Environment
Two New Bibles Preach A Hip, Eco-Friendly Gospel
The Bible has gotten a makeover: Two new editions target a young — even secular — audience. One is a slick, illustrated version of the New Testament; the other is an environmentally friendly edition that takes advantage of the popularity of the green movement.
Hawaii Plans To Roll Out Electric Car Stations
Hawaii's Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has announced plans to create an electric car recharging network throughout the islands by 2012. The state is working with a Silicon Valley company that will build tens of thousands of battery recharging points throughout the islands. Many in Hawaii would like to see the plan put in place because drivers there pay some of the highest gas prices in the nation.
High Court Case Tests Power Plants' Water Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court hears an important environmental case Tuesday, testing the role of cost-benefit analysis in federal clean-water rules. At issue is how far power plants must go in protecting fish and wildlife.
European Union Deal Cuts Car Emissions In 6 Years
Negotiators from European Union governments and the European Parliament tentatively have agreed on new standards for cutting global-warming gases. The new rules would apply to only new-car fleets in six years. The EU Commission had wanted a three-year deadline. The deal still needs approval by the European Parliament and all 27 EU nations before becoming law.
Economic Downturn Could Affect Climate Talks
Poznan, Poland, is hosting the current round of talks to tackle one of the most difficult issues of our day: global warming. The goal is to craft a treaty that will turn the world away from fossil fuels in the coming decades. But the global economic meltdown could put a damper on the already difficult talks.
Britain 'needs deeper CO2 cuts'
The Secret Society Of Superorganisms
Superorganism species consist of many individuals working within a self-sustaining social unit — like leafcutter ants. A new book on insects delves deep into some of the most complicated social systems outside humanity.
Mussels Lose Out As Carbon Dioxide Changes Ocean
Carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere is making oceans more acidic. And scientists have found that in the waters around one Pacific Northwest island, more acidic water is spelling doom for mussels.
Electric Car Battery Must Keep Going And Going
One of the buzzwords at the Los Angeles Auto Show is "electrification." It's a future where cars run solely on battery power. Paul Eisenstein of The Detroit Bureau, an independent auto news service, says that future is still a ways off. He tells Steve Inskeep that for electric cars to succeed, they'll need a battery that lasts for more than 100 miles before a recharge.
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House Going Green
Humans Turning Up Volume In Oceans
This week the U.S. Supreme Court gave the Navy the OK to use sonar off the coast of California — environmentalists complain the sounds confuse whales. But it turns out the planet's oceans are actually getting louder anyway. Geochemist Peter Brewer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute talks about a recent study finding that global warming is changing the way sound travels underwater.
Controversial Middletown Site Still On Army Corps List
Massive Marine Life Census Being Updated
More than 2,000 scientists in 82 countries are working on a census of marine life. The study will document all sea creatures. While the census won't be ready until 2010, preliminary figures were released ahead of a conference in Spain this week.
Plants: The Fuel Of The Future?
Researchers in Berkeley, Calif., are working on new technologies to convert plant cellulose into a fuel that could directly replace diesel and gasoline. But even if they figure out the recipe, there are still obstacles to competing with fossil fuels.
Environmentally Sensitive Middletown Site Still On Army's List
Scientist Discovers Fungus That Could Fuel A Car
A researcher at Montana State University has found a micro-organism that contains the essence of diesel. Myco-diesel, as Gary Strobel calls it, could fuel vehicles without any form of processing.
Affordable Housing That's 'Green'
Experts Identify Fungus Suspected In Bat Die-Off
In the northeastern United States, bats have been dying by the thousands, struck down by a strange ailment called "white-nose syndrome." Researchers have identified a previously unknown fungus that flourishes in the cold and that may be a cause of the syndrome.
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New Images Show Filled-In Craters On Mercury
New images from NASA's Messenger space probe are aiding scientists in understanding how volcanic eruptions helped shape this alien world. Some of the photos add to evidence suggesting that volcanoes have been very active on the planet.
