Jason 2, a joint US-French oceanographic monitoring satellite that will be critical to our understanding of climate change, was successfully launched into space last night from California's Vandenberg Air Force base.  ┬á Jason 2 is a high-tech oceanography space lab designed to monitor sea levels and currents. It will take readings with an accuracy of better than four centimeters. Its data will track not only rises in sea levels but also reveal how masses of waters are moving around the globe.

Boeing could well get a second chance to bid for a $40 billion US Air Force tanker contract after a ruling by a government agency.  ┬á The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has upheld Boeing's protest against the awarding of the air tanker deal to a rival consortium comprising Northrop Grumman and Airbus maker EADS. ┬á┬á "The Air Force made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a close competition,ÔÇØ the GAO said in a statement.

A federal regulator of US oil contract traders has announced steps to restrain the excessive speculation that many experts believe are driving up gasoline prices.  ┬á The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a previously obscure regulatory agency now in the global spotlight, announced the change in oil-trading regulations yesterday. ┬á┬á The measures announced will require buyers of US oil contracts on the London-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to abide by US regulations for the first time.

Software specialist Adobe Systems has reported a 41 percent increase in second-quarter profit as strong revenue growth overseas offset flat sales in the United States.  ┬á Adobe, whose brands include Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat, revealed net income in the three months to May 30 of $214.9 million, up from $152.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. ┬á┬á Second quarter revenue rose 19 percent to $887 million, led by a 40 percent increase in sales in Europe.

Japanese auto manufacturer Honda launched the first commercial production of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car Sunday in Tochigi, Japan, and said its first customers will be in the United States. The four-door sedan, called the FCX Clarity, runs on electricity from a fuel cell battery powered by hydrogen. Steam is its only by-product. ┬á┬á The car boasts a combined (city and highway driving) fuel efficiency of about 72 miles per kg of H2 which, according to Honda's own estimates, is the equivalent of getting about 74 mpg from a gas-powered car.

Unable to persuade Microsoft to reconsider its purchase offer, and unwilling to sell its online search business separately, Yahoo! has agreed a deal in which Google ads will┬áappear alongside Yahoo! search results in the US and Canada.   ┬á Yahoo said the agreement with Google could be worth up to $800 million in additional revenue every year. ┬á┬á "This commercial agreement provides Yahoo!

Sustainability; green building; carbon neutral; carbon footprint; energy audit. The lexicon of the English language grows larger by the day, and few subjects could have provided more new words and phrases recently than the environment.

Barging inUsing barges to carry cargo on inland waterways is one of the better kept secrets in the transport business, CEO Mike Ryan explains to Gary Toushek. After 20 years in the sales and marketing end of the railroad business (Canadian National Railway Company and CSX Corporation) and a few years at a trucking company (McCollisterÔÇÖs Transportation Systems) as senior vice president and general manager, Mike Ryan arrived at American Commercial Lines (ACL) in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 2005, in charge of sales and marketing, and he quickly learned th