"The disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and the threat of radioactive fallout changed the lives of many people, including Mizuho Nakayama and other mothers of young children whose primary goal suddenly became that of keeping their kids out of harm's way."

"Worried about her 2-year-old son and distrustful of government and TV reports that seemed to play down radiation risks, she scoured the Web for information and started connecting with other mothers through Twitter and Facebook, many using social media for the first time."

"The 41-year-old mother joined a parents group — one of dozens that have sprung up since the crisis — that petitioned local officials in June to test lunches at schools and day care centers for radiation and avoid using products from around the troubled nuclear plant.

"ALBANY, N.Y. — While health and environmental groups are praising the Environmental Protection Agency for reining in mercury emissions from power plants, a New York group says discarded thermostats remain a major source of mercury contamination in the state."

"Three advocacy groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency last week over concerns that regulations for paper mills emissions are 25 years out of date."

"Greenpeace, the Center for Biological Diversity and Port Townsend AirWatchers filed suit on Dec. 6 under a clause of the Clean Air Act that allows citizens to hold the EPA accountable for carrying out the provisions of the act.

"Police officers investigating the theft of thousands of private emails between climate scientists from a University of East Anglia server in 2009 have seized computer equipment belonging to a web content editor based at the University of Leeds.

"Soon after horrific natural gas explosions killed five people in Allentown and a utility worker in Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania congressman called a hearing in March to talk about improving pipeline safety. Right away, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster made one thing clear: He wasn't sure the solution was more federal inspectors, or even a more powerful U.S. pipeline safety agency with tougher regulations."

"Is the U.S. leading or blocking progress toward stopping global warming? It's a key question this week as officials from more than 190 countries begin the latest round of negotiations seeking an eventual global climate-protection plan."

"VANCOUVER -- A Canadian environmental organization has launched a new automated system to draw public attention to the number and size of the oil tankers that transit Vancouver's Burrard Inlet."

"Republicans have been attacking environmental regulations, arguing that they hurt the economy and that the costs outweigh the benefits. But four decades of data show they are wrong."

"France's state energy firm EDF has been fined €1.5m by a Paris court for spying on Greenpeace."