Water


Industry Organization Supports Bill to Make Algal Biofuels Eligible for Tax Credit

The bill would give algae-based biofuels tax parity while leveling the playing field for all advanced biofuels by expanding the Clean Air Act’s definition of an advanced biofuel.

Portland, Maine, Facility faces EPA Sanction for Unsafe Storage of Hazardous Chemicals

A chemical manufacturing and distribution facility in South Portland, Maine, faces an EPA fine of up to $151,900 for improper storage of hazardous materials, in violation of federal and state laws.

EPA Issues Key Air Quality Permits to Shell for Arctic Oil and Gas Exploration

EPA Region 10 issued final air quality permits to Shell on Sept. 19 for oil and gas exploration drilling in the Alaska Arctic. The permits will allow Shell to operate the Discoverer drillship and a support fleet of icebreakers, oil spill response vessels, and supply ships for up to 120 days each year in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea Outer Continental Shelf starting in 2012.

Paper Points Out Weaknesses in Climate-Change Data Observation

Our most reliable models rely on data acquired through a range of complex measurements. Most of the important measurements - such as ice cover, cloud cover, sea levels and temperature, chlorophyll (oceans and land) and the radiation balance (incoming to outgoing energy) – must be taken from space, and for constraining and testing the forecast models, made over long timescales.

DOE Gives Universities $30M in Grants to Train the Next Generation of Industrial Energy-Efficiency Experts

the Energy Department has awarded more than $30 million to 24 universities in 23 states across the country to train undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering students in manufacturing efficiency to help these students become the nation's next generation of industrial energy-efficiency experts.

Nerve Agents, Pesticides Among Causes of Gulf War Illness

Gulf War Illness (GWI)—the chronic health condition that affects about one in four military veterans of the 1991 Gulf War—appears to be the result of several factors, which differed in importance depending upon where veterans served during the war, according to a Baylor University study.

Environmental Insurance in a Changing Regulatory World

During these difficult economic times, it is more important than ever for businesses to effectively manage their risk -- in order to survive the myriad of factors that might otherwise undermine their financial performance and threaten their long-term viability.

Oceans May Mask Effects of Global Warming

The planet’s deep oceans at times may absorb enough heat to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade even in the middle of longer-term warming, according to a new analysis led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).



Researchers Testing Promising New Nanomaterial for Hydrogen Storage

The new material can store and release hydrogen extremely fast and at low temperatures compared with similar materials, and it's rechargeable. These attributes could make it ideal for use in onboard hydrogen storage for next-generation hydrogen or fuel cell vehicles.

U.S. Takes Diplomatic Action Against Icelandic Whaling

U.S. President Barack Obama announced diplomatic measures the United States will take against Iceland to condemn its whaling activities.

Researchers Spend 10 Days Underwater to Study Coral

A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology is using the Aquarius underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida to study how the diversity of seaweed-eating fish affects endangered coral reefs. The research mission, which began Sept. 13, may provide new information to help scientists protect and even restore damaged coral reefs in the Caribbean.

'Underwater Windmills' Would Disrupt Sand's Flow Pattern

Farms of “underwater windmills” could affect how sand moves around our coastal seas, affecting beaches, sand banks and ultimately the risk of flooding, according to Bangor University oceanographer Dr. Simon Neill.

German Shipping Company to Pay $800,000 for Cover-Up of Oil Pollution

Uniteam Marine Shipping GmbH was sentenced in federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Study: Carbon Sequestration Presents No Threat to Human Health

Capturing CO2 from power stations and storing it deep underground carries no significant threat to human health, despite recently voiced fears that it might, a study has shown.

EPA Proposes to Add LA County Industrial Facilities to List of Nations Worst Toxic Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add two new sites to the Superfund National Priorities List in Los Angeles County, Calif.

Planting Trees on Farms Can Greatly Improve Food Security

Restoring and preserving dryland forests and planting more trees to provide food, fodder and fertilizer on small farms are critical steps toward preventing the recurrence of the famine now threatening millions of people in the Horn of Africa, according to forestry experts from the CGIAR Consortium.

Oil- and Gas-Related Helicopter Crashes in Gulf of Mexico Killed 139 Over 26 Years

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds that helicopters that service the drilling platforms and vessels in the Gulf of Mexico crash on average more than six times per year resulting in an average of five deaths per year.

Researchers Examine How Invasive Plants Encourage Wildfires

The past decade has seen 77,951 fires burn about 6.7 million acres in the United States. One condition that facilitates the spread of wildfires is invasive plant species. Nonnative weeds can modify the vegetation of a landscape and provide a source of fuel that did not previously exist.

MEMS Device Generates Energy From Small Vibrations

Today’s wireless-sensor networks can do everything from supervising factory machinery to tracking environmental pollution to measuring the movement of buildings and bridges.