"US spill chief Thad Allen failed Thursday to reassure desperate fishermen about their Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up jobs, while BP began the legal wrangling in a massive civil trial. As engineers prepared next week's vital operations to permanently kill the capped BP well, Allen met with parish presidents and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal in New Orleans to discuss how to safeguard local jobs going forward."

"Partisan disagreements in the Senate will delay passage of legislation responding to the Gulf oil spill until at least September, when Congress returns from its summer recess."

EPA made public its latest Toxics Release Inventory, which gives a picture of toxic chemical emissions into the environment from some 21,000 facilities nationwide during 2009, the latest year available. The dataset, which is preliminary, allows local reporters to track toxic threats and trends in their communities and regions.

"The Environmental Protection Agency unleashed a full-throated defense on Thursday of scientific evidence that mankind is dangerously warming the planet, and of the Obama administration's unilateral moves to curb the heat-trapping gas emissions scientists blame for climate change."

The NRDC released its annual report on the state of U.S. beaches. Tar balls may be the least of our worries. Disease-causing germs from storm runoff and sewage overflows may be more dangerous.

"A federal judge has ruled that the federal Forest Service’s plan for using fire retardant to fight wildfires violates the law because it does not ensure protections for threatened and endangered species of fish and other animals."

"Marsh grasses are the tough guys of the plant world. Left alone, they dominate coastal marshes from Texas to Newfoundland. Burn their stems and leaves, and they come back bushier than ever. They help slow down hurricanes and filter pollution. As impenetrable to humans as a green wall, they shelter birds, fish and endangered mammals, and act as nurseries for commercial species like shrimp and crabs. But let oil get into their roots and underground reproductive systems, and they can wither and die."

"The Coast Guard has gathered evidence it failed to follow its own firefighting policy during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and is investigating whether the chaotic spraying of tons of salt water by private boats contributed to sinking the ill-fated oil rig, according to interviews and documents."

"Up to 4 million barrels (167 million gallons), the vast majority of the spill, remains unaccounted for in government statistics."