IN THE NEWS / JAN 6

• Democrats plan an early push against tobacco.

  The new Congress plans to move aggressively against the tobacco industry by regulating cigarettes, raising sales taxes and ratifying an international antitobacco treaty. New York Times

• Bay advocates sue EPA.

  An unusual coalition of environmentalists, watermen and former officials filed suit against the U.S. EPA, asking a judge to overhaul the floundering government campaign to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. After 25 years and nearly $6 billion in spending, it has failed to deliver. Washington Post

• Residents fight proposed power plant over pollution.

  Twenty premature deaths a year - that's what Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment estimates it would cost Salt Lake and Davis counties in human terms if Utah goes forward with plans to approve a new power plant adjacent to the Holly Refinery in West Bountiful. Salt Lake Tribune, Utah

• Coal-ash spill may strip TVA of 'deference' from U.S., states.

  The deluge of ash from a coal-fired power plant that buried 300 acres of eastern Tennessee is sparking new state and federal scrutiny of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest U.S. public power company. Bloomberg News

• Airing a threat: Group fights coal plant expansion.

  Tulsa is already chagrined by the "F" it received on the American Lung Association test for ozone and air pollution. And it's unclear what the impact would be if one of the world's largest power providers builds a second coal-fired plant in this tiny Oklahoma town. Tulsa World, Oklahoma

• More abused than used.

  The sea is hideously polluted. Over 60m litres of oil run off America’s streets and find their way into the oceans each year. Even more alarming is the plague of plastic. But the sea can be harnessed for energy, and to store carbon. Economist

• The curse of carbon.

  Most people can appreciate the seriousness of rising sea levels. Much harder to grasp are most of the other consequences of global warming--and especially of the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Economist

• Open-pit mine continues to swallow city.

  An immense open-pit mine located 4380 metres above sea level is swallowing up the centre of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru's central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to nearby villages. Inter Press Service

• Hundreds of thousands in Strip without water.

  Between 600,000 and 700,000 Gazans have no water, some of them going on a week. About one million have no electricity, raw sewage is running in the streets in some places and various localities, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, face the threat of sewer backups. Haaretz, Israel

• Nanotechnology: The science of tiny raises big hopes and also big fears.

  Nanotechnology is rocketing under the radar to transform how we live, work and play. It manipulates matter so small the naked eye can't see it and the mind's eye can't comprehend. Canadian Press

• Your house can make you sick.

  Chemicals found in common home furnishings can cause asthma and flu-like symptoms, and your basement or bathroom may be harboring allergy-inducing mold. You could even be experiencing a reaction to a more dangerous substance that could cause kidney damage or cancer. CNN Money

• Pesticide use in California declined in 2007.

  Pesticide use declined statewide in California and in San Joaquin County in 2007, and, while weather, economics and farming activities are factors, state and local regulators pointed to a downward trend in the application of many of the most toxic materials. Stockton Record, California