Public

"Oil prices hovered near 18-month highs above $86 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders mulled whether a recovering U.S. economy warranted further gains. ... Oil has jumped 24 percent since early February."

"The annual hunt for harp seals off the coast of eastern Canada  will barely take place this year. But this is not good news for the seals."

The EPA is considering requiring pesticide-makers to disclose often-toxic "inert" ingredients, changing a policy of secrecy that has been in effect for nearly 2/3 of a century.

"Sixteen utilities and a trade association sued the Energy Department on Monday to halt the government’s collection of nuclear waste disposal fees, arguing that the country no longer had a disposal plan after ruling out Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a repository."

"MONTCOAL, W.Va. -- Twenty-five miners were killed Monday after a huge explosion at a Massey Energy mine in Raleigh County, the worst mine disaster in the United States in more than a quarter-century."

"When oil prices climbed, more people turned to wood to heat their homes, many using outdoor wood furnaces that to some are air-polluting nuisances. From Vermont to Connecticut to Indiana, some neighbors have complained about smoke from these furnaces drifting into their yards and homes, in some cases triggering asthma attacks and lung problems."

"The drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the planet's most shocking environmental disasters, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday as he urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the problem."