"The state is poised to ban the use of mercury-tainted coal fly ash at a Ravena cement plant that is the state's second largest source of airborne mercury pollution."

"Oil prices reached a fresh one-year high above $75 a barrel Thursday in Asia on a weaker U.S. dollar and growing investor optimism about an economic recovery."

Despite Democrats' promises, a Congressional investigation into whether military contractor KBR knowingly exposed soldiers to toxic sodium dichromate in Iraq seems to be going nowhere.

"President Obama travels to New Orleans this week for a town hall meeting -- and for a look at the recovery in the city battered by Hurricane Katrina four years ago. It will be Obama's first visit since the presidential campaign, when, as a candidate, he had a long list of promises for the city."

"Twenty percent of the drinking fountains and faucets at Utica elementary schools tested positive for lead, according to results of a voluntary testing program released Tuesday."

"Equipment manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates agreed today on new standards aimed at dramatically reducing energy use in homes."

"Burmese pythons and other giant snakes imported as pets could endanger some of America's most important parks and wilderness areas if they are allowed to multiply, according to a report released on Tuesday."

"Scientists looking at 23 studies involving almost 38,000 people initially see no connection. But a closer look at the highest-quality studies tells another story."

"A congressional panel will hold a hearing Thursday into those forged letters urging lawmakers to oppose climate change legislation. The letters purported to come from minority, senior, and veterans' groups, but in fact were sent by Bonner & Associates, a GOP-aligned astroturf lobbying firm, on behalf of a coal industry client."

"With 360 days a year of pure, unclouded sun, California's Imperial Valley has the potential to become the Silicon Valley of renewable energy."

"A controversial e-mail message buried by the Bush administration because of its conclusions on global warming surfaced Tuesday, nearly two years after it was first sent to the White House and never opened."

"A powerful fall storm packing strong winds and rain drenched fire-scarred hillsides around California on Wednesday, and residents from north to south braced for possible mudslides and debris flows."

"More than 100,000 people in northern Iraq have abandoned their homes since 2005 because of water stress, after drought and over-extraction of groundwater caused the collapse of an ancient water system, UNESCO said on Tuesday."

State lawmakers in some states are overriding local ordinances that ban drying laundry outdoors. While some people like clotheslines as an energy-saver, others think them an eyesore.

"The shape of a broader climate pact is clearer after marathon talks in the Thai capital, the United Nations said on Friday, as rich nations were urged not to ditch the Kyoto Protocol or dodge tough emissions cuts."