National (U.S.)

Heart arrhythmias in females and permanent, deleterious modifications of a gene that plays a pivotal role in reproduction are two new problems being linked to bisphenol A. New findings about the toxicity of this chemical and data suggest human exposures may be higher than U.S. regulatory agencies have assumed.

Heavy lobbying by companies eager to get a slice of the $23 billion-a-year organic food business is watering down USDA "organic" standards to the point where consumers "are not always getting what they expect: foods without pesticides and other chemicals, produced in a way that is gentle to the environment."

"When you hear about dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, they’re largely caused by pollution draining from the farm belt. It can take a long time and a lot of money to reduce pollution at factories. So they’re starting to pay farmers to cut pollution instead."

"A unique partnership between University of Vermont researchers and a federal farm program is providing time and space for grassland songbirds to reproduce on land where their nests usually are destroyed by haying."

"The American chestnut tree, which towered over eastern U.S. forests before succumbing to a deadly fungus in the early 20th century, appears to be an excellent sponge for greenhouse gases, according to a new study."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing tougher rules to reduce air pollution from large oceangoing ships, including oil tankers and cargo vessels."

"A federal judge sided with environmentalists yesterday and threw out Bush-era Forest Service regulations that govern management plans for national forests."