Disasters

"Southern California Edison and the maker of steam generators at San Onofre nuclear plant knew about problems with the generators even before they were installed, Boxer and a congressman assert."

"A comprehensive USDA study concludes rising temperatures could cost farmers millions as they battle new pests, faster weed growth and get smaller yields as climate change continues."

"MEXICO CITY -- A gas buildup under a building in the headquarters of Mexico's state oil company caused a blast that killed 37 people and wounded dozens, the attorney-general said Monday, ending days of near-total silence by authorities about the petroleum giant's worst disaster in more than a decade."

"A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake set off a tsunami that killed at least five people in a remote part of the Solomon Islands on Wednesday and triggered evacuations across the South Pacific as island nations issued tsunami alerts."

"Esther Tauscher stood outside her Staten Island home, leafing through boxes of family photos that had been steeped in storm water. She paused to point out life events -- her honeymoon, holding her baby boy in a hospital bed."

"OSLO -- Plans by Arctic nations to start cooperating over oil spills are vague and fail to define corporate liability for any accidents in an icy region opening up to oil and gas exploration due to global warming, environmentalists said on Monday."

"Superstorm Sandy was a dramatic preview of what cities on the Eastern Seaboard might expect as climate change intensifies, but 12 small, indigenous communities on Alaska's coast provide the most extreme example of how global warming can wreak havoc."

"The Justice Department on Wednesday asked a federal judge in New Orleans to require BP to produce documents that outline how it low-balled the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from its Macondo well in 2010. The estimates were sent to the Coast Guard and Congress."

"MEXICO CITY -- An explosion rocked the headquarters of Mexico's state-run oil monopoly Pemex, killing 25 people, injuring 101, and damaging three floors of Mexico's second tallest building before sending plumes of smoke into the Mexico City skyline."

"Chevron ignored potentially life-threatening dangers to workers at its Richmond refinery and should pay a record fine of nearly $1 million stemming from the fire there in August, state regulators said Wednesday."