"Nothing seemed special about the plates from which students at a handful of Miami schools devoured their meals for a few weeks last spring -- round, rigid and colorless, with four compartments for food and a fifth in the center for a carton of milk."

"The 1970s began with a remarkable pulse of federal legislation aimed at protecting endangered species and restoring the nation’s air and waters. But it took until 1978 for another type of environmental threat, toxic hot spots left behind by industrial activity, to gain the spotlight."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has ordered its staff to get back to work finalizing a review of a controversial nuclear waste dump in Nevada."

"On paper, California's rules on the transport and disposal of hazardous waste are among the nation's strictest. But there are huge holes in the system."

"Wastepickers who sort New Delhi garbage in search of recyclables are gaining new opportunities – and recognition – for their environment-benefiting work."

"Look no further than the Carolina coast to see what kind of damage a coal-fired power plant can do to underground sources of drinking water."

"The Italian Senate is investigating a cluster of cancers near Naples which may have been caused by the mafia's dumping of toxic waste. It's a question that has long been on the conscience of one former mafia boss, who says it was not the violence but pollution that made him turn police informer."

As a centerpiece of its bid to hold the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia boldly promised a "Zero Waste" program. State-owned companies are already systematically and publicly violating that pledge.

"Shenandoah Riverkeeper Jeff Kelble filed an appeal in Richmond Circuit Court on Wednesday to overturn Virginia's sewage sludge regulations."

"DETROIT -- Remaining mounds of petroleum coke have been removed from the Detroit riverfront ahead of a city-imposed deadline but more time is needed to haul construction materials away from the sites, according to a storage company."