"Women in Northern California farm towns gave birth to smaller babies if they lived within three miles of strawberry fields and other crops treated with the pesticide methyl bromide, according to researchers."

"The nominee for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman reached out to executives at oil giant BP PLC for help with the confirmation process, according to emails released yesterday by a conservative think tank opposing his nomination."

"The U.S. government rejected the sale of coal in Wyoming after an auction drew the lowest top bid in 15 years, as the outlook for the power-plant fuel weakens because of cheap natural gas and new rules coming out this week."

"New rules limiting emissions from U.S. power plants that are expected to be proposed on Friday will 'provide certainty' to the coal industry, environment and energy chiefs told lawmakers anxious about the fuel's future."

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ranks the causes of the antibiotic resistance in bacteria that kills an estimated 23,000 Americans every year. One surprise is the finding that hospitals are an even bigger source of resistant bacteria than are food animal feeding operations.

"Coal’s future is being built in rural Mississippi, and so far this is what it looks like: a $1 billion cost overrun, a stew of legal battles, a revolt by ratepayers and a credit downgrade for the local utility."

"About eight in 10 stories contain some discussion of uncertainties and risk, according to Oxford analysis"

"House Republicans have snagged high-profile witnesses for a Sept. 18 hearing on the White House's new climate plan: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz."

"It was supposed to be a few days of relative bipartisan bonhomie in the Senate: A modest but popular energy bill was on the floor. Though senators may have faced a tough vote or two on U.S. EPA rules or the Keystone XL pipeline, the bill was expected to make it across the finish line, demonstrating that at least one chamber of Congress could function."

"Pediatricians and public health advocates are working to revive programs to protect children from lead poisoning, after what they describe as a series of devastating blows to their efforts."