"Government officials have been slow to upgrade security at U.S. laboratories that handle deadly germs nearly a year after congressional investigators found weak security controls, a new audit finds."

"With the fight over health care reform absorbing all the bandwidth on Capitol Hill, Democrats fear a major climate change bill may be left on the cutting-room floor this year."

"The Nevada lawmaker has a long history of opposing attempts to reform an antiquated federal mining law."

"A total of 12 forged letters -- all appearing to come from local groups unhappy with a climate-change bill -- were sent to three congressional offices this summer by a Washington lobbying firm, according to the pro-coal group for which the firm was working."

"The current recession has caused the price of oil to drop -- most think temporarily. James Woolsey was the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency -- the CIA -- during the Clinton Administration. ... Woolsey has been arguing that, no matter what the price, dependence on oil is a national security problem that we need to solve."

"One of the world's most common insect repellents [DEET] acts on the central nervous system in the same way as some insecticides and nerve gases, according to a study released on Wednesday."

Lobbyists for the real estate industry convinced House leaders to remove from the recently passed climate bill a provision that would have indicated how much energy older houses use.

A new study finds that rural residents who drink water from private wells are much more likely to have Parkinson's disease, bolstering theories that farm pesticides may be partly to blame.

"A judge says Juan Dominguez conspired with Nicaraguan workers, allegedly left sterile by exposure to DBCP on banana plantations, to file claims against Dole Food and Dow Chemical."

Both environmentalists and the chemical industry say they want Congress to overhaul the key law aimed at protecting Americans from toxic chemicals in the products they use.

"Environmental groups today called for new ethical controls in state government, saying recent arrests of two assemblymen involving land deals are only 'the tip of the iceberg' when it comes to the influence developers wield over the Department of Environmental Protection."

The rise of cooking shows on TV results from deep interest in cooking. But the transformation of cooking into a spectator activity reflects a decline in actual cooking -- which has vast health and ecological consequences.

"More than twice as many D.C. children as previously reported by federal and local health officials had high levels of lead in their blood amid the city's drinking water crisis, according to congressional investigators, throwing into doubt assurances by those officials that the lead in tap water did not seriously harm city children."

"In food safety bill, the House gives the FDA a deadline to prove Bisphenol A is safe, or restrict its use in products used by pregnant women, and young children."

"NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- Noxious fumes at a trash disposal facility sent 119 people to hospitals Monday, including two who were listed in critical condition."