National (U.S.)

"Tomato plants throughout much of the Northeast were hit last summer with a devastating fungal disease called 'late blight.' ... But as the climate gets warmer this year, green thumbs probably won't face the same threat."

"Test results have confirmed the presence of another, more dangerous, radioactive substance in the soil at Vermont's only nuclear power plant, officials said Tuesday, five days after announcing they had found and stopped tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee."

The bad economy is thwarting municipalities trying to upgrade their sewage treatment plants to comply with the Clean Water Act. "Chris Hornback, senior director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), said factory closings typically hit smaller communities harder than larger communities where larger numbers of users can make up for lost revenue more easily."

"The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that it would not require power plants or other industrial sites to obtain federal pollution permits for emitting greenhouse gases before next January."

"Koch Industries has 'become a financial kingpin of climate science denial and clean energy opposition,' spending over $48.5 million since 1997 to fund the climate denial machine, according to an extensive report today by Greenpeace."

"The Obama administration will approve significant oil and gas exploration off America's coasts, including a possible sale two years from now of leases off Virginia's coast, administration officials said Wednesday."

"The source of radioactive tritium in monitoring wells at Oconee Nuclear Station remains a mystery, and area residents are waiting for answers while workers are digging new test wells to narrow down the possibilities."

"A federal judge on Monday struck down patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property."

"The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it is intensifying its look at how BPA affects the nation's wildlife and water supply and will designate the compound as a 'chemical of concern.'"