"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tight restrictions on using people as test subjects — or, as critics have put it, guinea pigs — in pesticide research."

"The United States said on Thursday farmers could proceed with planting genetically altered alfalfa without any of the restrictions that opponents say are crucial to protect organic and conventional farm fields from contamination."

"From the sometimes bizarre front lines of the climate-change culture wars: It seems the brothers Koch, proprietors of the giant, Kansas-based industrial conglomerate and well-heeled supporters of Tea Party causes, have now set their sights on a group of anonymous pranksters who spoofed a Koch Industries press release last month — one that suggested the brothers were having a change of heart on climate change."

"U.S. EPA's air division has made headlines under President Obama for its push to limit greenhouse gases and toxic pollution, but the busy office is running late with new limits on asthma-inducing soot, close observers of the rulemaking process say."

"Do we worry now about the consequences of our carbon-intensive lifestyle, or do we let our children cope? The answer has a considerable impact when assessing the economic costs of a warmer planet."

"A new study ranks West Virginia fourth in mercury pollution, a chemical closely tied to a number of health risks."

"The 'C-word,' climate, appears to have become to the Beltway what  the 'P-word,' population, has been in climate treaty negotiations for a long time — unmentionable."

"The cost of climate change impacts runs twice as high as previously estimated, according to revised data from a key economic model used by federal agencies."

"Bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress today to help communities determine whether there is a connection between clusters of cancer, birth defects and other diseases, and contaminants in the surrounding environment."

"President Obama visits green-energy companies in Wisconsin as battles brew over spending cuts back in Washington. The day takes on a football theme as Obama, a Chicago Bears fan, receives a Packers jersey and, in a factory visit, quotes Vince Lombardi."