The current Yellowstone spill involved 42,000 gallons of oil. That’s bad enough. But the Keystone XL pipeline could dump 6.9 million gallons of oil into the river. Republicans want to repeal the incandescent light bulb "ban," but since it's NOT SUCH A BRIGHT IDEA (har har), their bill probably won't pass. Trees can suck up carbon from the atmosphere, delaying disaster for a little while. But so can cities, it turns out. Parks, gardens, abandoned lots, golf courses, sports fields, and river banks suck up more carbon than anyone imagined. Using profits to drive future profits, natural gas company Chesapeake …

This infographic from 1BOG.org -- click for the much bigger original, which has details about all the plants -- shows at-risk nuclear facilities in the United States. Most of the ones situated in high-population areas (the larger gray circles) don't coincide with the high seismic risk areas (yellow and red), so that's comforting ... but two California stations, San Onofre and Diablo Canyon, and one Washington station sit in areas at risk of earthquakes. (San Onofre also once had its reactor vessel installed backwards. Oops.) On the plus side, all three are a decade newer than Fukushima Daiichi.

Tool use: It's not just for humans anymore. Actually, it hasn't been just for humans for a long while -- yet another form of homo sapiens exceptionalism we're having to learn to do without. But now it's not just for humans, apes, monkeys, certain birds, and possibly octopuses: There's documented evidence that fish can use tools too. Take that, practically everything except fish! You're not so smart after all. These photos show a blackspot tuskfish cracking open a clam by hitting it against a rock. It may not be as sophisticated as a socket wrench, or even a stick poked …

As a millennial, I don't share boomers' enthusiasm for the power of science to solve all problems. So when someone says that strip-mining the Moon for rocks rich in helium-3, heating the rocks to harvest the helium, and using that helium for nuclear fusion will solve the world's energy problems, I am inclined to say, “Ha! You power-mad old person, you are living in a science fiction story.” But that, in fact, may be the direction humanity is heading in, Moon-wise. Strip-mining the Moon won't be profitable until scientists perfect nuclear fusion. So far they've only gotten that process going …

Millions of dollars worth of spruce and pine trees across the country have mysteriously withered and died in the past few months. The likely culprit is an herbicide marketed as a way to control lawn pests like dandelions. The herbicide is Imprelis, a new product from DuPont. It was supposed to be better for the environment than its predecessors and has been sold at a premium to professional landscapers. DuPont claims it "may not have been mixed properly or was applied with other herbicides." Landscapers just want to know if they're going to have to pay to replace the trees …

Thomas Edison's great-grandson, David Edison Sloane, is not mincing words when it comes to the GOP wanting to repeal energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs: As an inventor, Edison would have no interest in turning back the legislative clock. The wizard of Menlo Park dedicated himself to advancing human comfort, not freeze life as we knew it in 1879. Oh snap! Edison's great-grandson just called you retrogressive. It's kind of amusing to dig up a scientist's great-grandson (who is not a scientist -- he's an English professor) to guess at what his famous scientist ancestor would have wanted. It's as if, …

Waste Management Inc. owns 1,000 trash trucks that run on natural gas, plus a bunch of landfills that are constantly pumping out natural gas as a natural product of the decomposition of organic waste. Closing the loop on this cycle is a no-brainer, but it took Waste Management a decade to perfect the technology required. Now they’ve got trash trucks that run on gas from the trash they carry. At its Altamont, Calif. landfill, Waste Management turns methane into liquid natural gas at a rate of 13,000 gallons a day. The California Air Resources Board estimates that trucks that run …

Passengers using a newly retrofitted light-rail station in downtown Phoenix, Ariz., can press a button to be showered in cool air, powered by solar energy and cold water from an efficient district cooling system. The system, which was inspired by similar installations in Dubai, uses solar power to run fans that blow cool air. The cool air itself comes from a system of chilled water that has been running in Phoenix's business district since 2001. It's called district cooling: A central plant run by NRG Thermal cools the water, which is then piped to nearby buildings to be used in …

This is a carbon tax: Australia is going to put a tax of $23 per metric ton on carbon emissions from 500 companies. Hybrids and electric vehicles may no longer be legally allowed to slink quietly down the street, surprising pedestrians and dogs everywhere. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing a rule requiring that the near-silent cars emit some sort of sound at low speeds. The EPA is not happy with ExxonMobil and the company's plan to clean up the Yellowstone River. I mean, it’s in favor of cleaning up, it just thinks this particular plan stinks. France …

This is not even the first time that someone in New York City has compared cyclists to terrorists, but it might be the dumbest: New York's CBS 2 is concerned that bike lanes will facilitate acts of terror. A Second Avenue bike lane is next to the Israeli consulate, leaving many wondering what would happen if a man on a bike were a terrorist. It's true! If a terrorist could ride his bike in the street only a sidewalk's width from the door of the Israeli consulate, which would be shielded by nothing except giant concrete planters (yes, I Street …