"Anticipating a slow-motion disaster that could break flood records dating to the 1920s, thousands of people from Illinois to Louisiana have already been forced from their homes, and anxiety is rising along with the mighty river, even though it could be a week or two before some of the most severe flooding hits."
"HACKLEBURG, Ala. — Over the last week, this close-knit little town has had to grapple with a most unfamiliar feeling: not knowing where everyone is. When the tornadoes came through last Wednesday, ripping over the hills at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour, it left a town alien to itself. The bodies of strangers showed up in backyard ponds, survivors found themselves lying in open fields away from homes that were no longer there and, at night, there was no light, not as much as a streetlamp, to gather around and take stock."
"The potential for public exposure to dangerous levels of asbestos in the contaminated mining town of Libby [Mont.] remains a concern to federal health officials, according to preliminary results of a risk-assessment study announced Tuesday, more than a decade after cleanup operations began."
As all-electric cars are just arriving in showrooms, there is a new movie out called "Revenge of the Electric Car." It's by Chris Paine, who directed the 2006 documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
"A coalition of conservation groups has made good on its threat to take the owners of Chicago's sewage treatment plants to court over the foul stuff they have been discharging into the Chicago River for more than a century."
"The ice of Greenland and the rest of the Arctic is melting faster than expected and could help raise global sea levels by as much as 5 feet this century, dramatically higher than earlier projections, an authoritative international assessment says."
"Just months into his first term, Rep. Bob Gibbs admits he has much to learn. But the Ohio Republican holds strong reservations about environmental regulation in general."
"The oil giants — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Shell—recently released their first quarter reports. Together, the big five's profits were 38 percent higher in the first quarter of 2011 than the same period last year."
"BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. has agreed to pay a $25 million civil fine to settle a federal lawsuit over the largest-ever oil spill on Alaska's North Slope, according to a proposal filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Tuesday."
"Critics of Indian Point say the NYC suburbs are no place for a nuclear plant, while advocates insist the facility is safe, despite having some seismic risk."
