Cleanup
The EPA Won't Have to Hold Mining Companies Responsible for Clean-Up Costs, a Federal Court Rules
The agency claims modern mining practices have reduced the risk of pollution going unaddressed. Will taxpayers still have to pay a price?
America's Power Plant Problem
More than 200 out of the 523 coal-fired power plants that were in operation five years ago are now closed or slated for closure. What should we do with them?
Oil Spill Outlines the Limits of Government
If Americans don't want the dubious comforts of a full-fledged nanny state, then they can't come running for comprehensive succor when some milk, or oil, spills.
Mopping Up: From Hairballs to Penguin Transit
Oil spill cleanup remains a most primitive science, but it hasn’t been for a want of experimentation. Here are seven methods that have met with varying success.
What About Spilled Oil That Doesn't Reach Shore?
Scientists studying 'natural' oil spills fear for a sea floor about to be overwhelmed by detritus from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil Cleanup Cure May Be Worse Than Disease
Despite the agony of watching oil-sodden waters lap at pristine shores, our ham-fisted cleanups can do more harm than good, experts say.
Feature Story -- The Right Bugs
Terry Hazen finds, studies and then uses microbes to clean up pollution deep underground, to refine oil before it is pumped and to produce the next generation of green fuels. He catches alligators sometimes, too. ...
Taking Stock After America's Worst Nuclear Accident
Human error helped worsen a nuclear meltdown just outside Los Angeles, and now human inertia has stymied the radioactive cleanup for half a century.
The Salt Mine Solution
In the Salado salt formation a half-mile below the New Mexico desert, WIPP has room to store all the radioactive waste an expanded nuclear power program could produce. Emphasis on the word could.
Nuclear Waste Cleanup's Three Pillars
Analysis: Openness, accountability and trust can lead to effective actions to reduce present and future risks.
Nuclear Waste Cleanup Tradeoffs
Analysis: Waste disposal after decades of nuclear weapon production will require taking risks.