On Our Radar: Robots to Ply the Gowanus A fleet of robots will move through the polluted waters of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, measuring pH levels, oxygen, temperature, air quality and salinity and transmitting the results to a Web site. The hope is that residents will use the site to track the progress of the canal's Superfund cleanup. [The New York Times], The state of California moves to require the utility PG&E to absorb two-thirds of the cost of modernizing its pipeline system for natural gas. The upgrades were proposed after the 2010 San Bruno pipeline fire, and initially, PG&E wanted customers to absorb 85 percent of the cost. San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch Twenty-five primate species are on the brink of extinction and need global action to protect them from deforestation and poaching, researchers report. Fodder for reflection: a look at Arlen Specter's environmental voting record from 1993 to 2010, when he represented Pennsylvania as a senator (first as a Republican, and then as a Democrat). He died on Sunday at age 82. Project Vote Smart Ecolab, the nation's largest provider of chemicals and services for water and wastewater treatment, agrees to buy Champion Technologies for around $2.2 billion in cash and stock in a bid to become the largest oil-field chemicals supplier in North America.