Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)

"A new $6 million federal grant could be the first step toward declaring a public health emergency in asbestos-contaminated Libby, Mont., the state's senior senator said Thursday."

"Dust storms accelerated by a warming climate have covered the Rocky Mountains with dirt whose heat-trapping properties have caused snowpacks to melt weeks earlier than normal, worrying officials in Colorado about drastic water shortages by late summer."

A USGS expert says the solution to problems with mercury plaguing Great Salt Lake will require more than just eliminating local sources. Also key are how it turns into harmful methylmercury and spreads through the food web.

"A federal court jury on Friday acquitted the big chemical products company W. R. Grace and three of its former executives on all charges that they had knowingly contaminated the small Montana mining town of Libby with asbestos, then conspired to cover up the deed."