News roundup: Dow's wrap for Olympic Stadium getting recycled … Union Pacific to study low-emissions locomotives … Many luxury cars fail new crash test

Published Aug 14, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Aug 14, 2012)

Shelter from the storm: Dow Chemical's signature contribution to London's Olympic Stadium—the "wrap" that enclosed the venue—will be taken down and recycled for use in shelters in Uganda and Brazil, the company has announced. The Houston Chronicle reports that the 50 vertical strips making up the wrap, each about 82 feet tall and 6.5 feet wide, surrounded the stadium and were made of a combination of chemicals that met the low-carbon-footprint standards set by the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, according to Dow. Read the full story here.

The little engine that could: Union Pacific is pledging to spend $20 million to test low-emissions locomotives in California. The railroad may eventually test up to 25 locomotives with various low-emissions technology. They include one, to be based in Roseville, Calif., that will use several emissions-reducing technologies, including recirculating exhaust gases. Union Pacific said 15 other locomotives could be outfitted with emissions-reducing technology as testing progresses. The Associated Press has all the details here.

All that glitters: Results of a new crash test that focused on luxury cars are raising worries that most vehicles may not be able to provide protection from serious injuries in a common accident, The Los Angeles Times reports. Such fancy nameplates as BMW, Mercedes and Lexus all earned "poor" ratings in a test that simulated what happens when the front corner of a sedan hits another vehicle or an object such as a tree or pole, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Just three of 11 luxury cars from the 2012 model year passed the new crash test. Get the full story here.