"A Senate resolution seeking to reverse federal regulations limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic substances from coal-burning power plants failed to win passage on Wednesday. The resolution, introduced by Senator James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, won support from 46 senators; 53 voted against it."

"U.S. Democrats in the House of Representatives urged the Obama administration on Wednesday to expand proposed regulations for fracking for natural gas, saying companies should be required to reveal the chemicals to be used in the process prior to drilling."

"Alternative fuels are likely to remain more expensive than their petroleum counterparts and offer the military little advantage as it seeks to secure its access to energy supplies, according to government-sponsored studies released today."

"ELK POINT, Alberta -- There's been another oil spill in Alberta, this time northeast of Edmonton."

"One swarm covered the side-view mirror of a Volvo station wagon in a lot by the Hudson River, trapping a family of three inside. Another humming cluster the size of a watermelon bent a tree branch in front of a Chase Bank on the Lower East Side, attracting a crowd of gasping onlookers. And for several hours, thousands of bees carpeted a two-foot-tall red standpipe on the patio of a South Street Seaport restaurant, sending would-be outdoor diners elsewhere."

"A Brooklyn public school building that had leaking light fixtures will be moved to the top of the list of schools with PCB problems, and the city will replace its lighting very soon, city officials said last week."

"The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Rights has agreed to investigate a complaint filed by residents of a largely African-American community in Alabama where millions of tons of coal ash were dumped between 2009 and 2010."

"The federal government could soon give the final go-ahead for Royal Dutch Shell to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Shell has spent $4 billion since 2007 to prepare for this work, and is hoping to tap into vast new deposits of oil."

"But the plan to drill exploratory wells is controversial — opposed by environmental groups and some indigenous people as well.