Shutdown of coal-fired power plant results in significant fetal health improvement in downwind areas

First study to show fetal health improvement as a result of a coal-fired power plant shutdown due to direct federal level regulation on single pollution source finds 15 percent reduction in likelihood of having a low birth weight baby and 28 percent reduction in likelihood of a preterm birth in areas downwind of the power plant.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171221122409.htm
Article Courtesy of Science Daily source: Lehigh University

UW’s robotic fleet will probe under Antarctic ice shelves for clues to future sea-level rise

Later this month, a University of Washington researcher will heave a half-million dollars’ worth of robotic sensors into the frigid waters off Antarctica — and hope for the best.
If all goes well, the drones could gather some of the most extensive measurements ever from beneath the continent’s vast and vulnerable Western ice shelf. If things go wrong, the bots could vanish into the labyrinth of cavities and crevasses under the ice, never to be heard from again.  http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article191577664.htmlArticle courtesy of The Olympian by Sandi Doughton / The Seattle Times

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article191577664.html#storylink=cpy

Winds of worry: US fishermen fear forests of power turbines

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — East Coast fishermen are turning a wary eye toward an emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry.
In New Bedford, Massachusetts, the onetime whaling capital made famous in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” fishermen dread the possibility of navigating a forest of turbines as they make their way to the fishing grounds that have made it the nation’s most lucrative fishing port for 17 years running.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/winds-of-worry-us-fishermen-fear-forests-of-power-turbines/2017/12/25/15272706-e97d-11e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html?utm_term=.3a3ae07d3989
Article courtesy of The Washington Post by Philip Marcelo/Associated Press

All the big changes happening (and not happening) at the MBTA and when to expect them

Last week’s arrival of the first new Orange Line train cars provided another reminder of the MBTA’s ongoing quest to improve service. And whether or not passengers have started noticing, the agency says its transformation is “gaining speed.”  https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2017/12/20/mbta-changes
Article courtesy of Boston.com by Nik Decosta Klipa

What needs to happen before electric cars take over the world

Faster than anyone expected, electric cars are becoming as economical and practical as cars with conventional engines. Prices for lithium-ion batteries are plummeting, while technical advances are increasing driving ranges and cutting recharging times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/business/electric-car-adoption.html
Article courtesy of the New York Times by Jack Ewing

France passes law to ban all oil and gas production by 2040

PARIS — France's parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2017/12/19/france-passes-law-ban-all-oil-and-gas-production-2040/966132001/
Article courtesy of USA Today by Associated Press

UPS orders 125 Tesla big-rig trucks that look as if they were designed for Batman

LOUISVILLE — UPS Inc. is making a big investment in all-electric big rigs by placing an order for 125 of the sleek new semi trucks from Tesla.

Published reports put the cost of the trucks at between $150,000 and $200,000 each and that the UPS order is the largest to date for a vehicle   https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/12/19/ups-orders-125-tesla-big-rig-trucks/967167001/

Article courtesy of USA Today Network James Bruggers, Louisville Courier Journal