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Coal generates half of all the electricity in the U.S. It's also the biggest source of global-warming emissions and other air pollution. The coal industry says the answer is not to phase out coal, but instead to produce "clean coal." Anne Glausser of QUEST Ohio reports on the difficult path for clean coal.

Half of the airborne mercury pollution in the US comes from coal-fired power plants. After years of study and debate, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to announce new limits on mercury from coal plants in November. Meanwhile, utilities are scrambling to meet other new federal regulations and industry groups are asking the government to slow down.

Over the last 15 years, more than a billion dollars has been spent to protect Lake Tahoe's clear waters from runoff and erosion. Now, new threats to lake's clarity are emerging, just as restoration funding is drying up.

Oakland Museum curator Christopher Richard and geologist Janet Sowers function as water detectives, looking for clues of the city’s long-lost aquatic past. Recently, they believe, they solved a mystery that had nagged them for years.

"No matter how high you looked," says Tammy Zapata, "all you saw was fire."

California's new environmental chief is in the first month of his new position. With budget cuts, environmental lawsuits and a mandate to cut green house gasses, Matt Rodriquez has a big job in front of him.

You've probably heard of the wines that made Napa and Sonoma famous, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. But what about Negroamaro or Nero d'Avola? They're wine grapes that are well-adapted to hotter temperatures -- the kind of conditions that California may be facing as the climate continues to warm.

The Bay tunnel is just one part of a vast overhaul of the Hetch Hetchy system, which carries water 167 miles from the Tuolumne River, near Yosemite, to Bay Area taps. There are 81 projects in all: pipes, water treatment centers, dams, reservoirs, all replaced or retrofitted with stronger, more durable parts.

What do Bay Area airports and some big Silicon Valley companies have in common? They sit right on the edge of San Francisco Bay, where sea level rise is expected to have a big impact by the end of the century.

Companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Heinz ketchup have determined that plastic made from plants — not oil — makes sense both for the environment and for business. The growing demand has meant a boom in the bioplastic industry. Could this mean the end of the plastic bottle as we know it?