National (U.S.)

"Senate Democrats hope to siphon votes from a GOP bid to hamstring EPA climate rules by voting first on a Democratic alternative."
 

"More than a quarter of U.S. nuclear plant operators have failed to properly tell regulators about equipment defects that could imperil reactor safety, according to a report by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's inspector general."

"The federal government promoted some uses of coal ash, including wallboard or filler in road embankments, without properly testing the environmental risks, according to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general."

"It has killed millions of fish and hundreds of dolphins and manatees. It has ruined countless Florida beach vacations. And it has left people with respiratory problems gasping for air. Yet until now, how Red Tide's poisons worked remained something of a mystery."

In 1961, three young nuclear plant operators in Idaho were killed when a small experimental power reactor melted down. They were so radioactive they had to be buried in lead-lined coffins under concrete. And one bereaved family was only allowed a five-minute funeral.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to grant a petition by three nonprofit organizations to withdraw its approval for the potent greenhouse gas HFC-134a to be used in new automobile air conditioning systems."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently requires nuclear plants to plan evacuation of a 10-mile circle in case of a radiation threat. But the government urged evacuation of a 50-mile circle after the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant. Here's some information to help you calculate your own risk.

"A sleepy New Jersey town has popped onto people's radar screens because it has the oldest running nuclear power plant in the United States -- and, some say, the most dangerous."

"At the supermarket, most shoppers are oblivious to a battle raging within U.S. agriculture and the Obama administration’s role in it. Two thriving but opposing sectors — organics and genetically engineered crops — have been warring on the farm, in the courts and in Washington."

"Charging up electric vehicles on the road is easier and more convenient now that Google has started adding charging station locations to the Google Maps platform."