Public

"A new study released Monday shows that exposure to a common ingredient in plastic bottles and packaging can cause male mice to act like females. The lead author of the study discusses its significance for humans."

"Willie Soon, a U.S. climate change skeptic who has also discounted the health risks of mercury emissions from coal, has received more than $1 million in funding in recent years from large energy companies and an oil industry group, according to Greenpeace."

"When commercial nuclear power was getting its start in the 1960s and 1970s, industry and regulators stated unequivocally that reactors were designed only to operate for 40 years. Now they tell another story -- insisting that the units were built with no inherent life span, and can run for up to a century, an Associated Press investigation shows."

"Federal lawmakers called Tuesday on several agencies, including the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the Energy Information Administration and the Government Accountability Office, to investigate whether the natural gas industry has provided an accurate picture to investors of the long-term profitability of their wells and the amount of gas these wells can produce."

"Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is blocking Senate confirmation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) member William Ostendorff to another term due to NRC efforts to extend operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant over the opposition of state officials."

"The Supreme Court chose [Monday] not to take up the question of whether a woman could sue to force the relocation of a cell phone tower in order to protect migrating birds."

"Climate-related disasters will exacerbate conflict and stresses in vulnerable countries, with implications for global and US security, says a new report by Oxfam America and the Center for Naval Analysis. In order to make developing nations more resilient, US aid should focus more on using risk reduction strategies, seeking to prevent climate-related humanitarian disasters before they occur."

"Exposure to wildfire smoke -- particularly that from smoldering peat -- can dramatically increase the risk of cardiac and respiratory illness, according to new research led by the Environmental Protection Agency."

"At least 1,060 new species were discovered on the island of New Guinea from 1998 to 2008, but unsustainable logging and plantation agriculture are putting many of these creatures at risk, finds a new study by the global conservation organization WWF."