"Iowa's largest utility companies are ramping up their opposition to proposed state rules that would require them to monitor the mercury being emitted from their power plants, public records obtained by The Des Moines Register show."

"The federal agency has proposed regulations that could cut mercury emissions 81% to 93% annually. Industry representatives warn the rules would increase costs and could lead to outsourcing."

"The air across Iowa is so polluted that the state is perilously close to violating new federal limits aimed at protecting human health."

"BP Products North America Inc. is being sued by Texas authorities who accuse the petrochemical giant of 46 pollution violations at its Texas City refinery -- including one tied to an explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others four years ago."

"Port officials unveil what is billed as the world's first electrical shore-side power system for tankers, which are notorious fuel guzzlers and air polluters."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday cited the BP Whiting Refinery for violating federal air standards by releasing a cancer-causing toxin in waste from 2003 to 2008, which at times reached 16 times the acceptable limit, EPA officials said."

A new look at the data shows that mortality among people exposed to tiny soot particles is twice as high as previously thought.

"A federal judge in Indianapolis has ordered Duke Energy Corp. to shut down nearly 40 percent of an Indiana power plant's capacity as part of an enforcement case that dates back to the Clinton administration."

Scientists in the Houston area are focusing research on the flare stacks at its hundreds of petrochemical plants -- which may be a major overlooked cause of smog.