If you missed seeing your favorite mythbusting duo in person at the NC Science Festival in 2010, you've got another chance to see them at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in March.

Local drug maker Biogen Idec is dedicating 10 electric car rechargers this morning at its facility in Research Triangle Park as part of the federal government's subsidization push for electric cars.

The number of rechargers represents a new standard for corporate offices in the area, with a half-dozen other Triangle companies planning to install 10 rechargers in the coming months. The feds are paying more than a third of the cost of the rechargers and the electric cars in the Triangle phase of the program.

Biogen Idec, which develops drugs for multiple sclerosis, is based in Weston, Mass., and employs about 900 people at its manufacturing facility in RTP. Currently four of those employees drive plug-in electric cars to work, which means that more than half of the new rechargers will not be immediately used.

Nearly $50,000 of the cost of the rechargers at Biogen Idec was offset by federal stimulus funds distributed by the Triangle J Council of Governments, a regional planning organization. Outdoor chargers typically cost between $10,000 and $20,000.
 

Certain symbols have become as universally recognizable in society, slike the Christian fish that adorns many a bumper sticker, or the rainbow flag displayed in support gay rights.

Durham LED lighting maker Cree is hosting an event this month to create new icons to represent energy efficiency and LED lighting, which happen to be the company's line of business.

The best images created during the Feb. 25 brainstorming session on the Cree campus will be added to a visual library of icons available for general use.

The new icons will join the dozens of symbols that communicate ideas wordlessly in the form of corporate logos, road signs, political sentiments and declarations of self-identity. 

The City of Raleigh collected 797 gallons of cooking oil and grease in its third annual holiday collection program.

The North Carolina chapter of the Sierra Club this morning unveiled a website called The Daily Frack that promises "the fracking truth."

The club is one of the groups leading opposition to fracking in this state. Fracking, which is short for hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method of drilling that uses chemicals and water to fracture underground rock formations and release natural gas. It is not legal in North Carolina, but the GOP-led legislature is exploring the possibility of changing that.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is studying the potential impact of fracking and plans to release a draft report in March. Supporters say fracking will tap into vast amounts of a clean-burning domestic energy resource to offset burning dirty coal and importing oil.

Opposed are concerned about what fracking could do to the environment, including water contamination.

The site includes research, news stories and maps showing where natural gas deposits are located in North Carolina. It also allows visitors to the site to ask questions.

Keep NC Beautiful, in partnership with the N.C. Coca-Cola Bottlers Council, is now accepting grant applications for projects to be completed in 2012 that address litter prevention, cleanup, waste reduction, recycling and beautification.

Schools, youth and civic groups, nonprofits and KNCB affiliates are eligible to apply. Three $500 awards will be issued for each category, along with an individual category that is open for one winner at $500, or two for $250 each.

Priority will be given to applications that highlight programs or projects that coincide with the annual Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup, which runs from March 1 to May 31, and America Recycles Day, which is celebrated in November. Public educational initiatives focusing on enhancing cleanup and beautification efforts and increasing waste reduction and recycling behaviors are also of importance.

Applications can be downloaded at keepncbeautiful.org and are due by Feb. 15. Winners will be announced March 1.

For more information, contact KNCB Program and State Leader Brenda Ewadinger at (704) 442-0791 or bewadinger@keepncbeautiful.org.

All 397 national parks across the country will offer free admission from Jan. 14-16 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Staff photographer John Rottet tipped us off to this live Ustream feed (also, below) which is monitoring an eagle's nest at Jordan Lake that has two eggs about to hatch. The state park at Jordan Lake has the largest concentration of bald eagles in the eastern United States, according to the park's website.

Update 2 (3 p.m. Wednesday): One of the babies has hatched. Ustream user Mochamama22 posted this YouTube video of the hatching, recorded from the Ustream feed (it's the second video below). Warning: Some viewers might be disturbed by seeing the remains of a third bird in the nest - a celebratory dinner for the parents, perhaps.

The live camera was set up last year as a joint project between NC State, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Maxim Intergrated Products and Lineberger Tree Service, according to information posted on the Ustream feed. The organizers have not named the eagles, nor are they disclosing the precise location of the nest.

Update 1: The nest does not appear to be artificially lit at night. Check back during daytime hours.

Heather Peters, who took Honda to small-claims court, is not the only hybrid Civic driver suffering a bad case of buyer's remorse. Jeff Wald of Cary and Aneil Mishra of Durham say their hybrid Civics also deliver poorer and poorer fuel economy these days, too (see today's Road Worrier column with reader comments).

Local Toyota Prius drivers beg to differ.  They protest that the broadly worded print edition headline ("Hybrids not satisfying owners") should have reflect the column's more narrow focus on the gripes of Honda customers.

And they proclaim their continued happiness with their non-Honda hybrids ... [MORE]

Want to put your old Christmas tree to good use than just recycling it? Here's an unusual way to reuse it — donate it to the Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro.