National (U.S.)

"Credibility is a precious thing. Oil giant ExxonMobil did not have much to begin with, but it went even deeper into its scarce reserves in the past few days when a company pipeline spilled oil into a river that runs past the homes of about 6,500 people. Wednesday brought another blow: it turns out ExxonMobil needed almost an hour to fully seal the burst pipeline instead of the 30 minutes company president Gary Pruessing had initially said it took."

"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is expected to announce tough new regulations Thursday that seek to significantly reduce emissions from many coal-fired power plants."

FEMA trailers rejected after Hurricance Katrina because of formaldehyde concerns are being welcomed by Indian tribes in Oklahoma who have little else to live in.

"Environmentalists are waving a red flag in their fight to prevent uranium mining in Virginia, claiming there's a chance toxins from mine operations could make their way into Fairfax County's water supply if the ban is lifted."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has become a target of House Republicans and of GOP presidential hopefuls. They say its rules are job killers. A new White House report finds air pollution rules from the EPA cost far more than other government regulations. But they also result in far more benefits than other government mandates."

"Tons of imported fish laced with chemicals banned from the U.S. food supply, including carcinogens, are routinely showing up in this country and, state officials say, winding up on American dinner plates."

"Honking horns and waving to firefighters, residents of a New Mexico city threatened by a massive wildfire rolled back into Los Alamos nearly a week after flames forced an evacuation and the closure of a nearby major nuclear weapons laboratory."

"Environmental factors play a more important role in causing autism than previously assumed and, surprisingly, an even larger role than genetics, according to a new study out of UCSF and Stanford that could force a dramatic swing in the focus of research into the developmental disorder."

"At a time of rising concern over pathogens in produce, Congress is moving to eliminate the only national program that regularly screens U.S. fruits and vegetables for the type of E. coli that recently caused a deadly outbreak in Germany."

EPA this week will release its long-awaited new rule to protect downwind states from pollution emitted by coal-burning plants in upwind states.