"Deborah Swackhamer, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota, decided last year to investigate the chemistry of the nearby Zumbro River. She and her colleagues were not surprised to find traces of pesticides in the water."

"With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to eliminate mercury pollution from dental offices nationwide."

"Pollution investigators have found toxic compounds in groundwater below the Delaware Air National Guard base matching those that prompted shutdowns this summer of the city of New Castle's entire three-well public supply network and two Artesian Water Co. wells."

"Nine years after levee failures flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and two years after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast, the nation has failed to determine the flooding risks faced by communities across the United States, the American Society of Civil Engineers said in a new report."

"Procter & Gamble, the maker of Crest, has just pledged to eliminate microbeads from its toothpastes by March 2016."

"The Obama administration announced a new 5-year plan for the Great Lakes on Wednesday that will accelerate efforts to address toxic pollution, invasive species and farm runoff and restore plant and wildlife habitat."

"President Barack Obama on Thursday will designate the largest marine sanctuary in the world in an area of the Pacific Ocean that will be off-limits to commercial fishing and deep-sea mining, the White House said on Wednesday."

"TUCSON, Ariz. — Authorities are testing water from the San Pedro River in southern Arizona that may be contaminated with toxic waste that traveled north after a massive copper mine spill in Mexico this summer."

"In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy wreaked major havoc on the United States, causing 117 deaths and leaving $62 billion worth of damage in its wake when it passed through New York and New Jersey. But Sandy wasn't the strongest storm ever to hit that region, and there is the potential for other, much bigger storms to strike, a new report warns."