"Amid debate over the safety of publishing such research, a study in Science outlines how lab teams engineered the contagious strains of H5N1, and concludes that the deadly virus could cause a global pandemic."

"Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to give individual states the authority to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods has been defeated in the U.S. Senate by a three to one margin.  Sanders' proposal was one of more than 70 amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill."

"WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a sweeping new farm bill on Thursday that would cost nearly $1 trillion over the next 10 years, financing dozens of price support and crop insurance programs for farmers and food assistance for low-income families."

"Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground. No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millennia. There are growing signs they were mistaken."

"A bioactive chemical cousin of BPA turns up on money and in receipts"

"A report finds that injecting carbon dioxide into underground rock formations, while a potential means of fighting global warming, could increase stresses on faults, leading to earthquakes."

"A Senate resolution seeking to reverse federal regulations limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic substances from coal-burning power plants failed to win passage on Wednesday. The resolution, introduced by Senator James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, won support from 46 senators; 53 voted against it."

"U.S. Democrats in the House of Representatives urged the Obama administration on Wednesday to expand proposed regulations for fracking for natural gas, saying companies should be required to reveal the chemicals to be used in the process prior to drilling."

"Alternative fuels are likely to remain more expensive than their petroleum counterparts and offer the military little advantage as it seeks to secure its access to energy supplies, according to government-sponsored studies released today."

"The federal government could soon give the final go-ahead for Royal Dutch Shell to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Shell has spent $4 billion since 2007 to prepare for this work, and is hoping to tap into vast new deposits of oil."

"But the plan to drill exploratory wells is controversial — opposed by environmental groups and some indigenous people as well.