The Riverside County, Calif. district attorney’s office wants another investigation in order to make a decision whether Lindsay Lohan will be charged with battery for last month’s skirmish with a Betty Ford Center rehabilitation technician.

According to the Associated Press, prosecutors and investigators decided Wednesday that the office’s investigators will further probe the actress’s alleged skirmish with rehab worker Dawn Holland.

Lohan is accused of tussling with Holland after returning to the rehab center past curfew on December 12 and refused Holland’s request to take a Breathalyzer test.

Lohan will be jailed if she violates probation. Her next hearing before the judge is going to be on February 25.

Dear EarthTalk: Some time ago there were issues with Native American tribes storing nuclear waste on their land, something that was both unhealthy to the communities and caused considerable controversy among tribal leaders. Where is this issue today? — M. Spenser, via e-mail

Native tribes across the American West have been and continue to be subjected to significant amounts of radioactive and otherwise hazardous waste as a result of living near nuclear test sites, uranium mines, power plants and toxic waste dumps.

And in some cases tribes are actually hosting hazardous waste on their sovereign reservations—which are not subject to the same environmental and health standards as U.S. land—in order to generate revenues. Native American advocates argue that siting such waste on or near reservations is an "environmental justice" problem, given that twice as many Native families live below the poverty line than other sectors of U.S. society and often have few if any options for generating income.

"In the quest to dispose of nuclear waste, the government and private companies have disregarded and broken treaties, blurred the definition of Native American sovereignty, and directly engaged in a form of economic racism akin to bribery," says Bayley Lopez of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He cites example after example of the government and private companies taking advantage of the "overwhelming poverty on native reservations by offering them millions of dollars to host nuclear waste storage sites."

The issue came to a head—and Native advocates hope a turning point—in 2007 when public pressure forced the Skull Valley band of Utah’s Goshute tribe to forego plans to offer their land, which is already tucked between a military test site, a chemical weapons depot and a toxic magnesium production facility, for storing spent nuclear fuel above ground. The facility would have been a key link in the chain of getting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, the U.S. government’s proposed permanent storage facility.

In February 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced intentions to scale back efforts to make Yucca Mountain the nation’s sole repository of radioactive nuclear waste and to look into alternative long-term strategies for dealing with its spent nuclear fuel. The National Congress of American Indians, in representing the various tribes around the region, no doubt breathed a sigh of relief.

The issue essentially goes much deeper: As long as we continue to make use of nuclear energy—and many in Congress are looking to expand its role to get away from fossil fuels—the waste and spent nuclear fuel will keep coming and need to be stored somewhere. Groups like Honor the Earth, founded by author and activist Winona LaDuke to promote cooperation between Native Americans and environmentalists, are trying to persuade tribes that availing their land to nuclear power and other toxic industries isn’t worth the potential long-term damage to the health of their citizens. Honor the Earth helped convince the Goshutes to turn down a lucrative deal to store waste on their land, and is working with dozens of other tribes to try to do the same.

CONTACTS: DOE, www.doe.gov; Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, www.indian.utah.gov/utah_tribes_today/goshute.html; National Congress of American Indians, www.ncai.org; Honor the Earth, www.honorearth.org.

Dear EarthTalk: What is the potential for carbon "nanotubes" in battery technology? I heard them referred to as the biggest battery breakthrough to come along in years. And what else can we expect to see in terms of new battery technology in coming years? — R.M. Koncan, via e-mail

The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries now so common in everything from iPods to hybrid cars can store twice the energy of similarly sized nickel-metal hydride batteries and up to six times as much as their lead-acid progenitors. But these advances are only a small evolutionary step from the world’s first battery designed by Alessandro Volta in 1800 using layers of metal and blotting paper soaked in salt water.

With battery technology advances long overdue, researchers are racing to develop more efficient ways to store power. One hopeful option is in the use of carbon nanotubes, which can store much more electricity by weight than lithium-ion batteries while keeping their charge and remain durable for far longer.

But what are carbon nanotubes, and how can they be used to store energy? Technicians skilled in working with matter at the molecular (nano) level can arrange pure carbon molecules in cylindrical structures that are not both strong and flexible. They have significantly higher energy density and can store more electricity than any currently available technology. These tubes, each only billionths of a meter wide, essentially become highly efficient, electrically conductive pipes for storing and providing power.

