"SAN BRUNO -- Much of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s natural-gas transmission system could be at risk of catastrophic failure, but the company's record-keeping system is so flawed that the true danger is impossible to determine, federal investigators said Monday in their final report on last year's San Bruno disaster."
"The National Park Service has released a draft assessment of a California oyster farm's impact on a wilderness area, concluding that the farm's continued operations would harm harbor seals."
"Farmer Brian Schaumburg has planted corn for five straight years in some of the thousands of acres he tends in central Illinois."
"Opponents and supporters of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project are gearing up for a pivotal round of public meetings around the country this week — forums that could play a role in whether the huge project receives final approval from the State Department by year’s end."
"Even minuscule amounts of BP's crude oil has affected fish in profound ways in the Gulf of Mexico—even when oil in the water was nondetectable. This according to a paper in early view in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science)."
"NEW TOWN, N.D. — Across western North Dakota, hundreds of fires rise above fields of wheat and sunflowers and bales of hay. At night, they illuminate the prairie skies like giant fireflies."
"Last week, when President Obama named New Jersey a federal disaster area for floods that came before Hurricane Irene, he cemented 2011’s ranking as the United States’ most disaster-prone year ever."
The Senate voted 79-12 Monday night to approve a bipartisan stopgap spending bill that funds some disaster relief from FEMA and and abandons controversial cuts to green energy programs. Democrats said they expected the seven-week funding extension to be approved by the GOP-led House, which is in pro forma session after most members went home.
The Associated Press and Google offer a national scholarship program intended to foster digital and new media skills in student journalists. The Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, administers the program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at least 18 years old. Feb 8, 2013 deadline.
"RECYCLING refrigerators — especially those made more than 15 years ago — is a tricky job. The coolant in old appliances (now banned from newer versions) can cause serious trouble, warming the atmosphere and depleting the ozone layer."
