"HOUSTON — The growing gloom about the economy has pushed down oil and gasoline prices, along with the prices of an array of other commodities. And while that could mean more spending power for consumers, perhaps tempering any possible downturn, the steep drop in energy prices reflects worries that economic activity is headed in the wrong direction."

"Israel said on Monday it was building a 1.5 billion shekel ($423 million) desalination plant, which upon completion in 2013, will join four other plants in providing the country with three-quarters of its drinking water."

"SCRIBA, N.Y. — Officials at Constellation Energy are investigating a leakage in a containment structure that caused the shutdown of the Nine Mile Point Unit 2 reactor on Lake Ontario over the weekend.

In the days after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown began, Japanese officials let evacuees go into areas of high radiation, downplaying and withholding information about the danger."

"Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity have asked the Department of the Interior to look into whether the recent suspension of a biologist violates rules meant to protect scientific research from political interference.

The news of the suspension has prompted widespread debate, with environmental groups alleging a connection to plans to drill oil in the Arctic reserve.

"The Ten Mile River, once polluted by the many jewelry factories that lined it decades ago, has bounced back, according to environmentalists, and is now home to a variety of wildlife."

Rick Foster reports for the Attleboro Sun Chronicle August 7, 2011. [25]

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new West Virginia University study cautions that exposure to the toxic chemical C8 may affect the function of the thyroid gland and says more research on the matter is needed.

Federal ethanol subsidies are hardly dead. They are still a key controversy in climate change, air pollution, the automotive industry, agricultural markets, food prices, budget wars, and the 2012 presidential race. No wonder the media mob descending on Iowa for the Aug. 13 straw poll is getting a free banquet of PR pitches.

"Volcano Lake, Calif. -- The news is distressing: A cratering real estate market, tight-fisted banks unwilling to make loans and no appetite among elected officials to let go of a dime. So why are conservationists smiling?"

"Hardly anyone has heard of them, but millions of pounds of glymes are used every year to make household products. Now time is running out for glymes -- at least when it comes to new uses in consumer products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it plans to clamp down on these little-known ingredients used by a broad array of industries, including manufacturers of lithium batteries, inkjet cartridges, paints, prescription drugs and microchips."