"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."

"For many with a stake in Alaska native corporations, promise of a better life remains unfulfilled."

"The Obama administration was set to release its latest set of requirements for offshore oil drillers by Thursday as the government moves toward lifting its contested ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."

"One in five of the world's 380,000 plant species is threatened with extinction and human activity is doing most of the damage, according to a global study published on Wednesday."