New reports of waterfowl landing on toxic ponds of industrial waste in the oil sands of northern Alberta are being investigated by the Canadian province's energy regulator in light of the death of 1,600 ducks on such ponds in 2008.

 

That incident six years ago led to charges against one of the biggest companies in the tar sands and boosted environmental opposition to operations there.

 

Through a little environmental activism, this initiative is hoping to energize the important youth vote for the midterm election.

 

As the midterm election nears, political groups are ramping up efforts to get the vote out — specifically among the youth. Among them is a group of Stanford University students, artists, filmmakers and coders who are driving one simple message to voters born between 1981 and 1996: “You have power.

 

Hack the Election, designed by the ad agency Odysseus Arms, the Environmental Defense Fund and a group of Stanford students, cross-references an IP address with candidates on a user’s local ballot to discern who is supporting clean energy. The site highlights President Barack Obama’s clean power plan, which will entail the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) imposing limits on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) companies may produce, which can include up to 44 percent of CO2 released in the United States.

 

“People say they don’t vote because they don’t know who to vote for? But you’ve got the name,” the site reads, after providing name(s) of candidates who are supporting environmental policy. In order to receive the correct information, a user must be in his or her home district.

 

The Innovation Incubator (IN2) program, funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, aims to foster the development of early stage clean technologies for commercial buildings.

Wells Fargo says the program is the first of its kind within the banking industry.

Clean technology startups will be identified and recommended by Wells Fargo’s network of technical, financial and industry advisors at laboratories and research facilities across the country. The first of three rounds of selected companies will be announced in early 2015, and will receive up to $250,000 for business development needs, research and testing support at NREL’s facility in Golden, Colorado, along with coaching and mentorship from Wells Fargo.

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New research shows that the BP oil spill left an oily "bathub ring" on the sea floor that's about the size of Rhode Island.

    

The study by David Valentine, the chief scientist on the federal damage assessment research ships, estimates that about 10 million gallons of oil coagulated on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico around the damaged Deepwater Horizons oil rig. Valentine said the spill left other splotches containing even more oil.