Snow Disposal Guidance from Mass.gov

The MassDEP is providing snow disposal and storm preparation information on its website.  Emergency phone line assistance is available. This web page posting is in response to the extraordinary weather experienced by the Commonwealth in the past several weeks. Public health and environment impact concerns are addressed.
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/water/regulations/snow-disposal-guidance.html
Article courtesy of Mass.gov.

1 in 8 deaths linked to air pollution, World Health Organization says

Air pollution kills about 7 million people a year and is linked to 1 in 8 deaths worldwide, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Health Organization. The finding more than doubles previous estimates “and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” the agency said. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-deaths-world-health-organization-20140325,0,5308688.story Article courtes of The Los Angeles Times by Tony Barbosa

20-foot boat that drifted to California is tsunami debris

The barnacle-covered boat with Japanese lettering spent 758 days at sea before it drifted onto a Northern California beach.

Nearly three weeks after the 20-foot boat washed ashore in Crescent City, about 20 miles south of the Oregon border, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined it was from the 2011 tsunami, the first confirmed debris to reach California. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tsunami-debris-20130427,0,3140009.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Kate Mather

 

Supersonic flight brings Virgin Galactic closer to space tourism

With a sonic boom that resounded above the Mojave Desert, a rocket plane belonging to British billionaire Richard Branson's commercial space venture Virgin Galactic got one step closer to carrying tourists into space.

On Monday the company's SpaceShipTwo ignited its rocket motor in mid-flight for the first time and sped to Mach 1.2, faster than sound, reaching about 56,000 feet in altitude. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-virgin-galactic-20130430,0,507052.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by W.J. Hennigan

 

 

Officials battle giant, rat-sized snails in Florida

Florida has a snail problem. And it's a big one.

The southern part of the state is being invaded by the giant African land snail, a species of snail that can grow up to 8.5 inches in length and that snacks on stucco, car tires and 500 types of plants.

"Just about anything you grow in the garden is on their menu," said Denise Feiber, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-giant-african-land-snail-20130415,0,2472882.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Deborah Netburn

 

GREEN TIPS

By making simple changes in our everyday lives, we can improve the planet we all share. To help, EarthShare provides free green tips, categorized by season. EarthShare offers these green action tips as a public service to individuals and companies interested in finding ways to protect the Earth.

http://www.earthshare.org/green-tips.html#tp

Article courtesy of EarthShare

 

Two new solar power plants approved for federal land in California

Salazar announced two solar projects in California — the 750-megawatt McCoy Solar Energy Project and 150-megawatt Desert Harvest Solar Farm, both in Riverside County. Interior also approved the 200-megawatt Searchlight Wind Energy Project in Clark County, Nevada. 

The McCoy project, near Blythe, would occupy 4,394 acres and would be the world's largest, in terms of power production. Desert Harvest, six miles north of Desert Center, would occupy 1,208 acres. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-renewable-energy-20130313,0,3126195.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Science Now –by Julie Cart

 

 

Sunlight stimulates release of carbon dioxide in melting permafrost

Ancient plant and animal matter trapped within Arctic permafrost can be converted rapidly into climate-warming carbon dioxide when melted and exposed to sunlight, according to a new study. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-carbon-sunlight-permafrost-20130211,0,5550833.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Science Now by Monte Morin

 

 

Space Age Transit System to Debut in Tel Aviv

Source: Israel21C
If all goes as planned, within two years Israelis will be the first people to try out a futuristic rapid transport system designed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The skyTran uses two-person modules that drive along a guide rail suspended from existing power lines. Magnets in the vehicle create a magnetic field around the metal coil inside the rail, causing the vehicle to lift up and glide 60 miles per hour on a cushion of air. The system uses very little energy and potentially could be powered entirely by solar panels. The space-age skyTran combines aspects of public and private transportation. "People often don't use mass transit because they don't like to share vehicles, they don't like having to get to a station and they don't like to follow someone else's schedule," says CEO Jerry Sanders. The cost of implementing skyTran is estimated at $9 million per mile, as opposed to $100 million per mile for a light rail system and $20 million per lane for buses. https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=ACT1&WebCode=ACTeNews

Article courtesy of ACT newsletter

Too bad Zipcar isn't taking over Avis

If Zipcar were buying Avis, instead of the other way around, the Cambridge-based car-sharing company's fans would be happier today than they are.

This should be good news. The car rental giant's $500 million purchase of Zipcar is great for stockholders, since Avis is offering 49 percent more per share than Zipcar's closing price Friday. In theory, the takeover is also a half-billion-dollar validation of the idea of car sharing; what once seemed like a utopian social experiment increasingly looks like a mainstream, even essential service for city dwellers who only drive every so often. It should help that Avis buys a lot of cars; Zipcar will be able to buy vehicles more cheaply and make more of them available at peak times. Avis, in turn, gains a foothold in a growing business that archrival Hertz is also pursuing aggressively. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2013/01/too_bad_zipcar.html

Article courtesy of Boston.com-The Boston Globe-The Angle posted by Dante Ramos