"Democrats in Congress wasted no time in taking up President Barack Obama’s challenge Tuesday night that lawmakers take a 'market-based' approach to addressing climate change, even if their effort has little hope of success."
"It is the most humble of vessels for New York City foodstuffs, ubiquitous at Chinese takeout joints and halal street carts. In pre-Starbucks days, coffee came packaged in its puffy embrace. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose regulatory lance has slain fatty foods, supersize sodas, and smoking in parks, is now targeting plastic foam, the much-derided polymer that environmentalists have long tried to restrict."
"A bid by [Canada's] federal government to impose sweeping confidentiality rules on an Arctic science project has run into serious resistance in the United States."
"In 2007, when Deborah Rice was appointed chair of an Environmental Protection Agency panel assessing the safety levels of flame retardants, she arrived as a respected Maine toxicologist with no ties to industry."
"Two-thirds of Americans want President Barack Obama to act now on climate change, adding momentum to his state of the union promise to take up the challenge with or without Congress."
Some 48 prominent activists were arrested at the White House Wednesday when they protested the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which they say will worsen climate change. The Obama administration faces an upcoming decision on completing the pipeline.
According to the Washington Post, the National Weather Service is firing William Proenza, who once headed the National Hurricane Center, for revealing to the Post that looming budget cuts would harm forecasting effectiveness (something that can affect public safety and the profits of business).
"New York State's decision to lift a four-year ban on natural gas drilling faced further delay on Tuesday after officials conducting a key health impact study asked for more time to form their conclusions on the divisive issue."
"The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday."
EPA scientists in 2010 were ready to declare that even small amounts of hexavalent chromium -- found in the drinking water of some 70 million Americans -- may cause cancer. But the American Chemistry Council, the main industry lobby group, urged delay. EPA did delay, on the recommendation of a science panel that was supposed to be independent -- but was secretly stacked with panelists tied to the industry. In fact, they had helped industry oppose hexavalent chromium lawsuits instigated by Erin Brocovich.
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