Entrepreneur sees vast potential for organic flower industry Gerald Prolman is a man with an organic-flower plan. The California entrepreneur is not only after a significant chunk of the $20 billion-a-year cut-flower industry in the U.S. -- he's hopeful that cultivating demand for organic bouquets will transform grower practices in Latin America and Africa, where pesticide use in flower agribusiness has long poisoned workers and harmed the environment. Organic Bouquet, Prolman's company, is tracking to earn about $3.5 million this year -- much of it from organic long-stemmed roses. He envisions notching that up to $100 million within the next …

In the summer of its ground-breaking ad buy of an entire issue of the New Yorker, Target has also begun a pilot project to sell Seventh Generation's eco-friendly household products. This is not your father's mega-retailer.

California dealers jacking up prices for scarce hybrids Californians may find themselves paying up to $4,000 over the manufacturer's suggested retail price for a gas-electric Toyota Prius -- if they can get their hands on one at all. Folks hankering for a Honda Civic or Insight hybrid also face dealer premiums and lean supply. Thanks to soaring gas costs and a new state law allowing the three hybrid models into highway carpool lanes with only a driver present, demand for these models has shot up. Dealers are taking advantage by jacking up the prices. Interested buyers who don't want to …

So you like whole-grain bread, pesticide-free plums, and low-fat meat? Better ask for a raise. A recent study by researchers at the University of California-Davis reported that U.S. shoppers who consistently choose healthy foods spend nearly 20 percent more on groceries. The study also said the higher price of these healthier choices can consume 35 to 40 percent of a low-income family's grocery budget. That's bad news for public health. It's also bad news for the organic-food market, since organics usually carry the highest price tag of all the healthy stuff out there. Do organics make the list? Eventually, analysts …

The way China has catapulted itself onto the Monopoly board of global capitalism has caught most Western leaders on the hop. Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid looking back at their pursuers, top U.S. and European Union businesspeople are wondering, "Who are those guys?" Yuan-a make a deal? After all, how much do we know about the China National Petroleum Corp., which yesterday bid $4.18 billion for PetroKazakhstan, a Canadian oil company with big reserves in Central Asia? Or Haier, which earlier this year tried to nab U.S. white-goods company Maytag? Or Lenovo, which bought IBM's PC business? How …

Economics the next big thing in green activism Green activists are increasingly embracing environmental economics, combining profit-oriented pragmatism with eco-idealism to make powerful cases for saving the environment. Although the field has been evolving for the past 40 or so years, activists really started to take note in the 1990s when a sulfur-dioxide emissions-trading program in the U.S. proved highly effective at reducing acid rain. Today, many of the big green groups -- along with government agencies -- employ environmental economists, and market-based arguments for good environmental policies and practices are increasingly successful. Rainforest Action Network has convinced three prominent …

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 …