As he delivered a eulogy last year for 29 men killed in the worst coal mine disaster in four decades, President Obama bowed his head and repeated a plea he had heard from mining families: 'Don't let this happen again.'
"Denmark earns the biggest share of its national revenue from producing windmills and other clean technologies, the United States is rapidly expanding its clean-tech sector, but no country can match China's pace of growth, according to a new report obtained by The Associated Press."
"Washington has become the first state to ban pavement sealants that contain coal tar. The state made the move in response to recent studies that show runoff from macadam treated with these products can pollute lakes and streams."
"Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Legislature have moved quickly to weaken a string of environmental and energy programs as they contend with a budget deficit and make economic development their top priority."
"Corroded cooling water pipes at the Byron nuclear power plant in Illinois could have caused a nuclear catastrophe. The plant, owned by Exelon Corp., is just one example of regulators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission failing to penalize safety failures."
"Levels of radioactive substances have jumped in the Pacific seabed off Japan near the nuclear power plant crippled by a massive tsunami in March, according to the plant operator."
"The Ohio and Mississippi River levels were falling Wednesday at the site where engineers blasted holes in a Missouri levee to relieve pressure. But unleashing torrents of water across 35 miles of farmland in what has already been a terrible flooding season could carry other consequences. One risk, scientists cautioned, is fertilizer runoff from the flooded farm country along the Mississippi."
"Environmentalists trying to halt U.S. uranium projects are emphasizing the foreign ownership of mining companies. A key issue: Companies that mine uranium and other hardrock minerals do not pay royalties to the U.S. government. Several companies that mine or are seeking permits to mine U.S. uranium are based in Canada."
"Expanding Kennecott’s open-pit mine wouldn’t create enough air pollution to stop the copper giant from burrowing deeper into the Oquirrh Mountains. So ruled the Utah Air Quality Board in giving Kennecott Utah Copper a critical go-ahead Wednesday to enlarge its mine on the western edge of Salt Lake County — despite objections from anti-pollution advocates and a warning from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the expansion may not be approved."
"A year after the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster since 1970, the mining industry on Wednesday launched a campaign for a program that could allow companies with good safety records to avoid regular mandatory inspections."
