Gulf Hides $10 Billion Hazard

Oil and gas producers are expected to spend $10 billion in the next decade in complying with state and federal laws that require non-productive wells to be plugged and stripped of all equipment. About 4,000 oil and gas platforms are currently active on the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf. A quarter of these are 25 years or older. More than 100 are decommissioned annually, a figure that is steadily rising.

Sprint Invests $20M in Kansas City

Sprint plans to invest 75 percent of its 2004 charitable contributions in the Kansas City area to improve downtown redevelopment, public transportation and public education. Sprint is committing more than $20 million in financial contributions, technology and in-kind contributions over the next three years. Part of that money will go to support initiatives to connect the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and its proposed second campus.

North Carolina Embarks on Ecosystem Enhancement Program

North Carolina's Departments of Transportation and Environmental and Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps have partnered to develop a first-in-the-nation ecosystem enhancement program designed to reshape mitigation efforts for natural resources affected by highway construction. The state's transportation officials are hoping that early protection of wetlands and streams will speed up the completion of road projects. Some $100 million in state and federal funding has been set aside to complete mitigation work before hundreds of DOT projects begin construction between 2005 and 2008.

Volvo Logistics Partners with EPA

Volvo Logistics North America Inc., a Greensboro, N.C.-based supply chain management and logistics firm, has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency in a new program to reduce emissions in ground freight transportation. The duo will come up with methods to reduce the amount of driving by truck carriers.

Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program Wins DOE Accolades

The U.S. Department of Energy has ranked Austin Energy's GreenChoice renewable energy program as the number one utility-sponsored "green power" program in the country for the second year in a row. Austin Energy sold more than 289 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy last year. Portland General Electric was second with 188.6 million kilowatt-hours and Sacramento Municipal Utility District was third with 143.1 million kilowatt-hours.

Austin, San Antonio Study Water Plant

In what could be a boon for economic development along the I-35 corridor, the cities of Austin and San Antonio are among several groups studying the feasibility of a massive water treatment plant to serve the region. A plant would provide the two cities with water and wastewater pipes that would enhance the regional infrastructure for water supplies. Experts say this is critical to the development of the region as the two cities go the way of Dallas and Fort Worth.