Building a diamond mine, expanding an oil sands mine, offshore exploration or an interprovincial bridge could soon require a federal environmental review under proposed additions and subtractions to the Harper government's new environmental rules.

But provincially regulated pipelines, facilities used to process the heavy oil from the oilsands, pulp and paper mills as well as chemical explosive plants are among those being deleted from a list of projects requiring federal environmental investigations prior to approval.

The proposed changes would be part of amended regulations for new environmental laws, adopted last July, which have already cancelled about 3,000 investigations, by removing the triggers that required the assessments and replacing them with the list of projects.

A fire that broke out at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in southwest Detroit Saturday evening prompted evacuations and raised concerns about safety and environmental hazards in the area.

The fire, which started at about 6 p.m. in one of the refinery’s smaller tanks, was extinguished just before 8 p.m., said Marathon spokesman Shane Pochard. No one was injured.

As thick black smoke billowed from the refinery, authorities in adjacent Melvindale went door-to-door and used Facebook to order 3,000 people, nearly a third of the city’s population, to leave their homes.

The campaign group formed to support Barack Obama's political agenda has launched an initiative to shame members of Congress who deny the science behind climate change.

In an email to supporters on Thursday, Organizing for Action said it was time to call out members of Congress who deny the existence of climate change, saying they had blocked efforts to avoid its most catastrophic consequences.

The email linked to a video mocking Republicans who reject the science on climate change. "Right now, way too many lawmakers in Washington flat-out refuse to face the facts when it comes to climate change," Jon Carson, executive director of Organizing for Action wrote in the email. "We're never going to make real progress on this issue unless members of Congress get serious."

The video mainly features Republican members of the House of Representatives who are notorious for denying the existence of climate change, or positing bizarre notions about its causes.

However, it also includes some national figures such as the Florida senator Marc Rubio and House speaker John Boehner, whose views on climate are not that broadly known. There are no Democrats in the video.

Keystone XL critics said they amassed more than 1 million comments against the pipeline to carry oil from Canada, showing what they called grassroots opposition to the $5.3 billion project across six U.S. states.

Keystone will "contribute dramatically" to global warming and pose an "unacceptable risk to water," according to a letter posted on the website of environmental group 350.org that visitors can electronically sign and submit to the State Department, which is reviewing the comments.

The department collected comments through yesterday on its draft environmental analysis that is seen favoring project supporters. Keystone foes said the level of opposition should give President Barack Obama cover to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)'s pipeline, which is backed by oil companies and labor groups as a source of jobs and greater U.S. energy security.