"A file cabinet at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland holds some of the center’s six million bird-migration observation cards dating back to the late 1800s. The hand-written cards contain data about sightings of birds such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, often spotted in the 1930s when fruit trees bloomed in spring. Now being digitized, data from these cards will be stored on a U.S. Geological Survey database."

"The federal government said Thursday that it would seek an unprecedented role as the environmental police of the Chesapeake Bay -- enforcing new rules on farmers and keeping a closer eye on state-level bureaucrats -- in an effort to halt the estuary's long decline."

"Citing 'clear evidence' of likely environmental damage, the Obama administration has moved toward revoking the largest mountaintop-removal permit in West Virginia history."

"U.S. scientists say persistent winds and a weakened current contributed to higher than normal June and July sea levels along the Eastern Seaboard."

"Environmental groups presented a federal official with more than 19,000 signed letters and postcards Tuesday asking the U.S. government to set stricter rules to prevent pollution in the Chesapeake Bay."

The Washington City Paper tested 27 public pools in the nation's capital and 37 percent of them came up positive for bacteria that can lead to outbreaks of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, E. coli infection and other recreational water illnesses. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37705 [18]

Bayer's plant at Institute, West Virginia, said that it would reduce by 80 percent its production of methyl isocyanate, the highly toxic chemical that killed thousands in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.

A crabbing license is a cultural icon for Chesapeake Bay watermen, whose way of life is as threatened as the shellfish their ancestors harvested.

The city of Chesapeake, Va., will extend public water supply lines to residents around a golf course built on fly ash from a coal-burning utility. But the utility and city disagree on how much the utility will pay.