"Senior financiers and the leaders of powerful energy companies on Thursday blamed subsidies to oil and natural gas  companies for damaging the ability of the clean-energy industry to recover from the economic slowdown and take advantage of growing power markets worldwide."

"A proposal to designate more than 300,000 acres of wilderness in central Idaho appears to be in a political tailspin, dashing hopes among wilderness advocates that the Gem State could soon resolve a decades-long debate over management of its public lands."

"BP has agreed to pay a record $15 million fine to the federal government for air pollution violations at its troubled Texas City refinery."

"University researchers said on Thursday they recently found alarming levels of cancer-causing toxins in an area of the Gulf of Mexico affected by BP's oil spill, raising the specter of long-lasting health concerns."

"Mid-Ohio Valley teenagers who were exposed to DuPont Co.'s C8 pollution experienced a four- to six-month delay in puberty, according to a new study that adds to the growing concerns about potential health effects of chemicals that have been widely used in nonstick and stain-resistant products."

"Illinois is failing to crack down on water pollution from large confined-animal farms, the Obama  administration announced Wednesday in a stinging rebuke that gave the state a month to figure out how to fix its troubled permitting and enforcement programs."

"Cuba is expected to begin drilling offshore for oil and gas as soon as next year in waters deeper than those the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling in when it exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April."

"Japanese police have launched a probe after nets on holding pens for dolphins in the coastal town of Taiji were cut during an annual hunt, possibly by foreign activists, a press report said Wednesday."

"Backers of bipartisan Senate legislation establishing a renewable electricity standard hit a stumbling block [Thursday] as Sen. Lindsey Graham made plans to introduce an alternative energy measure that could draw Republican supporters."

"The world's rivers are so badly affected by human activity that the water security of almost 5 billion people, and the survival of thousands of aquatic species, are threatened, scientists warned."