Public

A massive sweep by drug enforcement agents in Fresno County offered new evidence of how illegal marijuana plantations on public lands are scarring the Sierra landscape.

The NAACP last week adopted a resolution supporting clean energy development, curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, and policies to foster green collar jobs.

French scientists say satellites show a glacier on a southern Indian Ocean island shrunk dramatically in recent decades. They think global warming may be a factor.

"A coalition of three nonprofit water protection groups are jointly requesting that the Washington Department of Ecology 'abandon its plans to weaken industrial stormwater protections.'"

Fumes from long-ago industrial activity are still seeping into the homes of some Baltimore-area residents. Those fumes include cancer-causing chemicals like trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene. The site was one of the first Superfund cleanups, but the cleanup was not thorough enough.

"The $28 billion styrene industry has filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court to block California environmental officials from listing the product as a cause of cancer and birth defects."

Fuel barges on the Columbia River are having more accidents, although none so far has resulted in a known spill. The Coast Guard refuses to disclose information about the incidents, citing investigations which it has not completed in periods of up to 16 months.

The Food and Drug Administration tested electronic cigarettes -- whose makers (most Chinese) tout them as safer than ordinary cigarettes. The FDA found that some e-cigarettes contained cancer-causing chemicals.

The online environmental magazine Grist combed the Web sites of 99 senators and graded them on how well they explained the Senators' positions on climate change and energy. "The results aren’t pretty. We found a distinct lack of information among Democrats and Republicans alike, senators with and without strong environmental voting records, and from all regions of the country," Grist told parents.

Democrats trying to move two huge legislative initiaties -- on climate change and health care -- may be forced to choose which gets top priority. Meanwhile, Republicans focus on using both issues to damage Democrats politically. Are Democrats biting off more than they can chew?