National (U.S.)

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday that it had rejected a design by Westinghouse for a new reactor because a key component might not withstand events like earthquakes and tornadoes."

"Thanks to El Nino, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season has been the quietest in more than a decade, offering a reprieve for residents in the danger zone and a chance for insurance firms to refill depleted coffers."

"A prominent coal industry association spent nearly $10 million over the past 18 months on lobbying efforts supervised by a public affairs firm currently under congressional investigation for its involvement in sending forged letters opposing the climate bill."

Over the last decade, aspens in the Rocky Mountains have been fading away from "sudden aspen decline." Now, as scientists have gained better understanding of the syndrome, they hope that timber harvesting and prescribed burns will help stands regenerate.

"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would overhaul enforcement of the Clean Water Act, as lawmakers sharply criticized the agency's decade-long lapses in punishing polluters."

"The Office of Management and Budget has instructed U.S. EPA to use existing toxicity data rather than require companies to conduct new tests to determine whether chemicals can damage the human endocrine system."

"More automakers are joining the trend. Nine of the top 10 vehicles in the Environmental Protection Agency's fuel economy rankings for the 2010 model year are hybrids, made by six companies."

Despite Democrats' promises, a Congressional investigation into whether military contractor KBR knowingly exposed soldiers to toxic sodium dichromate in Iraq seems to be going nowhere.

A big-money rancher alumnus caused Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to change a scheduled lecture by best-selling sustainable food writer Michael Pollan -- raising questions about academic freedom.

"Environmentalists are taking the fight over coal beyond Capitol Hill and onto college campuses."