National (U.S.)

In the first three months of this year, the number of active coal miners in West Virginia dropped from 18,200 to 15,604.

"Environmental groups are going to fight like hell against Republicans in the 2016 presidential election, but they have no intention of going easy on Hillary Clinton either."

"Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc will stop selling a type of pesticide suspected of causing a decline in honeybee populations needed to pollinate key American crops, following a few U.S. retailers who have taken similar steps last year."

"The Atlantic Ocean will see a 'well below average' number of hurricanes this season due to cooler Caribbean waters and a strong El Nino effect, forecasters with Colorado State University predicted on Thursday."

"U.S. consumer groups, scientists and food companies are testing substances ranging from breakfast cereal to breast milk for residues of the world's most widely used herbicide on rising concerns over its possible links to disease."

"Radon levels in buildings near unconventional natural gas development in Pennsylvania are higher than those in other areas of the state, suggesting that hydraulic fracturing has opened up new pathways for the carcinogenic gas to enter people’s homes, according to a study published on Thursday. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide."

"Pacific Gas & Electric Corp must pay a record $1.6 billion in penalties stemming from a natural gas pipeline explosion in 2010 that killed eight people near San Francisco, California's chief utility regulator ordered on Thursday."

A recent Gallup public opinion Poll suggests Americans are less concerned about the environment than they have been in two decades. Does that mean environmental journalism has failed?

Republicans, who have as a political party denied the overwhelming consensus science on climate change, may face political consequences in future elections.

"For 6 million years, the Colorado River has gathered fresh snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains and carried that water south for 1,450 miles (2,300 kilometers). It travels over falls and rapids, through deserts and canyons, all the while providing water to 35 million people and thousands of acres of farmland. But today the river is at risk."