Traces of radioactivity from damaged nuclear power facilities in Japan have been detected in rainwater in the northeast United States, but pose no health risks, officials said.
Ohio reported elevated radiation levels in precipitation on Monday, after Environmental Protection Agency monitors found similar instances in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio said they detected tiny amounts of Iodine 131 from Japan in rainwater collected from the roof of a campus building.
"In theory, the Iodine 131 could have come from any radioactive waste processing facility," said geology …

As Japan’s earthquake and tsunami ripped through the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the wind turbines at nearby Takine Ojiroi Wind Farm did what they were designed to do – they swayed, they stopped, they electronically checked themselves and automatically restarted.
"Except for one turbine that was very close to the nuclear power plant, all the turbines were up and running after the quake," said Sean Sutton of Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of electricity generating wind turbines.
"And the damaged turbine we were able to monitor remotely," he said. Even now, …

Japan placed 18th in the global rankings for new wind power installations in 2010, creating 221,000 kw of renewable energy capacity compared with 16.5 million kw by China, the world’s front-runner, according to a recent study by an international trade association.

Japan’s total wind-power generating capacity grew about 10 percent from the previous year against 22.5 percent globally as many countries rushed to develop alternative energy sources to fight climate change and reduce their reliance on oil, the Global Wind Energy Council said.
The global output capacity of wind farms increased by …

Japans idea for a new carbon offset scheme would complement an existing U.N. mechanism and make it easier for developing countries to access clean-energy technology from Japan, a senior climate envoy said on Wednesday.
Japan has pressed ahead with plans for bilateral deals in which it invests in clean energy projects in developing countries, in exchange for credits to meet part of targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home.
The United Nations also runs a carbon offset scheme called the Clean Development Mechanism CDM, but it has been criticised for …

Japan is set to launch at the weekend its next-generation high-speed train, featuring sleek green and silver cars with pink stripes and named for the peregrine falcon.
The "Hayabusa," the first upgrade of Japan’s bullet train fleet in 14 years, has sparked such excitement among railway buffs that one ticket for Saturday, when it debuts, sold for thousands of dollars on the internet, media said.
The train clocks in at a top speed of 300 km (180 miles) an hour, making it the fastest train in Japan — and just short of …

Boston’s handful of scenic parks — while filled with trees — are outmatched by sources of air pollution. These huge mushroom tree things called Treepods could help filter CO2 from the air, powered only by the sun and little kids on seesaws.
The Treepods would be constructed purely of recycled plastic bottles. On top, they’d be covered with solar panels to help power the CO2 filtration process, which would take place throughout the branches using a ‘humidity swing’ process. The trunk of the tree sports an integrated seesaw, where children can …

The Nissan Leaf is the first mass-market electric vehicle available for purchase. The only problem is that so far, delivery is taking a lot longer than expected, and it isn’t expected to get better any time soon.
Through January, Nissan managed to deliver just over 1,100 cars, and 981 of those were to customers in Japan. With 27,000 pre-orders to fill worldwide, Nissan hopes to increase production of the Leaf to 4,000 vehicles per-month and deliver 10,000 Leaf electric vehicles by the end of their fiscal year, March 31st.
Read the rest …

Staffing agency Pasona Group Inc. has recruited two new “employees” this week — two female goats.  They’re the latest addition to what Pasona calls its “urban farm,” in which over 200 types of fruits and vegetables grow in and around its central Tokyo headquarters building.
The goats were given a formal welcome by Pasona’s founder and group chief executive, Yasuyuki Nambu, and wear their employee ID cards on their collars. A company contest is under way to name them. The company said the goats will “provide comfort” to their fellow employees …

Global food prices are soaring again, as droughts, freezes and floods have affected various crops in many parts of the world. At the same time, demand is rising with living standards in fast-growing countries.
The price spikes are not as sharp as they were in 2008, but the new volatility reflects more than the sum of recent freakish weather "events," from severe droughts in China and Russia to floods in Australia to a deep freeze in Mexico.
Economists and scientists have identified longer-term changes — from global warming to China’s economic growth …

Sting wants to help save dolphins still being brutally slaughtered in Japan, but says the best way is by starting a debate, not by forcing foreign opinion.
The British music star met backstage at a Tokyo concert hall Wednesday with Ric O’Barry, the star of the "The Cove," the Academy Award-winning documentary that depicts the dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji in southwestern Japan.
The two have been friends since the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, where "The Cove" had its first major showing.
The film, directed by Louie Psihoyos, shows …