"BP shareholders are fleeing the company’s stock amid growing uncertainty about the ultimate bill for cleanup costs, lawsuits, fines and damage to the oil giant’s reputation."

"The Obama administration said Tuesday that it had begun civil and criminal investigations into the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as the deepening crisis threatened to define President Obama’s second year in office."

The BP Gulf oil spill is inspiring re-evaluation of how to prevent low-probability but highly catastrophic environmental risks. In Oregon, the terminals and pipelines proposed for handling imported liquified natural gas are getting a very hard look.

A new viral disease that destroys cassava crops is spreading explosively in East Africa. Cassava, the world's third largest source of calories, is eaten by some 800 million people in Africa, South America, and Asia.