"In Japan it is known as detergent suicide, a near-instant death achieved by mixing common household chemicals into a poisonous cloud of gas. By some counts, more than 2,000 people there have taken their own lives, inhaling the gas — in most cases hydrogen sulfide — in cars, closets or other enclosed spaces. The police now say they are seeing an increasing number of similar suicides in the United States."

The Missouri River flooding confronting Iowans is "a historic double punch expected to continue at least into August and one that worries even the most battle-hardened veterans of previous flood fights."

"The first six months of 2011 have brought image after image of human misery and ecological upheaval. Droughts, wildfires, twisters, floods, heat waves, extreme blizzards — just about every natural disaster you can imagine has hit just about every place on the planet."

"When the energy industry publishes a coloring book, there is no crayon needed to see the shades of gray."

"Gastroschisis, a birth defect in which the intestines grow outside the body, is more common among babies conceived in the spring when the levels of the herbicide atrazine in water are highest, researchers from Indiana reported."

"Pipeline operators and their trade organizations shaped, managed and provided sizable funding for numerous safety studies conducted by the federal agency that regulates the industry, a Chronicle investigation shows."

"The Obama administration [Thursday] said a proposal from House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) to expedite oil and gas leasing and energy infrastructure permitting in an Alaska reserve could force federal regulators to flout environmental laws and includes a costly, redundant resource assessment."

"While the battle over Northern Rockies gray wolf management has been most visible in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, wolf issues are also heating up in the Pacific Northwest as Washington and Oregon strive to manage small but growing packs."

"Environmental groups, on Thursday, again asked the U.S. nuclear regulator to delay approval of Westinghouse Electric's AP1000 reactor design."

"More than a dozen Virginia legislators are flying to France this month on all-expenses paid trips as part of an aggressive lobbying effort by a company pushing lawmakers to lift a ban on uranium mining in the state."