Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Billions at Stake as BP Oil Spill Trial Enters Next Phase
Sep 27 2013 // BP will battle to hold down fines that could hit $18 billion in a new phase of the Gulf of Mexico trial that will rule on how much oil it spilled in 2010 and judge its efforts to plug its well. Starting on Monday in New...
Global Warming Slows as Fossil Fuel Emissions Rise to Record
Sep 27 2013 // Global warming has slowed since 1998 even though humans are spewing ever more greenhouse gases and are almost certainly to blame for damaging the atmosphere. That’s according to a 36-page summary of a report from a...
Lawsuit: Pollution from Louisiana Fire Making Residents Sick
Sep 26 2013 // About a dozen Slaughter, La., residents allege respiratory problems and diminished property values in a lawsuit filed in the wake of the Nov. 19 blaze that destroyed the Monolyte Laboratories Inc. chemical facility. The...
Lagarde Says IMF Work Can Contribute to Environmental Change
Sep 26 2013 // The International Monetary Fund can play a role in protecting the planet from environmental damage, IMF head Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday, as she highlighted how an analysis of the harmful effects of energy subsidies...
Opinion: Energy Industry Liability May Cover Contamination Claims From Colorado Flooding
Sep 24 2013 // Colorado residents and businesses face devastating water inundation that many are dubbing a one-in-500-years weather event. Early reports confirm nearly 2,400 square miles saturated with water causing massive dislocation...
Catlin Establishes ‘Global Reef Record’ Database for Coral Ecosystems
Sep 24 2013 // International specialty property/casualty insurer and reinsurer Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited announced the establishment of the Catlin Global Reef Record Catlin has sponsored the group’s Seaview Survey for the...
Montana Residents Suing Over Petroleum Pollution
Sep 23 2013 // Nearly 50 Cut Bank residents have filed a lawsuit alleging their properties have been polluted by petroleum from a crude oil transportation and storage facility on the eastern edge of the city. The Great Falls Tribune...
In Flood-Struck Colorado, Concerns About Fracking Spills
Sep 19 2013 // Contaminated water spilling from flooded oil and gas drilling sites in Colorado is refocusing attention on the environmental risks surrounding America’s fracking boom. Floods that have devastated north-central...
Seven Straight Years of Reserve Releases: Fitch
Sep 17 2013 // Property/casualty industry prior-year loss reserves have developed favorably for seven straight calendar years, according to a report from Fitch Ratings, which also said the industry’s reserve position remains...
Flooding Another ‘Unprecedented’ Event for Colorado
Sep 16 2013 // Another disaster plaguing the state, widespread flooding in Colorado is being viewed as an “unprecedented” event in which losses will take quite some time to calculate – although there are more immediate...
Honore Backs Louisiana Lawsuit Against Oil Companies
Sep 11 2013 // The Army general who won acclaim for helping restore order in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina is backing a flood control board’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies. Retired Lt. Gen. Russell Honore...
Tulsa Oral Surgeon Accused in Health Scare Sued
Sep 11 2013 // A Tulsa, Okla., oral surgeon accused of exposing thousands of his patients to hepatitis and HIV because of unsanitary clinics is now facing a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by seven people in Tulsa County...
Crop Insurance: A Growing Problem in Time of Record Farm Profits
Sep 9 2013 // A Depression-era program intended to save the nation’s farmers from ruin has grown into a 21st- century crutch enabling affluent growers and financial institutions to thrive at U.S. taxpayer expense. Federal crop...
Top 10 States for Extreme Weather Crop Insurance Payouts
Sep 9 2013 // Extreme weather forced the federal crop insurance program to pay out a record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year, much of which could have been prevented using water-smart strategies, according to the Natural...
Employee Sues Montana Hospital for Whistleblower Firing on Nuclear Waste
Sep 3 2013 // A fired Montana employee from Bozeman Deaconess Hospital has filed a lawsuit contending he was dismissed after reporting to federal authorities safety concerns involving radiation treatment and nuclear waste storage. The...
High Radiation Spreads at Ruined Fukushima Plant
Sep 3 2013 // High radiation levels are spreading at the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator said on Monday, and the Japanese government prepared to offer more funding and oversight to try to contain the crisis. Japanese...
Hollywood Groups Sue To Stop Huge Development, Earthquake Concerns
Aug 30 2013 // A coalition of residents who live in famed Hollywood neighborhoods filed a lawsuit this week to stop a $654 million skyscraper project from rising just down the hill from the landmark Hollywood Sign because of earthquake...
Top New York Court to Decide Whether Towns Can Ban Fracking
Aug 29 2013 // New York’s highest court agreed to decide whether towns and cities have the power to pass anti-fracking laws. The Court of Appeals in Albany today said it will hear arguments in lawsuits seeking to block drilling...
California Fire Prompts Unhealthy Air Warnings in Nevada
Aug 29 2013 // The giant wildfire burning at the edge of Yosemite National Park has not only destroyed buildings and threatened water supplies, electricity and sequoias, it has also unleashed a smoky haze that has worsened air quality...
Arkansas Lawsuits Test Fracking Wastewater Link to Quakes
Aug 27 2013 // Tony Davis, a 54-year-old construction worker in central Arkansas, said he welcomed the boom in natural gas drilling that brought jobs and new businesses to his hometown starting about a decade ago. But that was before the...