Electrical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have formed carbon molecules into tiny springs that store as much electricity as same sized lithium-ion batteries but can maintain a charge while dormant for years and work well in temperature extremes. Stanford University researchers have created ink made from carbon nanotubes that can be drawn onto paper where it serves as a high-capacity rechargeable energy storage medium. And University of Maryland scientists have created nanostructures able to store and transport power at 10 times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries.

Other technologies in development include batteries using zinc-air, lithium-air and other combinations of elements to provide longer run-times between recharges. Others still are working on prototype nuclear batteries, the trick being to make them small enough to be practical, let alone safe.

Of course, the accelerating growth of nanotechnology itself, which has not yet been thoroughly tested to evaluate potential down sides, has some health advocates worried. Animal studies have shown that some nanoparticles, if inhaled or ingested, can harm the lungs and also cross the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from toxins in the bloodstream.

And then there are fuel cells, created in 1839 but only recently commercialized. Not batteries per se, fuel cells generate, store and dispense power by forcing a reaction between a fuel (hydrogen from water, methanol) and oxygen, creating usable non-polluting electricity. One major hurdle for fuel cell makers is making them small enough to be able to work in laptops and other small personal electronics.

CONTACTS: "Researchers fired up over new battery," MIT News, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/batteries-0208.html; "Carbon Nanotubes Turn Office Paper into Batteries," Scientific American, www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-nanotubes-turn-off.

Coby Electronics announced what is at least its third major product recall in the last year and a half, calling back 13,000 rechargeable batteries sold with their portable CD/DVD/MP3 players.

The batteries, just like the portable audio and video players they recalled last November, were made in China.

Coby warns that the rechargeable batteries can overheat and catch fire. There have been four reports of fires from the batteries overheating, resulting in what the company called “minor property damage.” No one has been hurt yet.

The batteries were sold with Coby’s TF-DVD 1020 portable swivel-style music and video player. Last year, it was the TF-DVD170 and TF-DVD176 players that were recalled entirely — 12,000 units — because of fire worries.

Recalled Batteries Serial Number Ranges:
DG240043D503000001-1006
DG240006D503000001-400
DG240039D603000001-3000
DG240111D603000001-2000
DG240143D602000001-3000
DG240106D602000001-2000
DG240106D702000001-2000
DG240183D942000001-100
DG240071DB02000001-1400
DG240115D702000001-1726
DG240115D702000001-2500

The products were sold at discount toy and electronics stores for about $170 from May 2007 through this July.

For additional information, contact Coby Electronics toll-free at 866-945-2629 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at http://www.cobyusa.com/.

See also: Consumer Product Safety Commission listing.

By the way: In a reporting error. We spelled Coby “Colby” by accident in an early version of this story.

These two products are essentially the same, even though they don’t look it and the PlayStation 3 version uses the original internal battery, and 360 version uses a Nyko replacement battery. They’re both meant to give you an externalized recharge of your controllers.

I currently have Nyko’s Wii Charge Station, and the PS3 and 360 charge stations all sitting next to each other on a shelf.

The 360 and PS3 controllers can each be charged using USB, or with the 360 by removing the battery and sticking it in a separate charge station. The Nyko charge stations are nice because you can basically just store your controllers on them when they aren’t being used.

This is a good place to use Lithium Ion batteries. Even if there’s still some juice left, you can recharge them on the fly, as opposed to older technologies that do better if you let them completely die before charging them.‚  This makes the life of the battery less important since you will have it charging when your not playing, and as long as you don’t do a marathon gaming session the battery will never run out on you.

The problem that Nyko had to deal with when designing the Charge base was figuring out how to charge conveniently the PS3 and the 360 controllers, which weren’t designed with a simple plug in interface. With the 360 they just were able to add their own batteries with convenient contacts for charging, much like the Wii base.

The PS3 since it has a non-removable battery required them to be more creative. They came up with an interesting solution of placing an adapter on the USB port of the PS3, but this method adds a small part to their product that can be easily lost.

My main disappointment with the Charge Base, specifically with the PS3 version, was that it’s not compatible with Nyko’s owns Zero controller. If it was a different company’s part then I wouldn’t be
surprised, but I would have expected Nyko to make sure it works with their own controller, which they were heavily encouraging people to buy when it hit the market as the first rumble controller for the PS3. Unfortunately though the adapters don’t fit on the Zero, so it must still be charged by plugging the controller into a USB port.

