It could be harder to prosecute corporate polluters, producers of tainted food, and other white-collar criminals if a Koch-backed bill to reform criminal justice goes through.

"Several environmental and health groups are moving to protect a new rule limiting ozone levels against a lawsuit."

"A proposal to build the largest oil train terminal in the Pacific Northwest could result in a derailment every two years and an oil spill from a derailment once every 12, according to a draft analysis by a Washington state agency."

"Companies that report their hydraulic fracturing chemicals to FracFocus have become less forthcoming since 2013, finds a study of 96,000 disclosures."

"United Nations climate talks set to begin in Paris next week promise to produce a landmark deal that has eluded diplomats for more than two decades."

"PARIS --  Climate experts say the need to agree on a global carbon price to cut pollution and aid clean technologies is a no-brainer, and yet the topic will have no place at the upcoming Paris climate talks."

"Workers at Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA fear for their safety after the Samarco dam burst in the town of Mariana, where the company was reducing the number of employees because of weak ore prices, despite its push for output and complaints about safety."

"A top House lawmaker’s confrontation with government researchers over a groundbreaking climate change study is provoking a national backlash from scientists, who say his campaign represents the most serious threat Congress has posed to scientific freedom."

"The last time the U.S. enjoyed a hemp revival was during World War II, when the country could no longer import cheap rope fiber from Asia. The effort, called Hemp for Victory, was promoted by the government even though plantings of hemp, a relative of marijuana, were tightly restricted. More than a half-century later, there is a new push to reestablish the ancient crop."

"A new facet of the GMO debate has come to upstate New York in the form of a fluttering, genetically engineered moth that its developers say could help cut down on the use of harmful pesticides in agriculture. But some food safety advocacy groups aren’t so sure: They’re worried about the insect’s safety and its potential to hurt business for farmers in the region."