We pay dearly for ethanol. From the consumer's point of view, fuel ethanol simply makes no sense. [News Source]

When animals suffer, so do we. Because factory farms are legally recognized as farms -- not the industrial sites they are -- they are exempt from many of our most important environmental laws. [News Source]

Make burn ban permanent. Monroe and Pike county, Pennsylvania commissioners have issued a 30-day ban on open burning. Make that perpetual. [News Source]

Businesses settle case over asbestos after ‘04 fire. The $43,700 fine less than half what EPA originally proposed. [News Source]

Report claims power plants poison fish. Illinois' power plants are making fish in the state poisonous, a state advocacy group claims, but power company representatives call the group's report unfair [News Source]

Superfund cleanup has gone well, but complications ahead. Ten years and $39.8 million later, the Natick Soldier Systems Center has reduced by 80 percent the concentration of contaminants in the groundwater of the Superfund site near Lake Cochituate. [News Source]

House delays vote on bill to ease pollution restrictions. The Arizona House postponed a vote Tuesday on legislation that critics say would ease restrictions on the emission of hazardous air pollutants. [News Source]

600 petition against power plant. The City Council Monday night received a petition with more than 600 signatures opposing a proposed power plant in northeast Waterloo. [News Source]

US EPA to try to tweak pollution rules this summer. The EPA will invite public comment this summer on a proposal to change the way regulators oversee smokestack pollution from oil refineries and other industrial plants, an agency spokesperson said on Tuesday. [News Source]

Smog check: Chile plays dumb with dangerous smog levels. Despite the Particle Quality Index breaking the threshold of 200 considered bad air quality, the government failed to call a “smog alert.” [News Source]

Drive to bottle up dangers of paraffin. It is believed to be responsible for the putting 80 000 people in hospital, and the cause of more than 40 000 fires each year in South Africa, but of great concern is that it's just an everyday household product. [News Source]