Group OK's biofuel blend for airlines

 

LONDON — Airlines have won the backing of a US-based technical standards group to power their planes with a blend of traditional fuel and biofuel from inedible plants, the Air Transport Association said yesterday.

Fuel processed from organic waste or nonfood materials, such as algae or wood chips, may comprise up to 50 percent of the total fuel burned to power passenger flights, ATA spokesman Steve Lott and a Boeing official told Bloomberg. Read more: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2011/06/10/biofuel_blends_approved_for_airlines_ata_says/

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe –Green Blog by By Bloomberg News

 

 

Ford to build hybrid-only minivan

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich.—Ford Motor Co. will sell a hybrid-only minivan in the U.S. next year in a bid to challenge Toyota's hybrid dominance.

The five-passenger van will come in two versions: A gas-electric hybrid, like Toyota's Prius, that gets more than 41 miles per gallon, and a plug-in hybrid, like the Chevrolet Volt, which will run on electric power but have a backup gas engine that kicks in when the power runs low. Read more: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/06/09/ford_to_build_hybrid_only_minivan/

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe Green Blog by Dee-Ann Durbin AP Auto Writer

 

 

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattles California border region

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattled the California-Mexico border on Thursday morning.

The temblor was recorded at 8:22 a.m. near Seeley, Calif., about 15 miles southwest of Calexico in Imperial County. The area was shaken by last year's 7.1 Easter Sunday quake, which caused more than $90 million in damage.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was felt across Imperial County as well as in San Diego, Orange County and parts of the Inland Empire. No damage was reported.

Article courtesy of The Los Angels Times

Arizona wildfire threat grows, with no end in sight

Springerville, Ariz., Denver and L.A.—

Thousands of Arizona residents fled a voracious wildfire Wednesday that has devoured a stretch of sparsely populated pinelands the size of Phoenix and shows no sign of stopping.

The Wallow fire, which began May 29, has blackened nearly 389,000 acres, making it the second-largest blaze in state history. It seemed poised to surpass the record-holder from 2002: Because of high winds and bone-dry terrain, the fire was 0% contained, meaning firefighters had not even begun to hem it in, much less get it under control.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-fires-20110609,0,4031169.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angels Times by Ashley Powers, NIcholas Riccardi and Julie Cart

Environmentalists want slower ship speeds to protect whales off California coast

A coalition of environmental groups is asking the Obama administration to establish a 10-knot speed limit for ships traveling through California’s marine sanctuaries to avoid fatal collisions with whales, a problem they say has climbed to “unsustainable levels.”

In a petition filed Monday, four environmental groups asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish a 10-knot limit for large commercial vessels in California's four National Marine Sanctuaries in the Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank. Some freighters travel through those waters at more than twice that speed.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/06/whale-ship-speed-limit-slow-california-marine-sanctuaries.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenspaceEnvironmentBlog+%28Greenspace%29

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times Greenspace by Tony Barboza

 

Arizona wildfires force thousands from homes

The Wallow fire in eastern Arizona has burned more than 300,000 acres and threatens nearly 350 structures.

Reporting from Las Vegas—

The second-largest wildfire in Arizona history roared across a craggy eastern swath of the state on Tuesday, chasing thousands of residents from their homes and threatening to march into New Mexico.

Powerful gusts flung embers onto parched vegetation and continued to stoke the Wallow fire, which has burned more than 300,000 acres and destroyed 10 structures in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest area since it began last month. The uncontained blaze threatened nearly 350 structures Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Read more:  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-southwest-fires-20110608,0,5107382.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times By Ashley Powers

Markey says Seabrook nuclear plant asking too soon for license extension

Congressman Edward J. Markey wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny Seabrook Station – and other nuclear power plants - license extensions if they are asked for too early in the plant’s operating life.

In a letter sent to NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko this morning, Markey noted that inspections at Seabrook uncovered structural weaknesses in concrete surrounding a safety-related tunnel only two decades into the plant’s 40-year license. Seabrook applied for relicensing last year and is hoping to receive approval soon to operate another two decades once its license expires in 2030.  Read more: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2011/06/nuclear_plants_can_be_relicens.html

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe -Green Blog posted by Beth Daley -Globe Staff