“Oceans May Host Next Wave Of Renewable Energy”

Think renewable energy and the wind and sun come to mind Think renewable energy and the wind and sun come to mind. But some day it may be possible to add ocean energy to that list. The fledgling wave energy industry is now getting a boost from the federal government. The Department of Energy is spending up to $40 million to build a wave energy test facility off the Oregon Coast. Wave energy has a long way to go before it's ready to power the lights in your house. At this point engineers aren't even quite sure how best to capture the power of the water. The Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center will build the new offshore facility that includes the testing of various styles of machines that convert waves into usable energy. There are a few concerns. The technology will be expensive at first and more research is needed on the environmental effects of wave energy. "But the only way to do that is, of course, getting the machines out in the water and monitoring them for a longer period of time," says Busch. The facility will be located about six miles off the coast of Newport, Oregon. Construction is expected to start in 18 months. The facility hopes to begin testing in 2021.

In Other News Zimbabwe's army said Wednesday that it has seized control in what is being described as "a bloodless transition" that has apparently pushed aside President Robert Mugabe. The military said he and his family are "safe and sound.” Armored vehicles and soldiers patrolled streets in the capital, Harare, amid loud explosions overnight. Soldiers reportedly took control of the headquarters of the national broadcaster, ZBC, and an army spokesman said on air "this is not a military takeover.” "We are only targeting criminals around [Mugabe], who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country, in order to bring them to justice," according to the statement. A gunman choosing targets at random killed four people at several sites and wounding others at an elementary school before police shot him dead, authorities said. The gunfire began around 8 a.m. in the community of Rancho Tehama Reserve. Details were still sketchy hours after the shootings, and authorities did not have a firm count of the wounded due to the number of places the gunman attacked, Johnston said. Authorities recovered a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns.