Synthetics and Plastics

Kia unveiled a slew of customized vehicles today at the SEMA show in Las Vegas and one of them was a unique Forte Hybrid Concept. The hybrid powertrain includes a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that operates on propane and is coupled......

Looks like: The Hyundai Sonata sedan's innards Defining characteristics: A new hybrid powertrain and battery Ridiculous features: None Chance of being mass-produced: 100% We???re not sure why Hyundai is calling this a concept, because it???s already...

That was bracing! Overnight lows ranged from around minus-8 degrees out in Garrett County, to about 11 degrees in Aberdeen. Here is a map with National Weather Service observer reports.We recorded a low of 10 degrees out on the WeatherDeck......

Looks like: Hyundai is ripping off Mazda???s concept style Defining characteristics: Gull-wing doors, hybrid drivetrain Ridiculous features: ???Battlestar Galactica???-themed interior Chance of being mass-produced: Unlikely; we doubt even the styling will...

Behemoth oil giant Exxon Mobile has announced that it will invest $600 million in producing liquid fuel from algae. It will spend $300 million on in-house research and partner with Synthetic Genomics, a biotechnology company founded by J. Craig Venter,......

 The end of July signals the time to stop fertilizing perennials, shrubs and trees to give new growth time to harden off. Annuals and veggies may still appreciate a weekly weak fertilizer application. With no critical garden tasks other than watering and...

Commerce Department and Institute for Supply Management numbers show that construction spending and manufacturing are up....

Los Angeles is expanding its efforts to be the recycling-est city in the country. Starting Tuesday, residents can throw milk, juice, soup and wine cartons into their blue bins. The inclusion of cartons in L.A.'s curbside recycling program could divert.......

The bioplastics industry may have a new symbol to slap on its products and packaging – an abstract plant to denote plastics made without petroleum. More than 1,500 designers submitted entries into a contest seeking an icon to represent plastics........

As Congress struggles to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, California in the next few months is expected to issue comprehensive rules curbing chemicals in consumer products such as toys, cosmetics and plastics. On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Frank...

A juvenile humpback whale entangled in hundreds of feet of heavy rope off the Hawaii coast was being tracked by marine experts Wednesday. "The entanglement is life-threatening," said Ed Lyman, marine mammal response manager for the Hawaiian Islands...

Humpback whales that migrate into Hawaiian waters for the winter support a thriving whale-watching industry, but it seems that every season there's a heart-wrenching tale involving a whale -- or multiple whales -- paying the price for so much human......