In The News / Sep 9

• Global mining companies are forceful about exporting coal through Northwest ports to China.

  While Oregon works to shut its only coal-fired electricity plant and reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions, global mining companies are increasingly bullish about exporting that very same coal through Northwest ports to China. Portland Oregonian, Oregon

• China takes lead in clean energy, with aggressive state aid.

  Until very recently, Hunan Province was known mainly for lip-searing spicy food, smoggy cities and destitute pig farmers. Now, Changsha and two adjacent cities are emerging as a center of clean energy manufacturing. New York Times

• Do ‘environmental extremists’ pose criminal threat to gas drilling?

  As debate over natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale reaches a fever pitch, state and federal authorities are warning Pennsylvania law enforcement that "environmental extremists" pose an increasing threat to security and to the energy sector. ProPublica

• Rural Pennsylvania town fights big gas.

  In the rush to develop America's biggest new source of domestic energy in the Marcellus Shale, one community is fighting to protect its rural way of life from the environmental strains that accompany shale gas drilling. Reuters

• Children's products may contain hazardous metals.

  Rain coats, hair barrettes and jewelry seem harmless. But Consumer Reports magazine says a series of tests uncovered "worrisome levels" of potentially hazardous metals in such children's products currently on store shelves. CNN

• Lawn care products face ban in NJ.

  Called the most comprehensive and prohibitive legislation of its kind in the nation by supporters and opponents alike, a bill making its way through Trenton would ban many lawn care products on the shelf today. Bergen County Record, New Jersey

• Birds dying in oilsands at 30 times the rate reported, says study.

  A new study says birds are likely dying in oilsands tailings ponds at least 30 times the rate suggested by industry and government, adding weight to arguments that depending on industry to monitor its own environmental impact isn’t working. Canadian Press

• 8 of the most toxic energy projects on the planet.

  While Deepwater Horizon may have attracted the lion's share of media attention this past Spring and Summer, there are a number of other toxic projects still going on. Below, we look at some of the worst. Fast Company

• BP report says series of failures led to oil spill.

  The oil giant BP said Wednesday in its internal report that a series of failures involving a number of companies ultimately led to the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. New York Times

• Oil from Gulf spill will not create dead zones,' study says.

  Millions of barrels of crude spewed by BP's blown-out well have reduced deep-sea oxygen levels - but nowhere near enough to create another of the "dead zones" that periodically plague the Gulf of Mexico, a federal study said Tuesday. McClatchy Newspapers

• U.S. to use BP cash to study spill health effects.

  The U.S. National Institutes of Health said on Tuesday it would use $10 million from BP to start a multiyear study to look at the potential health effects from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Reuters