Do-goods, hard lives. Despite the attention lavished on endangered salmon and old-growth redwoods, the fact is that many of this country's most intractable environmental problems profoundly and disproportionately affect people -- specifically, the poor. [News Source]

Seek agreement on mine bills. In Colorado's high country, some 22,000 old abandoned mines and exploration holes ooze a witch's brew of lead, arsenic, cyanide, mercury, heavy metals and other toxins into our lakes and streams. [News Source]

Charter amendment aims to save Barton Springs once and for all. With an onslaught of roads, water lines and subdivisions planned for the Hill Country, backers of a charter amendment that constrains development in the Barton Springs zone say this may be the last chance to save the springs before building overwhelms the watershed. [News Source]

VNP demolition raises questions. Authorities say no shingles should be burned and ashes from cabin burns must be removed in a reasonable time in Voyageurs National Park deconstruction work going on this year. [News Source]

Safety didn’t come first in hunt for N.J. school sites. Plans to build a school at the Union City, NJ site collapsed in April 2005 due to lack of funds, instead of hazardous contamination. [News Source]

Ridding a tiny river of big stench. Jim Jadul has promised that he will not retire until he can safely swim the waters of the Island End River, now saturated with coal-tar byproducts. [News Source]

Mayor’s goal: Give L.A. a dash of green. L.A.'s Million Tree Initiative aims to root enough trees around schools and along city streets and the Los Angeles River to allow residents to experience what a difference a tree makes. [News Source]

Reducing emissions from cargo, cruise ships part of state plan. An ambitious new blueprint by the California Air Resources Board for reducing port pollution statewide would cut emissions from cruise and cargo ships visiting San Diego by 88 percent during the next 15 years, as part of an effort to address the health risks posed by rapidly expanding port activities. [News Source]

Power plant fuels concerns. Construction crews are beginning site work this month on a $1 billion project north of Memphis that has area utilities excited but local health officials concerned. [News Source]

Pollution one of biggest health risks. Air pollution remains one of the biggest health threats in the US and smog can be seen hanging over most big American cities. [News Source]

Bush touts a fuel for the future on Earth Day, he says hydrogen can ease oil dependence. President Bush declared hydrogen the fuel of the future in an Earth Day speech that highlighted the second day of his visit to California, a state that has continually clashed with the president over environmental policy. [News Source]