Pollution

"More than one-third of the world's population can no longer see the Milky Way because of man-made lights."

"Oil refineries have sued to overturn a series of new air pollution rules aimed at reducing emissions 20 percent at each of the Bay Area's five gasoline plants, the largest source of industrial pollution in the region."

"For the first time, carbon dioxide emissions from an electric power plant have been captured, pumped underground and solidified — the first step toward safe carbon capture and storage, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will take 30 years and around $746 million to clean up a 10-mile stretch of the Willamette River known as the Portland Harbor Superfund Site."

"The House on Wednesday passed a bill to reauthorize the federal pipeline safety oversight board."

"Cases of Legionnaires' disease nearly quadrupled in the United States over a 15-year period, and almost all might have been prevented with the proper use of disinfectant, the right water temperature and other measures, federal health officials said Tuesday."

"The Vermilion Middle Fork is a swift-flowing river winding through lush forests, rolling prairie and craggy cliffs in central Illinois. Designated as one of the country’s “National Scenic Rivers,” it is subject to federal and state protections, popular with paddlers and home to wildlife including 24 endangered or threatened species. But the river’s banks butt up against three massive pits filled with toxic coal ash produced over five decades by the Vermilion coal-fired power plant... ."

"U.S. EPA has issued its first-ever guidance on contamination in drinking water in the wake of a nuclear disaster, 'dirty bomb' or other radiological accident, drawing criticism from public health and environmental groups."

"Regulators are wrangling with bankrupt coal companies to set aside enough money to clean up Appalachia’s polluted rivers and mountains so that taxpayers are not stuck with the $1 billion bill."

"RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed legislation late Monday reviving a special commission tasked in 2014 with managing the cleanup of coal ash in North Carolina that Duke Energy keeps in pits."