National (U.S.)

"For the better part of a decade, Rev. David Hudson has been fighting to uncover what’s polluting the water in his home town."

"Hudson moved to DeBerry, Texas, a poor, predominantly black community straddling the Louisiana border in 2002.

DeBerry lies in the heart of the Haynesville Shale natural gas development. When Hudson moved in, the area was littered with injection wells used to deposit waste from oil and gas drilling deep beneath the earth.

"A new smog standard that President Obama withdrew last fall would save thousands of lives each year if implemented, particularly in the Los Angeles region, New York City and Chicago, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins University scientists."

"Environmental health experts, advocates and legislators convened at Yale University on Tuesday to discuss the use of man-made pesticides and the health risks they pose, especially to children. One of the main topics of conversation: pest control marketing campaigns that appear to target children."

"Amanda Sedgmer, mother of five and daughter of coal country, believes that in this presidential election, her way of life is at stake."

"The United States is posting rapid growth in the waste of natural gas in new oil fields where the fuel is either burned or vented into the atmosphere.  Experts say the process damages the environment and fails to maximize the return to investors."

"WASHINGTON — Climate change is sweeping indigenous villages into the sea in Alaska, flooding the taro fields of native Hawaiians and devastating the salmon population from which Washington state Indian tribes draw their livelihood, tribal leaders testified Thursday at a Senate hearing."

"As record drought conditions continue to plague farmers and send corn prices higher, some lawmakers are pressing House leaders to bring the now-stalled farm bill to the floor."

"The most expansive drought in more than a half century intensified this week and stretched further into major farm areas of the western Midwest where crops had largely been shielded from the harsh conditions that decimated yields further east."

"More than half of the continental United States is currently suffering through the worst drought in 50 years, with heat and a lack of rain rippling through the middle of the country. Crops are wilting, soils are cracked, and some dried-out forests are catching fire. U.S. corn production in particular is dwindling. So is this a glimpse at our hotter, drier future? It appears so."

Does the radio frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted by utility company 'smart meters' cause health problems in some individuals? The answers may not be as clear as utilities often claim.