Stepped away from your RSS reader for a few hours? You can catch up on some of the latest cleantech headlines here:

• Marriott International is now offering guests a chance to offset the carbon they generate during their hotel stays by supporting Brazilian rainforest preservation. The Spirit to Preserve programme, with an individual cost starting at $10 (US), is supported by a $2 million commitment by Marriott;
• NASA researchers studying overlooked satellite data have found a new way to detect natural seeps of ocean oil, as well as oil slicks and human-caused spills;
• Dow Corning is working with Rhodia Corporation to develop a new generation of “green” tyres that could help trucks and tankers reduce fuel consumption and boost efficiency;
• Illinois-ased UOP, a Honeywell company, will provide its technology to the UK’s Powerfuel Power Ltd. for use in a planned clean coal power station (PDF) in Stainforth, South Yorkshire. UOP’s Selexol™ process technology will be used to remove sulphur and carbon dioxide from the plant’s coal-generated syngas;
• Texas-based Rackspace Hosting is providing customers with a new set of tools to help them measure and reduce their carbon footprints. The offering is part of Rackspace’s Greenspace initiative, launched in 2007;
• California-based Borrego Solar is shifting its business focus to concentrate on commercial and government customers. The company has sold its residential business unit to Vermont’s groSolar.

• Green technology investors seek safer havens in 2011
• New US consortium plans $1.4bn in cleantech investments
• What does 2011 hold for China, US?
• World Economic Forum: Cleantech rules
• Virtual design speeds green reality
• Opinion: Darling’s green bank idea is laughably small
• Some guys and Holy Grails: 5 rules for spotting ‘cleantech porn’
• Despite some ‘green shoots,’ cleantech VCs see trouble ahead
• Cleantech Connect Awards recognise fast-growing innovators
• Irish cleantech firms seek opportunities in Silicon Valley