As the World Bank prepares to vote on to vote on a $3.75 billion loan to help South Africa build a 4,800-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the U.S. is under pressure to vote no.
 

"More than 50 Indiana National Guardsmen have filed a lawsuit in Houston claiming KBR failed to warn them about exposure to carcinogenic chemicals at an Iraqi water facility they were guarding."

"Alleging that a Brandywine landfill is discharging toxic pollutants into local waterways, the Maryland Department of the Environment filed suit against the site's operator Friday in federal court. ... The landfill stores the waste byproducts of coal combustion from Mirant's Chalk Point Generating Plant in Aquasco."

"Nitrous oxide stemming from thawing permafrost poses a more serious global warming threat than previously realized, according to a new study published Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience."

"NASA, the agency known for exploring space, will be spending a lot more time studying Earth in the next few years. The Obama administration has proposed a budget for NASA that includes billions of dollars for satellites and other tools to help scientists investigate Earth-bound problems, especially climate change."

"Oil prices hovered near 18-month highs above $86 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders mulled whether a recovering U.S. economy warranted further gains. ... Oil has jumped 24 percent since early February."

"The annual hunt for harp seals off the coast of eastern Canada  will barely take place this year. But this is not good news for the seals."

The EPA is considering requiring pesticide-makers to disclose often-toxic "inert" ingredients, changing a policy of secrecy that has been in effect for nearly 2/3 of a century.

"Sixteen utilities and a trade association sued the Energy Department on Monday to halt the government’s collection of nuclear waste disposal fees, arguing that the country no longer had a disposal plan after ruling out Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a repository."

"MONTCOAL, W.Va. -- Twenty-five miners were killed Monday after a huge explosion at a Massey Energy mine in Raleigh County, the worst mine disaster in the United States in more than a quarter-century."