"Union Carbide is defending its former chief executive now wanted for arrest in India, saying that managers at the company’s plant in Bhopal could not have anticipated a gas leak that killed 10,000 people 25 years ago."

"More than twice as many D.C. children as previously reported by federal and local health officials had high levels of lead in their blood amid the city's drinking water crisis, according to congressional investigators, throwing into doubt assurances by those officials that the lead in tap water did not seriously harm city children."

A tangle of New Jersey lawsuits raises issues about what restrictions should be placed on builders seeking to develop farmland where pesticides were formerly used.

A rash of headaches, coughing fits, red eyes, and other symptoms has closed Oak Ridge Elementary School in North Carolina while local, state, and federal officials figure out what is causing it.

"The push for green power could spawn a rush for small hydropower projects in the Northwest."

"After 10 consecutive years of drought, a 10–20% reduction in stream flow could be critical."

Biologists have found in San Francisco Bay a kelp used in miso soup which is on the list of 100 worst invasive alien species.

"A National Academies workshop examined the evidence of epigenetic effects and considered whether the thousands of chemicals in use today should be tested for them. Some pollutants and chemicals don't kill cells or mutate DNA. Instead, they may be more subtle, muting genes or turning them on at the wrong time, which can lead to diseases that are passed on for generations. Asthma in New York City children exposed to traffic exhaust is an example, experts say."

Arizona's groundwater addiction hasn't been controlled by legal and regulatory measures so far, and may soon threaten the state's economic well-being.

"The Obama administration is talking with allies and Congress about the possibility of imposing an extreme economic sanction against Iran if it fails to respond to President Obama’s offer to negotiate on its nuclear program: cutting off the country’s imports of gasoline and other refined oil products."