Billionaire investor Warren Buffet is planning to buy the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Observers say this is a bet on the future of coal in the U.S. energy mix.

"A coalition of advocacy groups launched a campaign [Tuesday] opposing President Obama's choice of a pesticide industry official to represent U.S. interests in agricultural trade negotiations."

"In Atlanta, Ga., you'll find southern gentility, a world-class music scene--and 21,000 pounds of environmental waste. In spite of its charms, the city's combination of air pollution, contaminated land and atmospheric chemicals makes it the most toxic city in the country."

"Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will go ahead and mark up climate legislation in her committee Tuesday, she announced Monday morning, even if the Republicans try to block her."

"Americans consume over $4 billion of soy foods each year because of their many health benefits. But new studies suggest that eating large amounts of soy's estrogen-mimicking compounds might reduce fertility in women, trigger early puberty and disrupt development of fetuses and children."

"More than 60 years after scientists assembled the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, lethal waste is seeping from mountain burial sites and moving toward aquifers, springs and streams that provide water to 250,000 residents of northern New Mexico."

"The Interior Department will leave in place George W. Bush-era changes to a rule designed to protect streams from mountaintop-removal coal mining until 2011, according to court documents filed by the Obama administration Friday."

"The 2009 edition of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was released today, and the news isn't good: 17,291 species out of 47,677 assessed species, or 36 percent, are threatened with extinction."

"The Energy Department must reconsider California's energy- and water-saving standards for residential washing machines, a federal court ruled [last] week."

"Protection for polar bears' shrinking icy habitat is the subject of a proposed rule sent to the White House by the Interior Department."

"A new test conducted for Consumer Reports magazine found bisphenol A leaching into food from nearly all cans, including those marked 'BPA-free' and 'organic.'"

"A huge fire has been blazing at an oil rig in the Timor Sea since Sunday, after an attempt by the oil company to kill a leaking well. The West Atlas rig is located directly above the Montara well head platfrom, which has been leaking oil and gas since August 21."

"Food and consumer groups say the practice increases the risk of cattle becoming infected with mad cow disease. A beef industry trade group say a ban isn't needed."

"CORPUS CHRISTI — Las Brisas Energy Center and several environmental groups take to the courtroom this week to argue the details of the proposed power plant’s air permit."

"The two rivers that converge at Marietta [OH] are among the 10 most polluted in the country, according to a new environmental report."