"The White House is expected to take new steps on Friday to help society adapt to global warming, an acknowledgment that worldwide efforts to control emissions will be inadequate to head off big climatic shifts."

"Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should pay a $6.75 million fine for delaying the disclosure of record-keeping flaws on a San Carlos gas pipeline that were 'distressingly similar' to problems that contributed to the San Bruno gas line disaster of 2010, a regulatory judge ruled Wednesday."

"Toxic heavy metals found on the construction site of a planned $55 million replacement for the former Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans will require the removal of 3 feet of soil in areas that won't be covered by the new building's concrete foundation or parking lots, according to a report submitted on behalf of the Recovery School District to the state Department of Environmental Quality."

"MODESTO, Calif. – The students filing into Bret Harte Elementary School every morning barely notice the flags fluttering by the school's main entrance. There is the American flag, the California state flag and the color-coded asthma flag – green when the air is clear, red when it is a respiratory nightmare, as it so often is here."

"A geyser of gasoline spewed into the sky from a state-owned pipeline in western Mexico, forcing officials to evacuate about 5,000 people Wednesday. Authorities blamed the accident on fuel thieves tapping into the pipe."

"HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Rising temperatures and shifting, capricious precipitation patterns are affecting where, when, and how much water fills America's rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and how water is absorbed to replenish groundwater reserves – putting tremendous pressure on communities and businesses who compete for that water."

"WRENSHALL, Minn. -- Canadian pipeline builder Enbridge will file applications this week to build a $2.5 billion oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Opponents, though, are organizing already for a fight."

"Authorities in Texas confirmed about 400 barrels of crude oil spilled near Austin from a pipeline owned by Koch Pipeline Co."

"Faced with complaints about black clouds of dust swirling into two Chicago neighborhoods, state environmental regulators are cracking down on one of the companies piling up huge mounds of refinery waste on the Southeast Side."