The government-driven demand for corn ethanol is ruffling feathers with another government program intended to preserve prairie and wildlife habitat. The result? A bird-hunting industry that’s going down.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report Friday criticizing a $1.3 billion federal program to clean up the Great Lakes. The GAO claims that without adequate assessments to measure performance, it’s hard to know whether the money was well spent.

As Argentina’s agricultural industry grows, farmers are using more and more pesticides to produce larger harvests. But the massive agrochemical use is often unregulated and close to populated areas, causing health problems in Argentina’s rural communities.

If oil spills and no one is around to see it, does the public have a right to know?

That’s the question North Dakota residents are asking this week after a pipeline rupture sent more than 20,000 barrels of crude oil into a wheat field in one of the largest spills in state history. Tesoro Corp. reported the spewing oil to the North Dakota Health Department on Sept. 29 after a local farmer discovered it. But state officials waited more than two weeks to tell the public about the spill—and this only after an inquiry from the Associated Press.

The increasingly popular, pre-moistened bathroom wipes—advertised as “flushable”—are wreaking havoc in sewer systems across America. 

There is a tradition in politics that is similar to one in the legal profession: When evidence supports your position, make your argument based on the evidence, but when it argues against your position, ignore the evidence and appeal to emotion.

Japanese government officials admitted last month that radioactive water has been leaking into the ocean everyday—at least 300 tons in recent months. Most of the water is being used to prevent overheating at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

To add to the plant’s woes, a new tank leak announced two weeks ago spilled another 300 tons of radioactive water into the ground. The leak, along with rising contamination levels, is particularly concerning as Tokyo is set to host the 2020 Olympics.