Sites where levee failures led to the catastrophic flooding after Hurricane Katrina would join a federal list of the nation's historic icons if an activist has her way.

They may be small in stature, but kids at a California elementary school have gotten more than 55,000 people to sign an online petition asking Crayola to "take back" and recycle used plastic markers.

(Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to power its main, North Carolina data center entirely with renewable energy sources by the end of this year, taking steps to address longstanding environmental concerns about the rapid expansion of high-consuming computer server farms.

Curious about electric cars? On your next vacation, give one a test drive—and instead of paying high gas prices, charge up for free. Major car rental companies, which have been offering hybrid vehicles for years, are now getting into the electric car (EV) market. And an ever-growing number of hotels, resorts, and even B&Bs are adding free electric-car charging stations to entice guests to get off the grid and plug in their cars when they travel.

Lowering your carbon footprint and reducing greenhouse gasses may become as simple as painting your home or office, thanks to breakthrough research from the University of Notre Dame. The researchers, led by Professor Prashant Kamat, have created a new solar paint dubbed Sun-believable, which is laced with power producing nanoparticles capable of producing electricity. With the ability to generate renewable energy from this new, less invasive method, bulky solar panels as we know them today may soon become relics destined for the museum.

Conservation groups have condemned a move by European agricultural ministers to tone down some of the most controversial environmental proposals in the next phase of the EU's farm support programme. Agricultural and fisheries ministers from the 27 EU countries called yesterday (15 May) for replacing conservation measures recommended by the European Commission with a more flexible system. The decision was not a surprise – ministers have indicated in the past that there was little political appetite for creating requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that tie direct payments to farmers to measures aimed at cutting carbon emissions and reducing other pollutants.

The U.S. government is seeking to close caves in national forests in the Northern Rockies to stem the spread of white-nose bat syndrome, a disease that has killed an estimated 5.5 million bats in 19 states and is spreading westward, officials said on Wednesday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization appellate panel on Wednesday said U.S. "dolphin safe" tuna labeling rules unfairly discriminate against Mexico, raising the possibility of sanctions on U.S. goods if the rules are not modified or dropped.

When it comes to leatherback turtles, the world's largest species of sea turtle, there's a conundrum: The species itself is critically endangered, but at least one leatherback population is stable — on the rise, even — while others plummet.

With melting sea ice opening up previously inaccessible parts of the Arctic Ocean, the fishing industry sees a potential bonanza. But some scientists and government officials have begun calling for a moratorium on fishing in the region until the true state of the Arctic fishery is assessed. When scientists with the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program began tracking 323 vertebrate species across the entire Arctic several years ago, most assumed that many fish and animals would not fare well in a region where rapid warming is causing such profound changes.

For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

By now, it’s hardly news when a city bans plastic bags at checkout counters -- but an entire state? That’s happened in Hawaii, where Honolulu County has joined the state’s three other counties to give Hawaii a first-in-the-nation title.

The idled San Onofre nuclear power plant is facing new scrutiny from Congress as the utility that operates it moves closer to proposing a fix to get the twin reactors back in service.

Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades.

A gas leak on a North Sea oil platform has been stopped after more than seven weeks, its operators said Wednesday. Heavy mud was pumped into the well in a bid to "kill" the leak on Total's Elgin platform, which is around 150 miles from Aberdeen, Scotland.

All are aware of the tragic loss of biodiversity that this planet is current going through in various ecosystems. However, a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report shows that when good policies are in place, natural ecosystems can sustain themselves and thrive. NOAA has released its annual report, stating that a record six fish populations have been rebuilt to healthy levels in 2011. This brings the number of rebuilt US marine fish populations to 27 since the start of the 21st century, showing that great strides have been made to end overfishing thanks to all interested parties.

While many government officials nervously await the outcome of the November elections and speculate as to its implications for the cleantech sector, one federal department is likely to be relatively unaffected regardless of the outcome: Defense. According to panelists at the recent "Mission Critical: Clean Energy and the U.S. Military" event in Denver, the military's growing commitment to reducing its use of fossil fuel, for both national security and economic reasons, will not waver regardless of who's in charge in the White House or the Congress.