"A chemical spill along a West Virginia river on Thursday triggered a tap water ban for up to 300,000 people, shutting down schools, bars and restaurants and forcing residents to line up for bottled water at stores. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties following the spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical used in the coal industry."
"While the East Coast is digging out from a major winter storm, the West Coast is praying for rain. The state just finished one of the driest years on record, and that has water managers, farmers and others worried."
"A multinational banking giant is backing away from a proposal to build the West Coast’s biggest coal export project near Bellingham, Washington."
"Something unusual rained down on residents of Queensland, Australia, over the weekend. In a bizarre incident, thousands of bats reportedly fell from the sky in the northeastern state. While the mass deaths may seem baffling, it appears Australia's heat wave is to blame."
"WASHINGTON -- '60 Minutes' last Sunday ran a segment on what it described as the 'crash' of the clean tech industry, detailing perceived failures in government support for the development of clean energy and other advanced technology. That segment has been widely criticized for leaving out crucial information about the state of the clean tech sector and over-emphasizing governmental failures."
"The Obama administration responded Wednesday to conservatives who say the historic cold snap affecting the United States proves that climate change is not real."
"The giants of the U.S. food industry who have spent millions fighting state-by-state efforts to mandate new labels for genetically modified organisms are taking a page from their opponents and pushing for a federal GMO law."
"Radio Disney made 26 stops across Ohio with a pro-fracking group to promote oil and gas to elementary school students."
"TORONTO -- Canadian health officials said Wednesday a fatal case of H5N1 bird flu has been reported in Canada, the first such case in North America. The victim was travelling from China when symptoms first appeared."
"Some 80,000 tank cars that don't meet current industry safety standards need to be replaced or retrofitted after several crashes of trains carrying crude oil, the head of railcar maker The Greenbriar Companies said on Wednesday."
