"Senator Tom Libous, a champion of fracking in the New York Legislature, is blocking a bill that would delay drilling for natural gas for at least two more years. Passage of the measure would harm the prospects of a real-estate company founded by Libous’s wife and run by a business partner and campaign donor."

"A Senate Committee will vote Thursday on whether to advance President Obama’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the full Senate."

"A key House Democrat [Wednesday] criticized the Obama administration's proposal for regulating hydraulic fracturing on public land, saying it appears to be watering down the rule "under pressure from industry."

"Assistant U.S. Attorney General Ignacia Moreno, the point person at the Justice Department for prosecuting environmental crimes, says she will leave government service next month."

"Terminal developer Kinder Morgan will not go forward with a proposal to export coal to Asia from the Port Westward industrial park on the Columbia River, a company spokesman said [Wednesday] morning."

"How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism"

"The National Research Council, which gave the country canola and the atomic clock, will now be taking its scientific cues from Canadian industry as part of a makeover of the country’s flagship research labs."

"The Arkansas Department of Health says people with dizziness, nausea and headaches have the option to leave, and it is their personal choice."

"Methane emissions from coal mines escaped being curbed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which said mandatory U.S. budget cuts didn't leave it with the resources to determine if the pollution is a significant risk."

"NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Inside a warehouse near the Canadian border, boneless hams bound for Philadelphia are coming off a tractor-trailer from Toronto under the gaze of a federal food inspector. Each week, about 20 of the 150 food trucks from Canada are rejected because of paperwork problems or contaminated meat."

"Scott Lee, an ardent fisherman from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has an opinion as to whether Barack Obama should sell the federally chartered Tennessee Valley Authority to private investors: Don't do it."

"A coalition of progressive groups is pulling its ads from Facebook in protest over political positions taken by the organization started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg."

"Federal judges wrestled today with whether U.S. EPA ran afoul of the law in directing states to implement regulations to address climate change."

"Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he intends to change California's landmark consumer-safety law in an attempt to reduce frivolous lawsuits and give the public clearer information about toxic chemicals."

"With the muzzling of scientists, Harper’s obsession with controlling the message verges on the Orwellian."