Peanut Butter News

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HOUSTON — A Taiwanese-owned “super skimmer” sent to help clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been a bust, the U.S. Coast Guard said after tests on the ship.

“While its stature is impressive, ‘A Whale’ is not ideally suited to the needs of this response,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zunkunft, a federal on-scene coordinator, said in a statement late on Friday.

The vessel will not be deployed as a part of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.

The tanker collected virtually no oil in two weeks of tests, Zunkunft said at a news briefing earlier on Friday.

Full Story at NYTimes.com

JOSH SMITH is a large man with a shaved head, a goatee and a look in his eyes that can only be described as stoked. And he is never more stoked than when he talks about his job, one of the strangest at the General Motors Proving Grounds, here in this suburb 45 miles northwest of Detroit.

All day, he breaks G.M. parts.

Not just any parts. Mr. Smith is a member of Red X, a team of 33 engineers who study auto parts that are malfunctioning for reasons that have everyone stumped. The work is a little bit “CSI” and a little bit “MythBusters.” Red X takes working parts and methodically torments them in controlled experiments, hoping to re-enact the demise of ones that failed.

Full Story at msnbc.com

DALLAS – Gov. Rick Perry and other top Texas officials on Tuesday announced a legal challenge to the federal government’s finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people, claiming the ruling was based on flawed science.

The EPA in December issued an “endangerment” finding about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, setting the stage for future rules restricting such emissions.

Texas — the which leads the nation in greenhouse gas emissions and is frequently at odds with the EPA — announced it has asked a federal appeals court to review the endangerment finding

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Toyota’s reputation for making trusty, reliable cars has come into question after the company recalled millions of cars because of sticking gas pedals last week.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told lawmakers Wednesday that drivers of cars affected by the recall should “stop driving” them and take them to the dealer for repair. He later clarified his statement, saying that owners should take their cars to get them fixed as soon as possible. But the comment had already been reported by many media outlets, frightening many owners.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Electric said Thursday it has secured a $1.4 billion contract to supply wind turbines and provide services for what will be the world’s largest wind farm operation when completed in 2012.

The conglomerate will supply 338 of its 2.5-megawatt turbines to New York-based Caithness Energy to be installed in 2010 and 2011 at Shepherds Flat, the 845-megawatt farm that stretches across 30 square miles in north-central Oregon.

The Shepherds Flat Project will supply energy to Southern California Edison, providing enough to power approximately 235,000 California households, GE and Caithness said in a statement.

Full Story at Reuters.com

TEPCO, Japan’s largest utility, has entered a binding agreement with project partners for the purchase of 1.8 million tonnes per year (mtpy) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a period of 20 years, Exxon said in a statement.

The contracted volume includes the plant’s recently expanded output of 0.3 mtpy, which means all of the project’s 6.6 mtpy capacity has now been contracted, project partner Oil Search (OSH.AX) said in a separate statement.

Exxon and partners have not yet finalized two other gas sale agreements with Taiwan’s CPC Corp and Japan’s Osaka Gas Ltd 9532. ahead of a self-imposed deadline of December 8 for the project’s final investment decision.

Full Story at CNN.com

In 2011, the energy giant expects to produce solar panels made with cadmium telluride, a thin-film solar cell material, said Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies at GE Global Research at the EmTech conference here on Wednesday.

The company now sells solar panels that use silicon solar cells, but its long-term bet is on thin-film and specifically cadmium telluride because it offers the cheapest cost per watt, he said.

Last year, GE’s energy division took a majority stake in Golden, Colorado-based PrimeStar Solar, for its cadmium telluride cell technology. GE is now developing a product around that aimed at utility and commercial customers.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – Federal health officials said Wednesday they have found cancer-causing ingredients in electronic cigarettes, despite manufacturers’ claims the products are safer than tobacco cigarettes.

The Food and Drug Administration said testing of products from two leading electronic cigarette makers turned up several toxic chemicals, including a key ingredient in antifreeze. FDA scientists said they tested 19 varieties of cigarettes, many of which contained fruit and candy flavors.

Public health advocates have complained the products are marketed toward young people and can serve as a “gateway” to tobacco smoking. Because electronic cigarettes are not covered by federal tobacco laws, they are often easier for young people to purchase.

Full Story At Reuters.com

(Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co plans to launch production of electric vehicles and their batteries in the United States to tap low-interest loans for green vehicles, the Nikkei business daily said.

The overall investment is estimated at 50 billion yen ($516.4 million) and may rise to 100 billion yen, it said.

Under the plan, the new electric-car assembly lines are to be built at a plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, where Nissan North America Inc is based, the paper said.

The facility, capable of making 50,000 to 100,000 eco-friendly vehicles a year by 2012, is expected to first produce a small passenger car, it said.

Nissan also intends to construct a production facility for high-capacity lithium ion batteries at the Smyrna site with NEC Corp.

Full Story At money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A largely unknown car company is planning to open its first factory in what used be a headlight plant in a small town in northern Louisiana, state officials announced on Wednesday.

Louisiana economic development officials are enthusiastic about the endeavor which they say will create thousands of jobs. But for now, executives with California-based V-Vehicles, which has backing from activist billionaire T. Boone Pickens and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, are not saying exactly what type of vehicle the company plans to build.

Full Story At  msnbc.com

SEATTLE – Microsoft said on Friday it would not limit the number of applications available at one time on the Starter edition of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, reversing its earlier strategy of limiting its capabilities and urging users to upgrade.

The move is a significant reversal for Microsoft as it looks to keep a hold on the fast-growing market for small, cheap personal computers — known as netbooks — which are the principal market for the most basic version of Microsoft’s new operating system, expected to roll out later this year. (Msnbc.com is a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture.)

Full Story At  news.Yahoo.com

WASHINGTON – Inching closer to a swine flu vaccine, the government is beginning to analyze two candidates for the key ingredient to brew one.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hopes to deliver one or both to vaccine manufacturers by the end of next week so scientists can begin the months-long process of producing shots.

Friday, the government set aside $1 billion for crucial testing of the first pilot doses and stockpiling of key vaccine ingredients — in case world health authorities decide that people indeed need to be vaccinated starting sometime next fall. The stockpile will allow for quick production of shots to protect health workers and other people at high-risk from flu.