Not safe for consumption: Two-headed trout are causing quite a stir in Idaho. Selenium contamination from a heavy metals mine has spawned mutated fish. Despite decades of evidence pointing to selenium’s effects on wildlife, the EPA has yet to figure out how much of it should be allowed in the environment. Certainly, two heads signifies too much for Idaho streams. New York Times
The other scary superbug: A strain of antibiotic-resistant staph (MRSA CC398) is spreading fast, infecting workers at chicken and pig farms. The superbug has tainted nearly half of all the meat sampled in the U.S., and it shows no signs of letting up. Scientific American
Far Away Fallout: The radioactive fallout from the Fukushima meltdown, which largely bled out into the Pacific Ocean, posed no significant threat to Americans. TIME
Meltdown: The Earth is losing half a trillion tons of ice to the oceans every year, according to a new analysis. That's "enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet deep." NASA
Deep responsibility: In a huge ruling in the Deepwater Horizon case, a federal judge found BP and Anadarko (which had stake in the doomed Macondo well) to be "responsible parties under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990" and "liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act." Rig-owner TransOcean's liability for the oil let loose into the Gulf is yet to be resolved. That trial kicks off this week. New Orleans Times-Picayune
Et tu, Interior?: Buried in the Heartland Institute's budgets released last week is a $1,000 per month "stipend" for a Department of Interior employee. Apparently, Indur Goklany, senior adviser in the DOI's office of policy analysis, helped author a climate-denying report put out by Heartland each year. Requests for an ethics investigation are underway. Mother Jones
Gov't gag order: Canadian climate scientists complain that they've been "muzzled" by a highly politicized government, which has been stifling the press and public access to their research. Inter Press Service
Deaf ears: Meanwhile here in the U.S., Republican climate scientists aren't able to get their party's politicians to answer their calls. InsideClimateNews
Sea search: It's like Google Street View, but underwater. The first tour of the Google Earth mashup "Seaview" lets you explore Australia's Great Barrier Reef. New Scientist
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: J.R. Simplot Co. report
