Chesapeake Bay Case Settled With Nation's Largest Water Cleanup Plan

WASHINGTON, DC, May 12, 2010 (ENS) - Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay entered a new phase today as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, its co-plaintiffs, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settled their lawsuit with a binding agreement that will require pollution to be reduced across the nation's largest estuary.

Biofuel Propels Navy Jet on Supersonic Earth Day Test Flight

WASHINGTON, DC, April 27, 2010 (ENS) - The U.S. Navy celebrated Earth Day on Thursday by showcasing a flight test of the Green Hornet, an F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter jet powered by a biofuel blend made from the camelina plant.

The 45 minute test flight, conducted at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, drew hundreds of onlookers, including Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who has made the exploration and adoption of alternative fuels a priority for the Navy and Marine Corps.

US Backs Plan to Legalize Regulated Whaling

The United States has brought forward a plan that would legalize whaling in exchange for detailed monitoring, regulation, and trade controls. Anti-whaling groups are opposed to the compromise.

The United States formally introduced a plan crafted in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida last March during a meeting of the International Whaling Convention. The plan would allow whaling nations to do so legally within the IWC. Currently, Norway and Iceland whale in objection to the moratorium placed by the IWC in 1986. Japan whales under the guise of "lethal research," but brings the meat to market. The US plan will allow these nations and others to whale legally, but will subject them to a rigorous monitoring process. The controversial treaty would expire 10 years after ratification.

GE Unveils Mass-Market LED Bulbs

GE recently unveiled a new LED light bulb that could replace both incandescent and CFL bulbs in households across the world.

General Electric, the first company to mass-produce incandescent light bulbs, unveiled a socket-ready LED light bulb that will be on store shelves this year. The new bulb will have the equivalent light output of a 40 watt incandescent bulb, but only use 9 watts of energy. While compact florescent bulbs are approaching this level of efficiency, they contain poisonous mercury. This problem with compact florescent lighting has created a household safety concern and has been linked to mercury poisoning in thousands of Chinese workers at CFL factories.