A joint maritime investigation by the Coast Guard and the Interior Department is looking into the possibility that the firefighting response by private boats triggered events that caused the Deepwater Horizon to sink and the oil to spew. The Coast Guard’s actions are also part of this investigation.
According to the testimony outlined in a report by the Center for Public Integrity published this week:
” An official maritime investigation led by Coast Guard Capt. Hung M. Nguyen in New Orleans is examining whether the salt water that was sprayed across the …

In Mr. Obama’s weekly radio address at the beginning of July (that was Day 75 of the BP oil well disaster), he touted the country’s transition to a “clean energy economy” and announced the Department of Energy’s “award of nearly $2 billion in conditional commitments to two solar companies.”
One government beneficiary is Abengoa Solar, a Spanish engineering company, that has agreed to build a solar power plant in Arizona. The other beneficiary is Abound Solar, a Colorado company, which will use $400 million in loan guarantees to expand solar-panel …

Every time some new information comes out about clean energy technologies, it can be very exciting - seeing lower costs for solar panels - or depressing- realizing that clean coal is probably a pipe dream.  Popular Mechanics takes a look at clean energy technologies and sets about “Debunking the Top 10 Energy Myths” here.

The Solar Impulse took off early this morning for a 24-hour test flight from an airfield in Payerne, Switzerland, approximately 80 miles northeast of Geneva.  Andre Borschberg, the pilot, will fly the plane at 28,000 feet throughout the day.
We reported on early test flights  of this solar plane here and here.
UPDATE - Success!  The Solar Impulse lands after 26 hours.

A debate between Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson.

This week has been a good week for Cape Wind.
On Wednesday, Ken Salazar, U. S. Secretary of the Interior, announced that the Interior Department has given its final approval of the Cape Wind project. At the same time, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against Cape Wind brought by the Town of Barnstable and the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, among others, seeking to stop the off-shore wind farm.
The plaintiffs in state action argued that the state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs limited its review of the …

An historic day in Massachusetts. See our earlier interview with James Gordon after this video.

Two items of interest in the news with regard to wind energy from Reuters:

The Solar Impulse took off on its first test flight from Payerne field in Switzerland Wednesday, reaching an altitude of 975 meters (3,199 feet) and maximum speed of 45.9 kph (28.5 mph).  The plane’s wingspan is  63.4 m (208 ft).
Bertrand Piccard, the aviation pioneer who, with Brian Jones, completed the first non-stop circumnavigation of the globe by balloon in 1999, is the creative force behind this solar-powered venture.

UPS announced announced Monday that it was deploying 200 new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to the streets of Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Long Island, Minneapolis and Louisville. UPS already has 50 HEVs on the road in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.
The new trucks will feature the same body and will appear identical to the iconic brown truck on the roads today, except for additional labeling identifying the truck as hybrids.
According to UPS senior vice president, Bob Stoffel, commenting on the advantages of hybrid technology said, …