"BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc units were among dozens of energy companies that agreed to pay $42 million to settle claims brought by communities on New York’s Long Island alleging contamination of water with a gasoline additive."

"A U.N. panel has declared the Florida's Everglades to be an endangered World Heritage site due to the wetlands' continued degradation, officials said on Friday."

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac killed a solar panel and energy efficiency program Monterey County was launching with pride. Now California is fighting back.

"Hurricane, O’Connor and their two chicks nesting behind the big ‘H’ at a Rexdale hospital are proof that Ontario’s peregrine falcon population is soaring. They are one of 10 nesting pairs in the Greater Toronto Area."

"The New York State Senate has approved at least a nine-month delay in issuing permits for a method of natural gas drilling, saying more study is needed to ensure it does not contaminate the state's water supply."

"A BP Texas City refinery that was the site of a massive 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers has a pattern of poor operation and maintenance practices, Texas environmental regulators reported after investigating a 46-day release of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals from the plant this spring."

"Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, along with two of his former gubernatorial campaign managers, signed a $900,000 contract on July 30 to go to bat for the heavily polluting Marcellus Shale gas drilling industry. Ridge’s contract follows on the heels of an exodus from the Rendell administration to the cash-rich industry. Three top Rendell staff members have jumped ship to work in governmental relations jobs for the industry over the past year."

"The front-runner for the Republican nomination in the Colorado governor’s race is causing a stir with claims that his likely Democratic opponent, Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver, is bringing the city under United Nations control by promoting bike riding and other sustainability measures."

"The dispersants used to break up the BP PLC oil spill came under new scrutiny Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, where a panel warned that the U.S. government lacks critical information about whether the chemicals threaten sea life in the Gulf of Mexico."