Some of the first eerie signs of a potential health catastrophe came as bizarre deformities in water animals, often in their sexual organs. Frogs, salamanders and other amphibians began to sprout extra legs. In heavily polluted Lake Apopka, one of the largest lakes in Florida, male alligators developed stunted genitals. In the Potomac watershed near Washington, male smallmouth bass have rapidly transformed into “intersex fish” that display female characteristics. This was discovered only in 2003, but the latest survey found that more than 80 percent of the male smallmouth bass in the Potomac are producing eggs.

By Nicholas D. Kristof - The New York Times , June 28, 2009

Politicians across the European Union are waking up to the fact that biodiversity is fast becoming a crucial environmental issue that needs to be tackled soon. This change in attitude comes after a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that 59 percent of European amphibians and 42 percent of reptiles are in decline. A significant number of these are now on the European Red List, a table of species considered to be under severe threat of extinction.

By Cillian Donnelly - International Press Service | Brussels , May 27, 2009

South America is the only region that has not submitted a report of its actions in the last year to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity, although it accounts for 40 percent of the world’s plant and animal species and the deadline was Mar. 30. "These reports are very important in order to combat threats against biodiversity," David Cooper, Programme Officer at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity told IPS, referring to the fourth annual report, which none of the 12 countries of South America have presented. Without their reports, there is no record of the actions, strategies and progress they have made toward the protection of biodiversity.

By Milagros Salazar | Lima, Peru - IPSnews.net , May 20, 2009

Faced with new evidence that utilities across the country are dumping toxic sludge into waterways, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to impose new restrictions on the level of contaminants power plants can discharge. Plants in Florida, Pennsylvania and several other states have flushed wastewater with levels of selenium and other toxins that far exceed the EPA’s freshwater and saltwater standards aimed at protecting aquatic life, according to data the agency has collected over the past few years. While selenium can be beneficial in tiny amounts, elevated levels damage not only fish but also birds and people who consume contaminated fish.

By Ken Ward Jr. - West Virgina Gazette | Charleston, W,V, , May 06, 2009

At the annual UN climate conference, held this year in Copenhagen, governments are expected to finalize an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions that will pick up where the Kyoto Protocol leaves off at the end of 2012. "We have reached important results that will assist in the debate on environmental issues during a particularly important year for choices on climate change and biodiversity, in order to get to the UN conference in Copenhagen in December," said Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo, who chaired the meeting.

Environmental News Service | Syracuse, Italy , April 28, 2009

About two weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency seemed poised to crack down on the "mountaintop" coal mines that are common in this region, which industry officials say would threaten thousands of jobs. The EPA said it had "significant concerns" about the mines -- in which peaks are legally blasted off to get at coal seams inside -- because neighboring streams are buried under displaced rock.

By David A. Fahrenthold - Washington Post | Ethel, W.Va. , April 12, 2009

A federal judge on Tuesday voided a streamlined permitting process for companies to fill valleys with materials left over from mountaintop removal mining. U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin's ruling bars mine operators from using southern West Virginia valley fills authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under a nationwide permit issued in 2007. Goodwin said the permit violates the Clean Water Act and other federal laws,

By Tim Huber - The Associated Press , April 01, 2009

Mountaintop mining, which blasts the tops off mountains, doesn't happen in North Carolina. But coal produced by that mining produces electricity for many of us. North Carolina should break from that practice, and a bill filed last week in the state House sets the stage for a compromise that could make that happen. "By transforming the majestic mountains of the Appalachian coalfields into flattened, eerily lifeless moonscapes, mountaintop removal coal mining, of all the methods of extracting coal, poses the greatest risks to human health, local communities, the environment, real property, personal property and wildlife resources," according to the bill from Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Guilford County Democrat.

Editorial - Winston-Salem Journal | North Carolina , March 01, 2009

Environmentalists are back in Nashville this year promoting their legislation to ban coal companies from blowing the tops off Tennessee mountains. Their bill goes before the Senate Environment Committee this week. They think lawmakers should want to save the scenic beauty that underpins our gazillion-dollar tourism industry. Last year, National Coal Corp. threatened to shut down in Tennessee if mountaintop mining were banned. That would have ended 234 jobs, the sum total of the company's workforce. The whole legislature never even got the chance to vote. Five rural lawmakers on a House subcommittee killed the bill. They argued the coal company's property rights trumped the public interest in preventing ecological catastrophes.

By Jeff Woods - The Nashville Scene , February 23, 2009

Let us not forget that, in our recent commitment to halt global climate change, our wild places and wildlife continue to be threatened by many factors, including habitat loss and degradation. They need our help. The environmental movement is a large one. It is a diverse, yet interconnected community dedicated to making the "Blue Planet" a good and healthy place to live. An important component of the movement, global climate change and its close cousin, sustainability, are enjoying a much-needed and long-overdue moment in the sun. President Barack Obama's picks to address this important issue are high-profile professionals who have been received with high praise.

By Margaret O'Gorman - The Times of Trenton | New Jersery , February 11, 2009