"A political deal that paved the way for a private equity firm to take over the East Coast's largest refinery has been challenged by Philadelphia-area activists."

"Julia Whitty is on a three-week-long journey aboard the the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy, following a team of scientists who are investigating how a changing climate might be affecting the chemistry of ocean and atmosphere in the Arctic."

NOAA is considering the Georgia Aquarium's proposal to import 18 beluga whales from the Sea of Okhotsk for display and breeding at aquariums.

"El Dorado County environmental health officials are urging residents and visitors to take precautions after a chipmunk found in the Lake Tahoe Basin last week tested presumptive positive for the bacteria that causes the plague."

"NEW BEDFORD -- A long-departed manufacturing company will pay $366 million to clean the PCB-laden harbor here, the largest cash settlement for a single site in the history of the federal Superfund program, government officials announced Wednesday."

"Bivouacking with sheep high in the mountains around Sun Valley, Idaho, field technicians with the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife are gaining deeper insights into strategies they can use to keep wolves at bay without shooting them."

"Oil industry groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking a federal court to overturn new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that will force oil, gas and mining companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments."

"Climate change is expected to drop water levels in the Great Lakes, experts said Wednesday. Levels could drop anywhere from a few inches to several feet as water evaporates in the drought conditions."

"Mitt Romney's campaign opened an attack on the Obama administration's climate change policies yesterday by warning farmers that greenhouse gas regulations could hike fuel prices. He also suggested that President Obama might pursue a carbon-pinching cap-and-trade program if he wins the election."

"The United States on Wednesday set steep final duties on billions of dollars of solar energy products from China, but turned down a request from lawmakers and U.S. manufacturers to expand the scope of its order."