In 2009, Obama pledged $10.5 billion towards high-speed rail development. It looks like the first state to receive some of that money will be Florida. Obama has designated $2.5 billion to the state to begin the first phase of their train system that will run from Orlando to Tampa.
Phase 1 will run along the [...]

Oregon State University (OSU) has an amazing team of wood science researchers that have recently proposed the idea to change the filler currently used in rubber tires. The standard filler is Silica but these researchers suggest changing that to micro-crystalline cellulose which is derived from plant fiber. This change would result in tires that would [...]

Dutch airline company KLM is planning the first biofuel flight on one of its passenger carrying 747’s. On November 23, a Boeing 747 will take a flight powered by a combination of 50% biofuel and 50% jet fuel.
The biofuel being used in this KLM flight will be made from camelina, a feedstock that produces 84% [...]

Home of your Sustainability Ninjas, Vancouver, BC is gearing up for the big event - the 2010 Olympic games.
In February, Vancouver’s mayor Gregor Robertson announced the Greenest City Action Team, a program that he hoped would advance green economic initiatives in an effort to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world. However, with all [...]

After some wavering, it looks like the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will reopen today after all. The bridge was closed down after a 2-inch-thick crack in a steel link was discovered while the bridge was shut down for a routine upgrade.
Crews labored overnight to repair the 73-year-old bridge. The reopening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay [...]

Boston as announced plans to implement a new urban bike sharing system as early as summer 2010. The program when complete, will be the largest in America.
The new bike-sharing system will be along the same idea as the programs already being used in cities like Montreal and Paris. Riders can pick up bikes at one [...]

Washington has just added another $2-billion dollars to its incredibly popular (and probably not so eco-friendly) “cash for clunkers” program, following its initial outlay of $1-billion. The initial budget was gone within a week, even though the American government had thought it would last until November.
Buyers took quick advantage of a program offering up [...]

NASA has recently announced a competition for eco-minded aircraft designers, one in which low-carbon flying machines will compete for a $1.5m prize at a contest to be held in California in 2011.
The competition will be run and organized by NASA’s light-aircraft collaborator organization, the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation. It will be known as [...]

Congressional officials announced today that the government plans to suspend the “cash for clunkers” program since concerns were raised that it could rapidly run out the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases.
The Transportation Department called lawmakers’ offices to alert them to the decision to suspend the program at midnight Thursday. The program offers [...]

The federal government’s cash-for-clunkers program has renewed the car-buying excitement into auto dealers’ showrooms during the weekend and Monday even while concerns surfaced about the complications surrounding the program and how long it will last.
The program provides vouchers ranging from $3,500 to $4,500 as an incentive for consumers to turn in older vehicles to buy [...]