Pollution

Illinois may soon approve the mining of fracking sand near a beloved state park.

Drilling for gas and oil can be safe or it can be dangerous.

"Federal officials have given energy and mining companies permission to pollute aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country, releasing toxic material into underground reservoirs that help supply more than half of the nation's drinking water. In many cases, the Environmental Protection Agency has granted these so-called aquifer exemptions in Western states now stricken by drought and increasingly desperate for water."

"Hospitals are on red alert and parts of Buenos Aires have been evacuated as a toxic cloud descends upon the city."

"The Supreme Court [Monday] weighed whether a U.S. EPA rule issued Friday could resolve a dispute over stormwater runoff from logging roads."

"Frustration and inconvenience are growing in Paulsboro as a risky cleanup proceeds at a deliberately slow pace following the derailment Friday of chemical-laden train cars on a bridge over the Mantua Creek."

"For years, the controversy over natural gas drilling has focused on the water and air quality problems linked to hydraulic fracturing, the process where chemicals are blasted deep underground to release tightly bound natural gas deposits."

"The Supreme Court may use an L.A. case to decide for the first time who can be held responsible for storm water runoff pollution."