"MATHER, Calif. -- Describing the drought as a 'call to action,' Gov. Jerry Brown joined Democratic legislative leaders Wednesday to unveil a $687.4 million package aimed at helping California get through its water crisis and better prepare for the next one."

"Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is urging federal health officials immediately to conduct more lab studies on the chemicals that spilled into a public water supply last month. The governor also asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its partners for guidance on long-term health monitoring for the nine counties exposed to the chemicals."

"RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina officials said Tuesday that groundwater containing unsafe levels of arsenic apparently leaching from a Duke Energy coal ash dump is still pouring into the Dan River, which is already contaminated from a massive Feb. 2 spill."

"CHICAGO — It might be back to the drawing board for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' sweeping proposal to spend billions of dollars and 25 years to block an Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes."

"RALEIGH — The Duke Energy coal-ash spill landed in the lap of a state legislative environmental oversight panel today and gave lawmakers a rare bird’s-eye look at the documented pollution problem posed by the utility’s coal-waste dumps statewide."

"In delivering aid to drought-stricken California last week, President Obama and his aides cited the state as an example of what could be in store for much of the rest of the country as human-caused climate change intensifies. But in doing so, they were pushing at the boundaries of scientific knowledge about the relationship between climate change and drought."

"FRESNO, Calif. — President Obama arrived in the heart of California’s parched farmland on Friday afternoon to offer tens of millions of dollars in federal assistance to the state, where the lack of rain and snow this winter has led to the severest drought in its modern history."

"A satellite orbiting Earth has spotted 55 southern right whales hanging out in the shallow waters off Argentina."

"LOS ANGELES — California is lining up to become the largest state to ban the sale of cosmetic products, such as facial scrubs, containing tiny plastic beads that find their way into waterways and the ocean."

"A fire-ravaged ship loaded with hazardous chemicals has become a maritime football in the north Pacific, with Japan and South Korea unwilling to give it refuge even though they risk a wider environmental disaster if it sinks."