In response to research indicating wide-ranging health impacts of endocrine disruptors, Austin-based company PlastiPure has developed technology allowing for the production of plastics free of estrogenic activity.

Known health impacts stemming from endocrine disruptors include increased rates of certain cancers, altered prostate and uterine function, and early female maturation. Growing awareness of the health dangers of chemicals like bisphenol A and phthalates has led to the recall of products ranging from baby bottles to sports water bottles in recent years.

Claiming that this technology is the first of its kind, PlastiPure CEO Dr. George Bittner said, “Once we recognized the prevalence of EA activity in all kinds of plastics used to hold everything from water to toothpaste, we went to work creating a safe alternative.”

PlastiPure intends to roll out its first product line, to include four- to 32-oz polyethylene or polypropylene bottles, in May. Each production lot is tested and certified by CertiChem, the industry leader in testing plastics for hormonal activity.

EnerDel says tests by the DOE's Argonne National Laboratory confirm that its lithium ion batteries provide longer life and more power than today's hybrid batteries.

According to the company, a modified plug-in Prius attained more than 77 miles per gallon when the nickel metal hydride batteries were replaced by EnerDel's battery pack. The company is using lithium-titanate in its cathode to prevent over heating, which was a problem with previous iterations of lithium ion batteries.

EnerDel says the advances allow the batteries needed to power a hybrid to be reduced in size and weight by half.

Why this matters: Plug-in and extended range vehicle makers are waiting until they are confident in the battery technology before going into production. EnerDel, which has a deal to provide batteries with EV maker Think of Norway, could find many willing customers.

Read more at Edmunds' Green Car Advisor

Cars and light trucks will be required to attain an average fuel economy rating of 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015. The new ruling from the National Highway Transportation Administration surpasses the mandates requested by Congress in December.

Fuel economy would increase by 40 percent over the 2008 model year. Under the proposed system, individual car companies would have to meet different requirements based on the split in their sales for light trucks and cars. For example, Chrysler cars would have to get 33.6 mpg while the minimum for trucks would be set at 29.1 mpg.

The new requirements will save consumer $100 billion in fuel during the lifetime of the vehicles, according to NHTSA. Car companies however, would have to pay $47 billion to comply with the requirement.

The proposal has a 60-day review period during which automakers could ask for changes.

Capping carbon emissions would cost U.S. households less than one cent on the dollar over the next two decades, according to analysis of studies conducted by the DOE's Energy Information Agency, Harvard, MIT, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories.

The analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund disputes critics who say mandatory limits on greenhouse gases would cost jobs and damage the economy.

While energy efficiency improvements can often save money, switching from fossil fuels has been projected to create between 3 and 5 million domestic jobs.

Read more at ENN

(Image from Gyre, courtesy of Wikimedia commons.)

One of the world's most influential environmentalists isn't an environmentalist, activist, or conservationist. Economist Richard Sandor, helped to pioneer the idea of emissions trading — a financial technique of capping and trading pollutants — which may be our best hope for beating climate change.

From Time.