"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... ."

"Exactly what's in floor cleaner? What's stain remover made of? And what effects, if any, might they have on human health or the environment Environmental advocates want to know, and they asked a court Thursday to use a 1971 New York state law to force ... manufacturers ... to reveal just what makes up such household staples as Ajax, Ivory soap and Tide. The cleanser industry says that the legal case is unwarranted and that fears about health risks are misinformed."

"The Obama administration's top climate adviser strongly defended a cap on emissions a day after the president suggested Congress might move an energy bill without such a cap in place."

"Capping a decade-long battle, private companies in Mexico have begun the first legal plantings of genetically modified corn, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday."