"Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is getting a chilly reception from environmental groups as he heads to the White House today to talk energy with President Obama."

"Cleanup of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes is moving so slowly it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the existing pace, according to a federal report."

"The governor says California electric utilities must get 33% of their power from renewable sources by 2020, but he plans to veto Democratic bills that push to produce it in state."

"This year, the Heinz Awards divided $1 million in prize money to 10 people who had done exemplary work in protecting the environment. They included Grist founder Chip Giller, happy-food guru Joel Salatin, and Stanford professor Christopher Field, among others."

"The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change."

"Failure to agree a new UN climate deal in December will bring a "global health catastrophe", say 18 of the world's professional medical organisations."

"Seattle -- Fisheries managers announced Tuesday that they would enhance but not significantly alter the government's current strategy for saving salmon from extinction in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, drawing criticism from conservationists."

"For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to limit the quantity of toxic metals that coal-fired U.S. power plants release into waterways."

"With global talks on climate change looming, the Obama administration sought to gain momentum Tuesday by unveiling its plan to require better gas mileage for cars and trucks and the first-ever rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions."

Furniture stores and architectural firms get a lot of samples – of fabric, tiles, and carpet. Those samples can pile up. Usually, they get thrown in the trash. But, in some cities, they are starting to make unused design samples available to artists and art teachers. The Environment Report's Julie Grant has more.