Green Options

A group of students from the University of Michigan have set a new world record for the longest flight ever by a fuel-cell powered plane.

Late last month the team, known as SolarBubbles, flew the $2,500 plane (video) around a field in Milan, Michigan for a total of 10 hours, 15 minutes and 4 seconds - smashing the previous 9 hour record held by a Californian engineering company.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in products in every area of our lives, from baby bottles to canned food linings. From CDs to helmets. Electronics to dental sealants.

It’s not good for you.

Nalgene stopped using it.

Canada banned it.

California considered banning it, but didn’t.

BPA has been detected in over 90% of Americans tested, and it is possibly linked to breast and prostate cancer. This synthetic hormone may harm the reproductive system of humans. The FDA has studied it and released a draft assessment declaring it safe.

A panel studying the FDA’s draft assessment will soon make a pivotal decision as to whether BPA can continue to be used in contact with food. The chair of the panel is Martin Philbert, who founded and directs the University of Michigan’s Risk Science Center.

The Risk Science Center recently received a $5,000,000 donation (25 times its annual budget) from Charles Gelman, a supporter of BPA, and critic of government regulation. Gelman is a retired industrialist with his own page on SourceWatch. He donates to organizations like the Cato Institute and the Mackinac Center for Policy Research.

The University of Michigan team taking part in this summer’s North American Solar Challenge is hoping to maximize its car’s performance with the help of solar radiation data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Team Continuum is one of 24 teams taking part in the 2,400-mile race, which started July 13 in Dallas, Texas, and ends July 22 in Calgary, Alberta. As the Michigan team approached Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this week, it planned to optimize its race strategy with information from NOAA’s Surface Radiation Network (SURFRAD).