"Federal public health officials are urging people to take precautions to protect themselves against a microscopic parasite that can live for days in swimming pools and water playgrounds and cause severe intestinal problems."

"The vast expanse of sea ice around Antarctica has suffered a “precipitous” fall since 2014, satellite data shows, and fell at a faster rate than seen in the Arctic."

"A Texas federal judge has found a huge Formosa plastics complex northeast of Corpus Christi to be a 'serial offender' with a history of allowing plastic pellets to wash into wetlands and bays along the Gulf of Mexico, and said that the company has committed 'enormous' violations of state law and the U.S. Clean Water Act."

"Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit in Ingham County Circuit Court on Thursday that seeks to decommission the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline across the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac."

"Wisconsin wastewater plants were built to keep pollutants out of the environment, but state regulators have come to realize the facilities may be spreading hazardous industrial chemicals in ways that increase health risks."

"Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay is already struggling with a species of toxin-producing algae, another sign that the rest of the lake’s western basin is likely headed for another massive bloom this summer."

"Japanese whaling ships prepared on Sunday to set to sea, with crews gathering on decks in a northern port a day ahead of Japan’s first commercial whaling hunt in more than 30 years."

"Thirty-six railroad cars full of coal went off the tracks early Tuesday and landed in the Great Dismal Swamp, officials said Wednesday."

"The Senate passed a defense bill Thursday that would require an increased response from the government to harmful chemicals that have leached into water in at least 43 states."

"India’s monsoon rains were below average for the fourth straight week, with rainfall scanty over central and western parts of the country in the week ended on Wednesday, raising concerns about major crop production and the impact on the nation’s economy."