News and Articles


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.

GE Launches Energy Technology for Use of Natural Gas with No Need for Water

GE's latest energy innovation, the FlexAero LM6000-PH, enables growth and development everywhere with fast, flexible, natural gas-driven power generation.

EPA Funds Pollution Prevention Projects in New Jersey and New York

From funding smart meters on college campuses, to reducing hazardous chemicals in high school laboratories, to promoting alternatives to dry cleaning, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making its pollution prevention grants count across New Jersey and New York. The EPA has awarded more than $600,000 in grants to fund projects that help prevent pollution in these two states.

Department of Transportation Proposes to Ban Electronic Cigarettes on Aircraft

The Department of Transportation is proposing to explicitly ban the use of electronic cigarettes on aircraft.

New Propulsion Design Challenges Current Efficiencies of Light Airplanes

A team of students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University demonstrated a first in aviation history.

British Group Releases List of Chemical Elements at Risk

The list highlights vulnerable elements where global production is concentrated in a small number of countries, including metals that are critical to development of a low-carbon digital economy. The list helps to focus future research on diversifying supply from new resources, using greener production technologies and cost-effective recycling.

Scientists Claim Water Evaporated From Trees Cools Global Climate

Scientists have long debated about the impact on global climate of water evaporated from vegetation. New research from Carnegie's Global Ecology department concludes that evaporated water helps cool the earth as a whole, not just the local area of evaporation, demonstrating that evaporation of water from trees and lakes could have a cooling effect on the entire atmosphere.

The First U.S. Gas-to-Liquids Facility to Open in Louisiana

The project is slated to be the first plant in the United States to produce GTL transportation fuels and other products.

Research Shows Solar Rays Could Replace Petroleum Fuels

Alternative fuel sources for cars may have a glowing future as a Kansas State University (K-State) graduate student is working to replace petroleum fuels with ones made from sunlight.