A rash of headaches, coughing fits, red eyes, and other symptoms has closed Oak Ridge Elementary School in North Carolina while local, state, and federal officials figure out what is causing it.

"The Obama administration will suspend the 'cash for clunkers' program unless the Senate provides $2 billion more for the popular car incentive plan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday."

A tangle of New Jersey lawsuits raises issues about what restrictions should be placed on builders seeking to develop farmland where pesticides were formerly used.

Forged letters trying to gain a vote against the House climate bill by making it seem as if minorities opposed it were traced to a PR firm.

Arizona's groundwater addiction hasn't been controlled by legal and regulatory measures so far, and may soon threaten the state's economic well-being.

"A National Academies workshop examined the evidence of epigenetic effects and considered whether the thousands of chemicals in use today should be tested for them. Some pollutants and chemicals don't kill cells or mutate DNA. Instead, they may be more subtle, muting genes or turning them on at the wrong time, which can lead to diseases that are passed on for generations. Asthma in New York City children exposed to traffic exhaust is an example, experts say."

Biologists have found in San Francisco Bay a kelp used in miso soup which is on the list of 100 worst invasive alien species.

"After 10 consecutive years of drought, a 10–20% reduction in stream flow could be critical."

"The push for green power could spawn a rush for small hydropower projects in the Northwest."

"New-car shoppers appear to have already snapped up all the $1 billion that Congress appropriated for the 'cash for clunkers' program, leading the Transportation Department to tell auto dealers Thursday night to stop offering the rebates."

"State regulators violated the Alaska Constitution when they approved exploration permits for the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine without allowing the public to weigh in first, according to a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday."

"Californians’ eagerness to battle global warming seems to be cooling a bit: The latest survey on the state’s environmental attitudes, released on Wednesday, showed that 47 percent consider the threat of global warming very serious, a decline of seven percentage points from two years ago."

"The Energy Department is making up to $30 billion in loan guarantee authority available for renewable energy and electric grid modernization projects."

"Scientists say they've created something in a Virginia river that hasn't been seen since the late 1800s: a vast, thriving reef of American oysters, the shellfish that helped create the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem and then nearly vanished from it."

"The United Farm Workers union sued California’s occupational health and safety agency on Thursday, accusing it of doing too little to prevent farm laborers’ deaths from heat illness."