"A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a major decision in the long-running battle over the 2010 gulf oil spill, leaving in place an earlier ruling that forces the British oil company BP to pay some businesses for economic damages without the businesses having to prove the losses were directly caused by the spill."

"The removal of a 2,500-ton deposit of coal ash in the Dan River from a spill in North Carolina has begun."

"Centuries from now, a large swath of the West Antarctic ice sheet is likely to be gone, its hundreds of trillions of tons of ice melted, causing a four-foot rise in already swollen seas."

"The devastating wildfires scorching Southern California offer a glimpse of a warmer and more fiery future, according to scientists and federal and international reports."

"As North Carolina moves to tap potentially rich natural gas reserves, some warn that the drilling process is fraught with environmental hazards. The Fayetteville Observer explores the debate, and how this new industry could transform the Cape Fear region, in a six-day series this week."

Fracking plans in southern Louisiana have ignited a political firestorm over potential damage to a regional aquifer.

"The so-called leaf rust, or roya, is a yellow and orange-colored fungus that has swept coffee fields from Mexico to Peru over the past two years, threatening to stunt production and drive up the price of Latin American roasts."

"Less food for hawks, owls, white-tailed kites, falcons and even golden eagles is theorized to be connected to years of too-dry weather. One apparent consequence: a 'breeding crash' beyond any in local experts' memory."

"CHERRYVALE, Kan. — Recent lead levels among children tested in a southeast Kansas town that was home to a zinc smelter were 'significantly' higher than statewide and national levels, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment."

A firebrand organizer has convinced conservative Nebraska farmers to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline because they will bear the brunt of Canada's energy expansion. It's about local environmental impacts rather than climate change.