"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."

"This is the consequence of failure at Copenhagen: A marked shift in scientific effort from solving global warming to adapting to its consequences, a hodge-podge of uncoordinated local efforts to trim emissions – none of which deliver the necessary cuts – and an altered climate."

"Greenpeace is demanding that Newsweek disclose how much money it has made selling the oil industry's biggest lobbying group advertising deals that included the ability to co-host energy policy forums and seat the association's president as a panelist beside members of Congress."

"A report shows concentrations of several major pesticides mostly declined or remained the same in the U.S. 'Corn Belt' rivers and streams from 1996 to 2006."

"A climate change deal is needed not just to ward off global warming, but to ensure a shift from increasingly costly fossil fuels that could lead to a doubling of energy bills, the IEA's chief economist said on Tuesday."

"When you get right down to it, dust is pretty complicated. It also may be affecting your health."

"An aggressive cancer linked to asbestos is killing more Canadians than ever before, even decades after the end of a boom that saw buildings stuffed with the toxic substance."
 

"Chrysler has disbanded a team of engineers dedicated to rushing a range of electric vehicles to showrooms and dropped ambitious sales targets for battery-powered cars set as it was sliding toward bankruptcy and seeking government aid."

"In a tradition dating back to medieval times, growers in Modena, Italy, are deep into the grape harvest, the first step in making their famed balsamic vinegar. ...Thousands of miles away, in California, signs in grocery stores warn shoppers about exposure to a dangerous metal in many balsamic and red wine vinegars. Although the amount of lead in vinegar is small, experts say regularly consuming it may pose a risk, particularly to children."

"Representatives of 400 federally recognized tribal nations from across the United States gathered at the Department of the Interior [Nov. 5] at the invitation of President Barack Obama for a conference the President called ... 'the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history.'" The meeting included discussion of environmental and land rights issues.

"Big greenhouse polluting companies around the world, employing thousands of lobbyists, are exerting heavy pressure on governments to weaken climate change laws at home and slow progress on an international climate agreement in Copenhagen, a global investigation reveals."

"The House approved legislation Friday aimed at making chemical and water treatment facilities less vulnerable to terrorist attack."

"As the debate over the merits of Marcellus Shale development reaches a crescendo, an Ithaca researcher has culled a list of 270 files documenting wastewater spills, well contamination, explosions, methane migration and ecological damage related to gas production in the state since 1979."

Some Salinas Valley residents worry that the drift of pesticides sprayed on fields near schools may endanger children, despite some controls.

EPA announced Thursday the Obama administration's appointment of four regional administrators. They are for Region 2 (NY, NJ, PR, VI, Tribal Nations), Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV), Region 6 (TX, LA, AK, NM, OK, Tribal Nations), Region, and Region 9 (CA, HI, AZ, NV, Territories, Tribal Nations).