"CALGARY -- The ugly scars left on the northern Alberta landscape by the oil sands have prompted calls from around the world for an independent body to gather data on the ecological damage wrought by the energy industry."

"SEATTLE — Gliding through the clear, emerald water of Puget Sound, Diver Laura James stopped when something shiny on the bottom caught her eye. She reached down and picked up a tire-flattened beer can."

Residents of a neighborhood just east of Hialeah have been experiencing cancer and asthma in what they see as unusual amounts. They live in an area with many industries that pollute with toxic dust and chemicals. Those companies often flout enforcement efforts by the county.

"Under fire for dumping toxic pollution into Lake Michigan, owners of the last coal-powered steamship on the Great Lakes promised four years ago they would eliminate its murky discharges in time for the 2012 sailing season."

"A Duke University-led study of coal ash contaminants, published Monday, found high levels of toxic arsenic in Mountain Island Lake."

Efforts to remove 17 miles of dioxin-laced muck contaminating New Jersey's Passaic River seem to have failed.

"While backers hail their benefits, the state struggles to regulate operations that put thousands of animals under the same roof."

Even with a non-regulatory approach, getting farmers to participate in water pollution control campaigns in Oregon is proving difficult.

"Residents of Hinkley, made famous by 'Erin Brockovich,' weigh an offer by PG&E to buy homes near chromium-tainted water. Animosity is high between residents wanting to sell and those opting to stay."

After an election and a Tennessee spill disaster in 2008, the Obama administration roared into office vowing to regulate electric utility coal ash. Now, as the tight 2012 election hinges partly on coal (and coal states), the administration's proposed regulations are on hold.