"Tossing food scraps in your garbage can is a crime — at least in San Francisco. A brand-new city law requires residents to discard food waste in a separate bin."

A mandatory disclosure report filed Monday in the Senate showed that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $34.7 million last quarter to influence Congress and the administration. It's a large amount and a dramatic jump.

A new report from the National Research Council on the 'hidden costs of energy' lists many health and environmental costs that are not figured into utility bills or cost estimates for climate legislation.

"The Obama administration is cracking down on BP as the oil company overhauls its massive refinery in northwest Indiana, one of the largest sources of air pollution in the Chicago area."

"Columbia University’s dual masters program in environmental journalism has been suspended, according to the school’s Web site ...." The reason: "the current weakness in the job market for environmental journalists,"

"The Interior Department said Tuesday that it would investigate a decision made by the Bush administration to grant low royalty rates for oil shale development in the Rocky Mountains."

"Forests of dead beetle-kill could be speeding regional climate change, increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfalls across the American West."

"Why did the White House pick a cheerleader for nuclear energy to oversee the industry?"

"President Obama will try to push the Senate climate bill forward Friday with an energy-themed speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, just days before the start of a marathon series of hearings featuring testimony from top administration officials."

"The port agrees to remove requirements not directly related to the push to allow only newer, less-polluting trucks at the complex, including a demand that trucking firms file financial reports."

Some think Rush Limbaugh's call for New York Times reporter Andy Revkin to kill himself may have a detrimental effect on civil discourse in the U.S.

"The Energy Department has concluded in an internal audit that it does not properly track whether manufacturers that give their appliances an Energy Star label have met the required specifications for energy efficiency."

Chamber of Commerce switching sides on climate? Some major media initially swallowed a hoax yesterday by the anti-corporate pranksters calling themselves the Yes Men. The event occurred at a time when the Chamber was in political disarray.

"A toxic solvent still widely used by dry cleaners across Washoe County could be banned within 14 years under plans proposed by health officials."

"A federal jury on Monday found Exxon Mobil liable for contaminating groundwater in New York City and awarded the city $104.7 million in compensatory damages."