Energy, Mining & Utilities

Nationwide, 700 premature deaths, 30,000 asthma attacks and 400 pediatric emergency room visits each year are linked to current pollution from six Maryland power plants, according to a new study released today by the Maryland Nurses Association (MNA). Read More

The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years. Read More

A controversial Kuwait-based construction firm accused of exploiting employees and coercing low-paid laborers to work in war-torn Iraq against their will is now building the new $592-million U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Listen to an interview with David Phinney about this article on CorpWatch Radio. Read More

MORE WOES for Lafayette Philippines Inc. (LPI) whose mine on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province figured in two toxic spills last year. Read More

A militant group on Tuesday said that 90 percent of some 5,000 residents of an island in Albay had signed the petition calling for the permanent closure of the operations of an Australian-financed mining firm in the area. Read More

The commander of Nigeria's military operation in the oil-rich Niger delta has warned of more unrest there as Africa's biggest oil producer and most populous nation heads towards national elections next year. Read More

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the source of arsenic found at a cleanup site in Upper Ringwood where a Ford Motor Co. contractor recently removed tons of paint sludge. Read More

Mauritanian leaders and Australia's Woodside Petroleum have still to reach agreement over contracts, a fortnight before an oil production deal starts. Read More

PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo has offered to suspend the issuance of new mining permits to try to appease Roman Catholic bishops strongly opposed to the country's new Mining Act, a top Malacanang official said yesterday. Read More

The "conflict" or "blood" diamond problem first drew wide notice in the late 1990s, when reports highlighted that rebels in African countries were using diamonds to fund brutal campaigns. Read More