National (U.S.)

"As prices for agricultural land surge across America’s grain belt, regulators are warning that a new real estate bubble may be forming."

Republicans and some coal-state Democrats are trying to stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, saying it will hurt jobs. But several economists point to evidence from past history and other nations which suggests that the exact opposite is the case.
 

"Most plastic products, from sippy cups to food wraps, can release chemicals that act like the sex hormone estrogen, according to a study in Environmental Health Perspectives."

"A fungus under control for 50 years is back and ravaging wheat crops in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Once it gets in a field, it corrodes the stalks, turning them shades of brown and red that gives the disease, wheat stem rust, its name. Farmers can do little but harvest what's left, sometimes losing 60% of their crop."

"Seven decades after the last reported sighting of the eastern cougar, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service declared it extinct Wednesday and recommended that it be removed from the nation's endangered species list."

"The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Tuesday that AT&T and other corporations do not have personal privacy rights under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

The sprawling Philadelphia metro area got Forbes' "most toxic" rating, mostly because of its 50-plus Superfund sites in 4 states. But California claimed four of the top 10 slots, mostly because of smog. Not all of the cities rushed to accept the distinction.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect citizens from premature death and other health problems would be gutted if Congress slashes funding as threatened by Republican lawmakers, its chief said on Wednesday."

"Just over a month ago, the Department of Agriculture announced that it will allow American farmers to plant genetically engineered alfalfa, which is widely used as feed for dairy cows and horses. Organic food producers opposed the USDA's decision — some more fiercely than others. That split has provoked angry debates within the organics community, with some activists accusing organic businesses of 'surrendering' to the biotech company Monsanto. And it has reopened some old arguments about what's most important in the label 'organic.'"

"A hydrofluoric acid leak from an oil refinery in Ohio last week sent a worker to the hospital and required the use of a 'water cannon' to disperse the poisonous gas, underscoring the potentially perilous nature of a chemical used at 50 refineries across the country."