rico's last governor hosts dozens of rare and endangered species .... Now new Gov. Luis Fortuno has revoked the reserve as part of a drive to bring jobs and investment for the U.S. territory's struggling economy."

"A U.S. agency has overturned its 2003 research that said no health hazards were caused by decades of military exercises on Vieques, a bombing range-turned-tourist destination off Puerto Rico's east coast."

"The fuel company whose tank farm in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, exploded last month collected environmental violations and skipped inspections for years."

"A weakened Tropical Storm Ida drenched the U.S. Gulf Coast and oil installations on Monday, shutting down nearly 30 percent of Gulf energy production."

"An expanded LG&E ash pond next to the Ohio River in Trimble County would have 100 foot tall walls and store more ash than burst across hundreds of acres in Tennessee last year."

"An international team of environmental scientists led by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that sea-level rise, at least in North Carolina, is accelerating. Researchers found 20th-century sea-level rise to be three times higher than the rate of sea-level rise during the last 500 years."

"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."

"Thirteen North Carolina coal ash ponds are leaking toxic pollutants into groundwater, according to an analysis of groundwater contamination data conducted by Appalachian Voices' Upper Watauga Riverkeeper team."

"A new study for the federal Minerals Management Service concludes that the construction of pipelines related to oil and gas production in the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico 'can cause locally intense habitat changes, thereby contributing to the loss of critically important land and wetland areas.'"

"WEST PALM BEACH -- The city's sewage treatment plant has pumped untold millions of gallons of poorly treated wastewater onto wetlands adjacent to wells used to supplement the city's drinking water supply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited the city with 117 pollution violations."

"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."

"Water managers, environmental agencies and conservation groups have been talking about cleaning up Lake Okeechobee for decades. The water quality has only gotten worse. Much worse."

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

"As a species, the endangered Florida panther needs about 4,860 square miles in southern Florida to be protected as critical habitat to save the animal from extinction and recover the species, according to a new scientific petition submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by three nonprofit organizations."