"A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Obama administration’s first major regulations on hydraulic fracturing, a technique for oil and gas drilling that has led to a boom in American energy production but has also raised concerns about health and safety risks."

"Wednesday new funding runs dry for a program that has supported hundreds of parks around the country for 50 years."

"A leading 'clean coal' lobbying shop is cutting half its staff and reorganizing to reflect the U.S. coal industry’s market losses and the industry’s continued financial struggles."

Trains carrying hazardous liquids have recently caused more than a dozen explosions, fires, and spills around the country. But communities have little say over hazardous rail facilities in their midst. The rail industry is exploiting obscure historic exemptions from state and local laws protecting communities.

"Duke Energy agreed Tuesday to pay North Carolina regulators $7 million to settle allegations of groundwater pollution at its coal ash pits and to perform accelerated cleanups costing millions of dollars at four sites."

"The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules Tuesday to reduce toxic air pollution from oil refineries by forcing operators to adopt new technology that better monitors and controls emissions."

"A coalition of U.S. states warned on Monday that a spike in earthquakes potentially tied to oil and gas activity in places not typically prone to them needs urgent attention from regulators and others to protect public safety."

"Royal Dutch Shell PLC's announcement [Monday] that it is putting an indefinite pause on its Arctic exploration activities could play a major role in the Obama administration's decision whether to hold additional oil and gas lease sales in the region."

"Volkswagen’s diesel deception unleashed tons of extra pollutants in the United States, pollutants that can harm human health. So while many commentators have been quick to say that the cheating engines are not a highway safety concern, safety — as in health — is still an issue."

"Volkswagen AG's upmarket Audi brand says 2.1 million of its vehicles are among those with the engines affected by the emissions-rigging scandal."