The demand for locally grown food, especially grass-fed meats, has caused a surge in the number of small farms.

People thought he was crazy to sink his savings, take tons of classes, break his back, start a commercial winery in the chilly Catskills. Crazier still that he wanted to grow his grapes the hard way — without pesticides. But Paul Deninno has proved the cynics wrong.

The coalition -- many of them farmers facing economic hardships -- will collectively be accepting a deal worth nearly $90 million, said Dewey Decker, the coalition organizer.

Concerns about contaminants released by open burning-- including dioxins and arsenic-- are leading New York to extend a ban statewide.

Recent reports that claim the chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, could pose health risks for humans has prompted U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. to introduce legislation that would ban the chemical in all children's products.

Folks sporting burning barrels in their backyards might soon have to dispose of their trash some other way.

Time is running out for John Chick of Auburn, the only person charged with a crime in the Cayuga County's asbestos scandal.

Long Island water suppliers would receive $112.8 million from more than a dozen oil companies in a landmark settlement over contamination of groundwater by the fuel additive MTBE.

Sullivan County's planning commissioner warned yesterday that drilling for natural gas in the western part of the county won't be regulated by the federal government, poses environmental risks, and could taint the landscape.

The Suffolk County Legislature's settlement against the oil industry for fouling our water with MTBE reinforces the principle that the polluter pays.

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works yesterday, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) made the case for federal leadership in setting a uniform TCE standard.

Officials have determined the cause of death of 154 of the responders and volunteers who toiled at Ground Zero, the blocks nearby and at the Fresh Kills landfill, where debris from the site was taken.

Researchers have expanded monitoring stations to detect potentially deadly toxins in shellfish beyond Northport, but said this week's closure there of 2,100 acres of shellfish harvest areas is temporary.

The building was dismantled as part of the EPA’s effort to clean up the site, which was contaminated by laboratory chemicals including cadmium, chromium and corrosive liquids.

Warren County Judge John Hall has denied General Electric Co.'s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 45 Fort Edward property owners whose homes and businesses were contaminated with an underground plume of an industrial chemical used by the company.

Arguing that Astoria already has its share of polluted air, the area's elected officials and community organizations joined to strongly protest construction of a new, 500- megawatt plant they charged, will add more smog to the atmosphere.

Open waste burning is one of the significant sources of cancer-causing air pollution.

President Bush said in his 2006 State of the Union speech that the country could meet 20 percent of its electricity needs in 2030 through wind power.

The TCE contamination that plagues Ithaca's South Hill was first detected in 1972, 15 years earlier than previously believed.

Brookhaven Town might convert all of its garbage trucks from diesel to natural gas, a move local officials say would cut back on harmful emissions and save taxpayers on fuel costs.