"A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Thursday introduced legislation aimed at slashing emissions of sulfur dioxide, mercury and nitrogen oxide from smokestacks including coal-fired power plants."

"Expectations of a sharp rise in nuclear generating capacity over the next two decades are likely overblown, a Canadian think tank said on Thursday, disputing conventional wisdom that a nuclear renaissance is in full swing."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that ethanol and other renewable fuels must account for 8.25 percent of total gasoline and diesel sales in 2010 to meet Congress' mandate that nearly 13 billion gallons of renewable fuels be produced this year."

"A federal judge on Thursday found Murphy Oil Co. liable for violating the federal Clean Air Act 21 times by releasing pollutants into the air in amounts greater than allowed under state permits for the company's Meraux oil refinery."

EPA is reopening its review of the possible health effects of the widespread herbicide atrazine. A new focus is on several studies linking the hormone-mimicking weedkiller to birth defects and other risks in newborns.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday evening that it would not grant the American pika -- a tiny mammal whose mountainside habitat is being threatened by climate change -- protection under the Endangered Species Act."

"Scant ice over the Arctic Sea this winter could mean a 'double whammy' of powerful ice-melt next summer, a top U.S. climate scientist said on Thursday."

"All along the Oregon coast over the last month, hundreds of brown pelicans have turned up dead, starving or begging for food. ...Researchers, at a loss to explain the casualties, are looking at unusual ocean currents and the depletion of fish stocks -- as well as warmer temperatures, toxic runoff and algae blooms -- as possible causes."

"The eco-conscious city plans to build more than 680 miles of new bikeways in the coming two decades at a cost of $613 million."

"Major snowstorms are set to bury the mid-Atlantic states this weekend after record snowfalls in December. Last month California was awash in rain. The Gulf states have seen heavy weather lately as well. Turns out it's not just a run of bad luck. What's behind a lot of this winter's weather is El Nino... ."