"The United States' reliance on coal to generate almost half of its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a study found."

Anti-government protestors took to the streets of Iran yesterday and were brutally suppressed by police. Just as high food prices helped fuel this month's revolution in Egypt, shortages of refined fuel and high prices for a range of goods are heightening pressures in Iran. Economic sanctions are one cause of the fuel shortage. The consequences ripple well beyond Iran's borders -- to Afghanistan, Armenia, and nations of the former Soviet Union, as well as oil-rich Persian Gulf nations.
 

"President Obama’s budget, released Monday, essentially treads water on energy and the environment, trying to maintain momentum for alternative energy research even as it cuts deeply into some environmental protection programs."

"The Canadian province of Ontario said on Friday it will not approve any offshore wind projects and will not accept new applications until there is further scientific research on the industry."

"Scientific research, environmental protection and other priorities of the Obama administration would face steep cuts under a congressional Republican spending plan released Wednesday."

"A former top Pennsylvania official warned Maryland lawmakers to go slow in allowing drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale deposits underlying the state's western mountains or risk the environmental and social problems his state is now experiencing from a poorly regulated wave of energy exploration."

"The EPA has proposed examining every aspect of hydraulic fracturing, from water withdrawals to waste disposal, according to a draft plan the agency released Tuesday."

"When he releases his new budget ..., President Obama will propose doing away with roughly $4 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies, in his third effort to eliminate federal support for an industry that remains hugely profitable."