"As winter sets in across the northern United States, the road salt that keeps people out of ditches is flowing into rivers at levels that could harm fish and other creatures. With billions of pounds of salt spread on U.S. roads every year, researchers say that rivers, streams and lakes in the nation’s wintry cities are getting saltier. And, according to new research, the salt, or sodium chloride, in rivers remains toxic not just in winter, but throughout two-thirds of the year."

"Department of Toxic Substances Control sets urgent deadline for battery recycler, saying rains could wash lead and other metals into Los Angeles River."

"LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A group of Louisville residents who say coal ash from a nearby power plant drifts into their lungs and homes have sued the utility company."

"A study of hydraulic fracturing sites in Colorado finds substances that have been linked to infertility, birth defects and cancer."

"Chinese authorities have told pilots who fly to Beijing they must be qualified to land their aircraft in the low visibility bought about by smog -- the latest missive related to the capital's heavy air pollution, which the government this week lauded as a beneficial shield against missile attacks."

"We've long known that the fish we eat are exposed to toxic chemicals in the rivers, bays and oceans they inhabit. The substance that's gotten the most attention — because it has shown up at disturbingly high levels in some fish — is."

But mercury is just one of a slew of synthetic and organic pollutants that fish can ingest and absorb into their tissue. Sometimes it's because we're dumping chemicals right into the ocean. But as a published recently in Nature, Scientific Reports helps illuminate, sometimes fish get chemicals from the plastic debris they ingest.

"The hole in the ozone layer is stabilizing but will take until about 2070 to fully recover, according to new research by NASA scientists."

"LANSING, Mich. — State Natural Resources Director Keith Creagh prohibited drilling on land tracts in the Au Sable River’s “holy waters” corridor Thursday while approving oil and gas exploration leases that worried fly fishermen and environmentalists."

"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Three U.S. senators asked a federal agency Wednesday for evidence that a pipeline crossing a section of the Great Lakes is safe, following a roughly 10 percent increase in its capacity to carry oil."

"Commentaries by two of China's most influential news outlets suggesting that the country's air pollution crisis was not without a silver lining drew a withering reaction on Tuesday from internet users and other media."