The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Westinghouse has failed to demonstrate the safety of the AP1000 reactor that's slated for 14 of the nation's 25 proposed new nuclear plants -- all in the South. Meanwhile, the NRC's official watchdog asks the Justice Department to investigate whether the AP1000 project got improper insider help from the agency. More...

An attorney arrested while protesting a coal-fired power plant under construction in North Carolina says he's disappointed -- he had hoped his case would allow him to confront Duke CEO Jim Rogers about the "environmental disaster." More...

The state Utilities Commission rejected environmental advocates' arguments that the company is building the multibillion-dollar plant in western North Carolina to sell power outside its service area. Meanwhile, the company's CEO gets a subpoena to testify in a Cliffside protester's trial. More...

The Government Accountability Office finds that 26 coal-burning power plants have reported spills or other unpermitted releases of coal ash from 35 surface impoundments over the past decade. More...

Coal industry supporters turned out in big numbers for public hearings held yesterday in the Appalachian coalfields -- and their behavior had some environmentalists crying foul. More...

A company wants to place coal ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant into an old mine atop a nearby mountain. But environmentalists and local residents oppose the plan, citing potential health problems. More...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing buffer areas to protect national marine sanctuaries, vulnerable habitat, fisheries and coastal communities dependent upon the tourism industry. More...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold public hearings this week in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania on the particularly destructive form of strip mining. The hearings come as the Obama administration and others are taking a hard look at the practice. More...

The Mine Safety and Health Administration recently sent warning letters to 10 mine operators with serious recurrent safety and health violations. Most of the operations are coal mines in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky. More...

A new analysis of self-reported data from power companies finds that pollution is seeping into the groundwater from 13 coal ash ponds located across the state -- in some cases at levels 380 times state standards. More...

New information out from the federal government shows that the shift to renewable energy is already underway -- and sustainability advocates say Congress should keep this trend in mind as it moves forward with climate legislation. More...

Just days after Senate leaders announced plans to delay consideration of legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a new coalition of environmental, justice, faith and veterans groups launched a campaign to make sure the bill stays on Washington's radar. More...

Americans for Prosperity, a lobby group working to promote polluters' economic interests, is using the controversy over the president's green jobs advisor to attack the climate bill as a "watermelon" -- "green on the outside but Communist red to the core." More...

The federal government has released information to environmental groups showing there are 584 coal ash dumps across the country -- almost double the number previously identified. But some utilities including Duke Energy, Progress Energy and the Southern Co. are still withholding data on their dumps, claiming it's "confidential business information." More...

New research by scientists with Duke University and the Georgia Institute of Technology details hazards from the coal ash spilled last year from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant. The findings come as TVA considers shutting down some of its older coal plants. More...

Inspired by the corporate-backed protest movement against health insurance reform, an alliance founded and funded by the oil industry and other business interests opposed to greenhouse gas regulation is planning a series of rallies against climate legislation. More...

The President has nominated Joseph Pizarchik to head the federal agency that regulates coal mining practices. Pointing to his pro-industry record as a mining regulator in Pennsylvania, environmentalists are calling on Senators to vote no. More...

It turns out that a P.R. firm working on behalf of the coal lobby forged letters from groups representing women and senior citizens as well as blacks and Hispanics. A lawmaker is demanding answers. More...

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity says it's "outraged" that a firm working on its behalf forged anti-climate bill letters that appeared to come from minority advocacy groups. But it's not the first time ACCCE has been linked to deceptive practices -- we busted them last year for a misleading phone call on other climate legislation. More...

Bonner & Associates, a Washington firm that specializes in creating what look like grassroots movements which are in fact funded by corporate interests, is busted forging anti-climate bill letters to a Virginia congressman that appear to come from the NAACP and a Hispanic nonprofit. More...