"Environmentalists and energy companies are trying to influence the Obama administration’s plan for thwarting an oil industry practice of venting and burning natural gas at some wells."

"As the Obama administration's carbon rules become final, states weigh fighting vs complying. ‘We can’t count on winning the lawsuit,’ one official says."

"The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has authorized a Shell Canada Ltd. drilling plan in the Shelburne Basin that allows the company between 12 and 13 days to contain subsea blowouts, but one environmental group is concerned the capping stack won't be housed here."

"Loggers in China's southwest are destroying sanctuaries home to endangered giant pandas, environmental group Greenpeace said in a report on Wednesday, defying efforts by conservationists and tougher forestry regulations."

"Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday joined a push for the Department of Justice to investigate allegations that ExxonMobil hid research confirming fossil fuels contribute significantly to climate change."

"An expanding investigation into Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal launched by state attorneys general could last years and will likely end in a negotiated settlement."

"The gooey, grayish-black sludge that spread across Roane County in East Tennessee on a bitterly cold December morning is gone, but the fallout from the nation's worst coal-ash spill enters a new phase on Monday when the federal government begins regulating the storage and disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants."

"A House of Representatives bill unveiled Friday could make it more difficult for the public to know how prepared railroads are for responding to oil spills from trains, their worst-case scenarios and how much oil is being transported by rail through communities."

"The Obama administration moved on several fronts Friday to block new oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, weeks after Shell said it would be walking away from the area 'for the foreseeable future.'"