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The rules, which come two decades after Congress ordered the agency to regulate toxic air pollution, would give power plants nationwide just three more years to slash mercury and other harmful emissions. But some big power plants are angling for more time.

Canada is withdrawing from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol agreement on climate change, with Environment Minister Peter Kent arguing that the framework doesn't represent the way forward for Canada or the world.

The basic idea is to have rich countries that emit lots of climate-warming gases pay poorer countries to keep their forests, or even expand them. That's because forests suck carbon from the atmosphere. But there's not yet a global system to make a plan like this work.

This is the first time the EPA has linked fracking to the contamination of drinking water and it could have great implications for future gas drilling in the U.S.

The Bloomberg administration is poised Wednesday to express concern about Albany's plans to allow natural gas drilling near upstate reservoirs during a public hearing in Manhattan on the controversial technique known as fracking.

Up to now, food waste hasn't been a big priority for Unilever, though it's one of the central flaws in the global food system. Now, the company is realizing that it's a big concern among diners.

Towns and villages in Vermont and upstate New York are beginning to recover from Tropical Storm Irene. But scientists say the widespread chemical and sewage spills, and the cleanup's effect on trout streams, could cause lasting environmental damage.

A panel appointed by the Cuomo Administration earlier this month has been tasked with giving advice on some of the most sensitive issues related to the controversial gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But weeks after it was created, the group’s role is still unclear to some of its members, and there are questions about balance.

Regulators in Albany have advanced a plan unpopular with some large corporations that would require manufacturers of common household cleaners like floor polish and dish soap to disclose the products’ ingredients.

A state program that offers tax breaks to developers to clean and build on contaminated land has failed to remediate the sites that need it most, according to a study  by an environmental group.

The New York Attorney General has filed suit against the owner of an out-of-state power plant he claims is polluting New York's air.

A multi-state agency with responsibility for keeping the Delaware River clean has proposed rules for natural gas drilling in areas north and west of New York City.

Grease, toilet paper and fecal matter were leaking into a Brooklyn creek that empties into Sheepshead Bay for almost seven years, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. On Wednesday, Hynes announced the arrests of four property owners and managers for environmental crimes.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie caused a stir last month when he expressed doubts about climate change. One person who disagrees with that view is Lisa Jackson, President Obama's Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. WNYC spoke with Jackson about the issues facing the nation and the planet today and the 40th anniversary of the EPA's founding.

Governor Paterson says he hasn't decided whether to sign into a law a bill that would make New York the first state in the nation to temporarily ban a controversial natural gas drilling technique. Late Monday night, the Assembly in Albany voted by a wide margin to approve a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking.'

Federal regulators have subpoenaed records from energy company Halliburton in a clash that could have ramifications for New York's natural gas industry.

Environmental groups are calling on Gov. David Paterson to reinstate his Environmental Commissioner, Alexander "Pete" Grannis. He was fired yesterday, after a memo critical of the governor's plans for his agency was leaked.

With a soft, squishy thrust of a roller, the CoolRoofs program painted its millionth square foot of white roof on top of a housing project in the Bronx Wednesday. To celebrate the coverage, sporting an orange T-shirt just like the other volunteers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped roll that patch into place.

The city is setting its sights on reducing sewer overflows by 40 percent over the next 20 years.

Hundreds of people have turned out in Binghamton for the federal Environmental Protection Agency's final hearings on the natural gas extraction technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.