National (U.S.)

""The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog is launching a project to analyze the environmental impact of the federal ethanol mandate."

"Much of the U.S. South can expect a cooler and wetter winter, while warmer than usual temperatures are likely across many northern and western states, as a strong El Niño weather pattern shaped a government weather outlook issued on Thursday."

"The gooey, grayish-black sludge that spread across Roane County in East Tennessee on a bitterly cold December morning is gone, but the fallout from the nation's worst coal-ash spill enters a new phase on Monday when the federal government begins regulating the storage and disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants."

"A House of Representatives bill unveiled Friday could make it more difficult for the public to know how prepared railroads are for responding to oil spills from trains, their worst-case scenarios and how much oil is being transported by rail through communities."

"The Obama administration moved on several fronts Friday to block new oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, weeks after Shell said it would be walking away from the area 'for the foreseeable future.'"

"Members of Congress are asking for a federal investigation into ExxonMobil. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek) wrote a letter Wednesday to Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice whether the company violated the law by “failing to disclose truthful information” regarding climate change."

"With sweeping views of Jackson Lake and the jaw-dropping jagged Tetons from its deck, and the historic Molesworth furniture that fronts its stone fireplace, the historic Brinkerhoff Lodge in Grand Teton National Park would likely qualify as a 5-star resort property commanding hefty rental fees."

"Personal injury law firms around the United States are lining up plaintiffs for what they say could be "mass tort" actions against agrichemical giant Monsanto Co that claim the company's Roundup herbicide has caused cancer in farm workers and others exposed to the chemical."

"While boasting of pollution cuts at home, the United States is facilitating the sale of large quantities of government-owned coal abroad."