Overall, if you use official controllers for your game systems either Nyko Charge Base is a great accessory, especially the PS3 one since the PS3 turns off its USB ports when it’s off, (the time when I
would expect most people to charge their controllers.)

My only real big complaint was that it doesn’t support their own controller.

In the realm of all things pretty good comes the Duracell Powersource Mobile 100 power inverter and battery backup system.

Maybe more than pretty good, the Powersource crosses over to “good” now that the price has come down from a whopping $139.99 to just over $50.

The Powersource Mobile 100 gives you a three-prong plug and two USB ports to charge your laptops, cell phones, iPods, and just about any other portable device up to 80 watts. It’s guaranteed to work with iPods, Palm devices and BlackBerry phones and will work with most others as long as they take USB or standard “wall socket” power.

The device advertises two hours of laptop power, and that’s definitely possible with modern, low-power computers with the monitor turned down. Like anything else — if you’re running an Alienware monstrosity laptop, you’re not gonna get a lotta juice.

So I tested this puppy out, and my favorite part about it is that it’s not just a battery but a power inverter too. This means I can plug it into the car socket and run my Laptop at full power for as long as I need it. As a news reporter, that’s a invaluable asset on the road.

I’m glad the price came down on the Powersource Mobile 100. $50 is just about right for this product. It’s about double the cost of a normal power inverter and gives you a boost in your laptop bag or suitcase.

This is a great impulse buy. If you’re looking for something to put in the car, it’s a great idea. It works as advertised.

Yes, the Powersource is a toy. It’s not entirely necessary. It’s extra. I like it. Would I necessarily go out to the store and buy one?

I dunno.

On October 9, Indianapolis-based EnerDel unveiled a new Lithium-ion battery pack for hybrid-electric vehicles.

“We believe that our battery technology is a pivotal advancement that will enable HEVs and eventually PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) and EVs (electric vehicles) to become the predominant forms of transportation in the world,” said Charles Gassenheimer, Vice Chairman of Ener1, EnerDel’s parent company. “Over the next five and ten years, we expect that the conversion of the consumer automobile fleet to HEV, PHEV and EV will have the single greatest impact on the reduction of fossil-fuel energy consumption and greenhouse gases of all alternative energy technologies. EnerDel has developed a safe, high-powered Lithium ion battery for HEVs that we will manufacture in the United States, creating ‘Green Collar’ jobs for our economy.”

The EnerDel battery pack is a green technology. It could reduce pollution. It’s shiny.

“Next on the agenda is to deliver a working HEV with our battery pack in late December 2007 for on-the-road testing,” said Ulrik Grape, Chief Executive Officer of EnerDel.

EnerDel is a relatively new company, formed in 2004 when Delphi and Ener1 joined their lithium battery divisions.

Penguin United produces a battery pack for the Wii. It consists of a battery and a new cover to fit in the Wii Remote. The new Cover has connectors for the battery on the inside and the charger on the outside. The design is simple; the Wii Remote is just stuck into the charger and it charges.

The charger is a simple dock that plugs into one of the USB ports on the back of the Wii. The Charger has a light on the front that is steady green when charging, then starts blinking green when it is finished.

Penguin United claims the battery pack will last for up to thirty eight hours. The Wii makes it easy to find out how long the battery lasts. It keeps track of how long people play games on the Wii.

So to test this battery, and the claim that goes with it, out, the battery was entirely charged on a Friday, and then played until the battery died. I then added up all the time playing the Wii. This added up to sixteen hours. This was less than they claimed, but part of it can be credited to battery loss when the Wii Remote wasn’t actually being used or on standby.

Sixteen hours is plenty of time for a Wii Remote since the charger can charge the batteries overnight. I found that from my tests if you put the Wii Remote onto the charger every night that the battery pack will never run out on the user. Penguin United is also now selling packages with multiple batteries this way the charger can be shared between both remotes, and again as long as the Wii isn’t used for more than 16 hours in a row it shouldn’t be a problem.

Unfortunately though, it is not compatible with any of the third party Wii Remote covers. It would be nice if there was a way to still plug the Wii Remote into the charger with a case on it.