Northwest burger chain switches to pure wind power Fans of Pacific Northwest fast-food purveyor Burgerville will soon be noshing on burgers and onion rings cooked up with clean energy. The Holland Inc. -- parent company of both the Burgerville and Noodlin' regional chains -- has announced that all of its restaurants will use regionally produced wind power for 100 percent of their electricity needs. The move may increase the company's overall energy costs, but will reduce its carbon-dioxide contributions by about 17.4 million pounds a year -- the equivalent of taking 1,700 cars off the road. Burgerville has long felt …

Wal-Mart settles with Connecticut over environmental misdeeds Wal-Mart has agreed to pay Connecticut a $1.15 million fine for a host of environmental violations. State regulators first filed suit against the retail giant in 2001, after discovering that the company had improperly stored pesticides, fertilizers, and other hazardous materials outside, where they washed down storm drains to pollute rivers and streams after heavy rains. Then they amended the suit in 2003, when even more eco-misdeeds were discovered. Violations were ultimately documented at 22 out of 33 company operations in the state. "There is a pattern of national disregard by Wal-Mart in …

U.K. market leads the pack in lucrative carbon-emissions trading Newfangled carbon trading has become quite lucrative in the Old World, where the European Union's fledgling carbon market has taken off. Many doubted that the emissions-trading scheme (part of E.U. plans to meet Kyoto emissions-reduction targets) would prosper, especially since the U.S. -- world leader in market-driven economics -- didn't come to the party. But au contraire: The average daily volume of emissions trading increased threefold between January and June, to 1.1 million tons, and the value of a carbon credit more than tripled. London traders have embraced the new scheme, …

Big SUVs likely to keep guzzling gas under forthcoming fuel-economy plan The Bush administration is said to be abandoning efforts to set fuel-economy standards for huge SUVs like the Hummer H2 and Ford Excursion, which fall outside the weight classes covered by current standards. Those concerned about the warming globe, skyrocketing gas prices, and foreign-oil dependence have long chafed at the loophole, but, well, Big Auto has more lobbyists than they do. American automakers say such standards would damage their shaky bottom lines. The administration is poised to release its new plan for auto fuel-economy standards later this month; it …

An article in Business Week Online tells us that experimental hybrid cars get up to 250 mpg (a very similar article appeared in the New York Times business section a couple of months earlier). I enjoy reading between the lines of lay press science and technology articles. There was a great discussion in Grist on this subject not too long ago. Gremban ...spent... $3,000 tinkering with his car... [I]n the trunk sits an 80-miles-per-gallon secret -- a stack of 18 brick-sized batteries... [T]he extra batteries let Gremban drive for 20 miles with a 50-50 mix of gas and electricity. In …

Here in Gristmill, we like to present companies and their eco-friendly practices to see if they should be praised for their efforts. Today I give you: Subaru, Cascade Engineering, HP, Xerox, Toyota, Fetzer Vineyards, and Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings. What do these companies have in common, you might be asking? One, they are all mentioned in the Wired article that I'm writing about. Two, and more importantly, they are all actively reducing waste in some fashion. For example, a Subaru factory in Lafayette, Indiana produces less waste than you and me. In fact, the article claims the amount is zero: …

Impending regulation in Europe may de-toxify electronics worldwide As the clock ticks down toward a tough new environmental regulation in Europe, electronics manufacturers worldwide are busily reworking their supply chains to create less-toxic gadgets. In July 2006, the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) rule will go into effect across all 25 member nations of the European Union, severely limiting the import of six key toxic substances regularly used in electronics, including lead and cadmium. Thanks to the size of the European market, RoHS will set a new de facto global standard for limiting toxics in high-tech products, and similar regulations …

Exxon Valdez: No, your other left! Photo: NOAA. Lee, we barely knew ye. Oh, wait, yes we did. "You either retire or die and I'd just as soon not die," you said recently, and then yesterday announced your imminent exit as chair and CEO of ExxonMobil after more than 40 years with the oil behemoth. We'd just as soon not die either, Mr. Raymond, but anticipate we all will, so on the occasion of your retirement we offer this modest encomium to your many accomplishments. What impresses above all is your consistency. You joined Exxon in 1963, and no matter …

Big demand for solar energy runs up against finite panel supply Global demand for photovoltaic panels is causing months-long delays and price hikes for would-be buyers in the U.S. American suppliers blame a weak dollar, shortages of raw materials, and swelling demand both at home and abroad. The worldwide solar-power market has grown about 40 percent annually in the last five years -- driven largely by Germany, where an incentive program allows businesses and individuals to sell excess solar-generated electricity back to utilities at a premium rate. Germany consumes 39 percent of the available solar-panel supply, followed by Japan at …

Dear Umbra, Grist keeps mentioning that the U.S. government gives large subsidies to oil companies, but doesn't go further into what these subsidies are. I can't make a good argument against the government's subsidizing Big Oil if I don't know more about it: Are the subsidies tax breaks, and if so, for what? Are the tax breaks larger than for most other large companies? How biased is our treatment of Big Oil? ChristineHillsboro, Ore. Dearest Christine, Just as an aside, I'm not sure such a being as Wee Oil exists. Can we get you anything? The word subsidy finds its …