Testifying before a house panel on Thursday, an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave the following estimate: About three-quarters of the oil that spilled into the Gulf from BP’s ruptured well is still in the environment

Overwhelming local support for a nonbinding ballot initiative indicates that a push for a greener future may have legs.

The “Secure Green Future” initiative appeared on ballots in 11 Massachusetts Districts, and proposes legislation that would phase out tax incentives for projects that use a lot of energy (like the Big Dig, for example), reward small businesses that practice energy conservation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts by 80%, by the year 2020.