Gadfly Stalls San Francisco Bike Measures

One-wheeled 'motorcycle' goes green with electricity—and stylish to boot

(NEWSER) - Looking like a tricked out motorbike, the Uno is electric personal transportation with style, the Chicago Tribune reports. Designed by 19-year-old inventor Ben Gulak, the device employs no throttle or brake, relying on its rider's leanings to guide it, and is so intuitive an 8-year-old picked it up instantly at a recent vehicle expo. More»

Columbia researchers warn of dangers to marine life

(NEWSER) - Industrial emissions are causing the oceans to acidify at a fast rate—the fastest in 300 million years, say researchers from Columbia University. That could spell danger for sea creatures. In the last century alone, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.1 units. That's 10 times faster than the closest historical parallel, a drop that occurred 56 million years ago, reports Bloomberg . More»

They protect polluters on the false pretext of saving jobs: EPA chief

(NEWSER) - House Republicans claim that to create jobs, we need to loosen environmental regulations. To that end, they’ve “averaged roughly a vote every day” in session to weaken the rules—and have already cut back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, writes EPA chief Lisa Jackson in the Los Angeles Times . “This pseudo jobs plan to protect polluters might well be called ‘too dirty to fail,’” she writes. More»

It's going to start treating wastewater with lots of bleach

(NEWSER) - The good news is that San Francisco's embrace of low-flow toilets has cut annual water consumption by 20 million gallons. The bad news is the smell. Because the water doesn't have enough oomph to push waste out of sewer pipes, a not-so-pleasant odor wafts throughout the city at times, explains the San Francisco Chronicle . As a remedy, the city plans to buy $14 million of concentrated bleach—a 3-year supply—to disinfect wastewater before it goes into the bay. That's on top of a $100 million investment to upgrade plants over 5 years to cut down on the stink. More»

Vermont, Maine, and Hawaii lead the way

(USER SUBMITTED) - Which states are the most environmentally friendly? 24/7 WallSt analyzes pollution levels, energy use, and environmental policies to rank them from 1 to 50:

1. Vermont: Among its many "green" attributes, Vermont has the smallest carbon footprint in the country. It also releases the fewest carcinogenic toxins.