Impacts of the Gulf oil spill on wildlife, beaches, and tourism continue to spread.

"During President Obama's visit to the Louisiana coast, he got an earful from local officials about his six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Many people -- from work boat captains to offshore caterers -- say shutting down the industry for that long could be a bigger economic blow to the region than the oil spill itself."

"The market for solar modules, a key element in solar power systems, is so strong that industry leader First Solar will not be able to meet demand this year, a senior executive was quoted as saying on Saturday."

"llinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced criminal charges today in connection with dumping of a chemical cleaner into a South Elgin creek that leads to the Fox River in May. The chemical is alleged to have caused a fish kill in the creek."

Oil spill National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen has put out a written directive that news media have "uninhibited access" to spill response operations unless security or safety problems prevent it. It is not clear whether his order will have any impact on BP.

"An Indian court Monday convicted seven former senior employees of Union Carbide's Indian subsidiary of 'death by negligence' for their roles in the Bhopal gas tragedy that left an estimated 15,000 people dead more than a quarter century ago in the world's worst industrial disaster."

"President Barack Obama said Saturday that he will stand with Gulf Coast residents 'until they are made whole' from the oil spill catastrophe."

"For 16 months, they have protested mountaintop mining. Now the coal giant is pursuing court injunctions, and the demonstrators are facing more severe punishments for their civil disobedience."