Whether Mass. is the most liberal state in the union is open for discussion. But I can tell you that ex-Governor Mitt Romney really pissed a lot of us folks off two years ago when he pulled the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first multi-state program to reduce carbon emissions. But as of today our new guv has us back on track -- it feels good to be moving in the right direction again! Ace grassroots group Mass. Climate Action Network has been pushing for Governor Patrick to also signal his support for selling 100% …

In 2006, droves (pun intended?) of Americans bought new fuel-efficient vehicles, while sales of large trucks and SUVs declined, leaving U.S. carmakers with hundreds of thousands of trucks and SUVs rusting on their lots. Chrysler alone had not sold 500,000 of its 2006 vehicles as of September! What an insanely colossal waste of resources that represents. Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for the respected auto review site Edmunds.com, had this to say recently about the situation: Gas prices will be a leading factor in how consumers choose what vehicles they purchase in the coming year. Automakers who are …

The way that Rob Del Bueno backed into the world of biofuel almost by accident, as told in the article "Small Potatoes," is emblematic of the way most folks get engaged in grassroots biofuel development. It starts with a desire to use a renewable fuel to power your life long before a GMO-happy megacorporation was going to start reliably supplying you with it, and then it turns into an obsession that alters your whole outlook. Erik Hoffner. At about the same time that Rob was getting started, friends of mine were interested in creating a biodiesel-buying co-op together. Discovering how …

This is a welcome study: "University of Minnesota research shows mixed grasses produce 238% more bioenergy than single plant species, including switchgrass." Growing perennial native plants on average or poor soils, which wouldn't require annual plowing, fertilization, or herbicides, could change the whole debate on whether humans should be growing crops for fuel.