As the first of the new wave of electric cars begin hitting the market, both hype and doubt are in plentiful supply.

"Two chemical manufacturers are seeking an exemption from new rules in Wyoming that require public disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, a controversial natural gas drilling process suspected of polluting groundwater."

"Bisphenol A readily passes through skin, French scientists report. Best known as an estrogen-mimicking constituent of some plastics and resins, BPA is also found in a large share of cash register receipt paper in the United States and Europe, a trio of studies recently indicated. One of the three also showed that the powdery coating easily rubs off onto the hands."

"High levels of manganese and copper pollution in urban areas are linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease, according to an analysis of 35,000 Parkinson's patients by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis."

"Extensive testing of Gulf of Mexico seafood by federal scientists has found only minute traces of the dispersant Corexit, which was used to break up oil from the BP spill, officials say. About 1.8 million gallons of dispersant were applied to the waters' surface and at the wellhead, nearly a mile undersea."

"BP lifted its estimate of the likely cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill to $40 billion on Tuesday, denting profits, but its underlying performance beat all expectations on higher refining margins and a lower tax rate."

"Opponents of a Nevada nuclear waste dump thought they'd finally managed to kill the Yucca Mountain project. Then came Sharron Angle."

"Battle lines have been hardening over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline over the last couple of weeks. The pipeline, which will stretch from Alberta in Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast, would nearly double the United States' capacity to import oil made from Canadian oil sands. Canadian oil sands are a plentiful and secure source of oil, but the extraction process is high in carbon dioxide emissions and takes a toll on pristine Canadian forest ecosystems."

"It is a 20-block trip from the Interior Department headquarters to the House Natural Resources Committee's Capitol Hill hearing rooms, and Secretary Ken Salazar may get to know it well."

"Republican leaders have begun gathering evidence for sweeping investigations of Barack Obama's environmental agenda, from climate science to the BP oil spill, if as expected, they take control of the House of Representatives in the 2 November mid-term elections, the Guardian has learned."