Waste

"Frank and Wanda Leppell once lived on a quiet cattle ranch in the middle of a rolling prairie, the lowing of cattle and the chirping of sparrows forming a pleasant soundtrack to their mornings. No more."

"A federal appeals court today sided with U.S. EPA in a broad challenge from two states and the mining industry to controversial Obama administration policies aimed at addressing the environmental effects on waterways of mountaintop-removal coal mining."

"It didn’t smell when Brittney Willis closed on her Midtown condominium on Halloween of 2011."

"The Kewaunee nuclear power plant stopped producing electricity more than a year ago, but it left behind highly hazardous waste that has no place to go."

"Plastic seems to be disappearing from the world's oceans, and scientists are not sure why."

"Plastic junk is floating widely on the world's oceans, but there's less of it than expected, a study says."

"When 39,000 tons of coal ash spilled into North Carolina's Dan River in February, it grabbed national headlines and raised the ire of environmentalists. But by sheer numbers, the 14 coal ash ponds spread across North Carolina pale in comparison to the nearly 3,000 various waste sites across the state. That includes decommissioned industrial facilities, abandoned dry cleaners and old landfills."

"Sewage sludge used as fertilizer on farms can leave traces of prescription drugs and household chemicals deep in the soil, according to a new study by federal scientists."

"The Chicago City Council today voted 36-10 to ban plastic bags in most stores next year, a change that backers say will improve the city's environment but opponents contend will harm the local economy."

"Plastic is everywhere, and with good reason: it's cheap, lightweight, and durable and can be turned into practically anything, from filmy plastic wrap to colourful children's toys to vital components in a computer or a heart valve. But scientists are discovering that plastic debris in the world's oceans, and in large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes, could be a far more serious environmental problemthan previously realized."