By Andrew Williams •
October 1, 2008
A team of researchers have developed a color-coded bacteria that will make it much easier to detect oil-spills and other forms of environmental pollution.
During a recent sea expedition the team successfully used the bacteria, which contains a protein that glows blue when viewed though a simple light-detecting device, to detect oil.
By Adam Williams •
October 1, 2008

The Q Drum, developed in South Africa, is aiding water transportation for those in poorer nations with distances to trek just to gain this most basic resource. The design allows relatively easy towing of 50 liters of water across reasonably flat terrains.
Sources: Green Upgrader
Image: Q Drum
By Ariel Schwartz •
September 29, 2008

Last week, I took a trip down to San Jose for West Coast Green, an environmentally-focused conference with an emphasis on sustainable building. One booth stood out from the crowd—Magnetic Air Cars, Inc.. The San Jose-based company claims that it is working on the world’s first fuel-less car (as opposed to the World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car).
By Alex Felsinger •
September 29, 2008

ScottishPower Renewables will apply for planning permission next year to build the two farms in Northern Ireland’s seabed. The turbines will be manufactured in Scotland in an intentional boost to the country’s green-collar job market.
By Alex Felsinger •
September 29, 2008
While residents complain that washing cars is a family pastime that they should not be required to give up, officials say that the at-home car wash is too harmful to the environment to ignore. “I understand this is something people have done for a long time,” said Bill Moore, a water specialist with the Washington State Department of Ecology, which enacted the ban. “It’s not something we should be doing any longer.”
By Joshua S Hill •
September 25, 2008
Local Indian governmental officials have announced that a new 100-million liter per day desalination plant is nearing completion. Located on India’s southeastern coast, the plant is currently 80% complete, and expected to begin operations January 2009.
The plant will process a hundred million liters per day, the equivalent to 26-million US gallons.
By Joshua S Hill •
September 25, 2008
With so much of our planet covered in the stuff, it is a surprise that water does not receive the attention that renewable technologies like wind and solar do. Nevertheless, with renewable energy being the catchphrase of many countries at the moment, advancements are being made towards a future where our oceans will provide us with electricity.
After two years, an oversized yellow buoy floating five miles off the southern tip of Long Beach Island has definitely proved its technology feasible. With the rise and fall of each wave, pistons slide up and down inside a cylinder within the buoy, generating electricity.
By Ariel Schwartz •
September 24, 2008

Earlier this week, Portugal debuted the world’s first commercial wave energy farm. Wave energy at the Agucadoura station is converted into electricity with the use of three red “sea-snakes”, or cylindrical wave energy converters, that are attached to the seabed off Portugal’s northern coast. Energy captured by the sea-snakes is carried to an undersea cable station, where it is then fed into the electrical grid.
By Joe Mohr •
September 24, 2008
On average, humans need approximately 13 gallons of water a day. In the U.S. the average family uses 245 gallons per day!

If you did your homework and purchased the Blue Planet Run book as I suggested last week, then you will find most of what I’m about to share in the beautiful charts and graphs on page 174 and 175.
By Alex Felsinger •
September 23, 2008
American missiles are not the only threat to Iran’s physical stability. A geological study has found that the nation’s groundwater is running so low from decades of over-use that many parts of the country have sunk dramatically, causing damage in both agricultural and urban areas.
Fifty percent of the country’s water is sourced from the wells and only ten percent of the population is able to survive on rainwater alone. The groundwater level has decreased by 1.5 feet annually for the past 15 years, and with little rain and increased water use for Iran’s growing population, the aquifers have had no chance to refill. As a result, some areas have been sinking up to 20 inches a year.