"Canada dropped its longtime opposition on Friday to the international listing of asbestos as a hazardous material, a designation intended to curb the use abroad of the fire-resistant substance, which can cause cancer and other illnesses."
"TOKYO -- The Japanese government has decided to phase out nuclear power by sometime in the 2030s and shift the country in the direction of renewables, energy conservation and natural gas."
"In a letter submitted Friday afternoon to internal investigators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a whistleblower engineer within the agency accused regulators of deliberately covering up information relating to the vulnerability of U.S. nuclear power facilities that sit downstream from large dams and reservoirs."
"The letter also accuses the agency of failing to act to correct these vulnerabilities despite being aware of the risks for years.
"An environmental group asked the U.S. government on Thursday to consider classifying the orange clownfish -- Nemo, to a whole generation of children -- as endangered."
"Oil and gas drilling operations are already well underway in twelve national parks, and that number may soon balloon to 42 if the fossil fuel companies get their way."
"Russia confirmed on Thursday it would not make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from 2013 under the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, joining Canada and Japan in rejecting an extension of the plan for fighting climate change."
"Seeking to reduce runaway obesity rates, the New York City Board of Health on Thursday approved a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters, the first restriction of its kind in the country."
"AUSTIN -- Exxon Mobil Corp. has reported inadvertent emissions of large amounts of pollutants at its flagship refinery near Houston."
"Today [Thursday] the US Commerce Department declared disasters not of fishermen's making in three key fisheries on four US coasts: the North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bering Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska in the Pacific Ocean. The declaration opens the door for Congress -- if they choose to accept the mission -- to appropriate funds to help struggling fishers."
"NEWARK, Ohio -- Becky and Andrew Snedeker spent their first year of marriage living with her parents while searching for their dream home. They found it on James Street in Newark, but now the Ohio Department of Transportation wants to buy and raze it to clean up a known carcinogen in groundwater feet below their property."
