The plastic booms used to absorb oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year will be recycled for use as parts in the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors officials say the recycled oil extracted from the booms will be converted into 100,000 pounds of plastic resin pellets that will ultimately be mixed with recycled tires to create the parts that protect the Volt’s (more…)

(Reuters) – The BP oil spill is the latest in a series of environmental insults to the U.S. Gulf Coast, from wetlands eradication to flood control measures that have starved marshes of new sediment deposits.

Wetlands Clearing: Early European settlers cleared coastal swamps and marshes in the Mississippi River delta to control malaria they believed was caused by the fetid air in wetlands. This destroyed coastal wetlands that filter pollution, shelter native species and act as buffers to slow down hurricanes that spawn in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. (more…)