The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), whose PR contractors have been caught forging letters to Congress, is launching a $1 million campaign to send an army of "volunteers" to town hall meetings on climate change legislation -- in an effort similar to the shout-downs and occasional mob violence now being deployed against health care.

"Iowa’s three largest public universities have determined that their coal ash disposal method does not pose a risk to the public health, a decision some say was made without sufficient evidence or regard for experiences with contamination in neighboring states."

"President Obama's choice to be the nation's top strip-mining regulator said Thursday he needs to learn more about mountaintop removal coal mining before he can comment on whether it needs to be more strictly policed."

"Companies on three continents continue to make and sell consumer paints that contain dangerous levels of lead despite the availability of technology to produce high-quality, low lead paint. A tougher lead paint standard takes effect in the United States later this month, but imported consumer goods may still contain hazardous amounts of lead paint."

"In a matter of years or decades, researchers believe, animals and plants already are adapting to life in a warmer world. Some species will be unable to change quickly enough and will go extinct, but others will evolve, as natural selection enables them to carry on in an altered environment."

"Psychological barriers like uncertainty, mistrust and denial keep most Americans from acting to fight climate change, a task force of the American Psychological Association said on Wednesday."

"The Bush administration acted illegally when it opened millions of acres (hectares) of U.S. national forests to road-building and logging, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. The U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit effectively reinstated a 2001 rule that bars development in recognized 'roadless' areas of national forests, except in Idaho and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska."

"Part of the Nevada Test Site that hosted nuclear blasts in the past has been closed to avoid a costly cleanup of contaminated soils."

"The Senate reached a deal on saving the dwindling "cash for clunkers" program late Wednesday, agreeing to vote on a plan that would add $2 billion to the popular rebate program and give car shoppers until Labor Day to trade in their gas-guzzlers for a new ride."

"Three years ago, the Department of Homeland Security passed new regulations. If you're a regular flyer, you know them well: no more bringing your drinks on the airplane. It turns out that this ruling isn't just inconvenient for us -- it's also inconvenient for the environment."

"A congressional chairman is demanding answers from a coal group about forged letters criticizing major climate legislation that were sent to three congressional offices ahead of the vote."

"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."

"Federal authorities in charge of the nation's biggest bust of artifact looting and grave-robbing are targeting more suspects ranging from those who do the digging to wealthy buyers in the lucrative black market of ancient Southwest relics."

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

"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."