National (U.S.)

There is little evidence to suggest that tornado outbreaks like the one that devasted the South last week are related to global climate change.

"It has been the deadliest natural disaster on American soil since Hurricane Katrina. But the government response to the tornadoes that devastated the South last week has, at least in the first few days, drawn little of the searing criticism aimed at federal agencies back in 2005."

EPA's work on possible limits to hexavalent chromium (the 'Erin Brockovich' contaminant) in drinking water may spark a battle like the one over arsenic.

"A federal judge will decide whether to allow a lawsuit to move forward alleging two major chemical companies, Dow and Sasol North America, used a private security firm to spy on environmental groups in Louisiana and Washington, D.C."

"This year's federal budget resolution stripped money for a controversial conservation program. The move put millions of acres of Western lands back on the table for oil and gas drilling. One of those areas is a place called South Shale Ridge, a remote stretch of rugged canyons in western Colorado. The area is prized for its scenery and its natural gas. It's not considered wilderness, but the area has become a battleground over the new Interior Department term 'Wild Land.'"

"Already-underfunded clean air bureaus are set to lose millions, according to figures from the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. Can they cope?"

"The U.S. has 31 reactors just like Japan’s — but regulators are ignoring the risks and boosting industry profits."

"One day after deadly tornadoes knocked out power to nuclear reactors in Alabama, the head of the U.S. nuclear safety regulator expressed concern whether backup batteries at sites across the United States have the staying power in a prolonged emergency."

"In an effort to encourage nuclear power, Congress voted in 2005 to authorize $17.5 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors. Now, six years later, with the industry stalled by poor market conditions and the Fukushima disaster, nearly half of the fund remains unclaimed. And yet Congress, at the request of the Obama administration, is preparing to add $36 billion in nuclear loan guarantees to next year’s budget."

"The death toll soared to near 300 Thursday as rescuers dug through rubble from Mississippi to Virginia in the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina."