Latest Articles

Business-y news I should write more about, but probably won’t

GE is going to double its investment in renewable energy from $3b to $6b; Toyota plans to offer plug-in hybrids by 2010; meanwhile, GM, which also promises a plug-in by 2010, just struck a deal with Coskata, a start-up which will be making cellulosic ethanol from waste products. [Token acknowledgement that cars are not the […]

New MacBook Air has some green qualities

Photo: apple.com Apple Inc. head honcho Steve Jobs has introduced the new MacBook Air. Your nerdy cousin’s new object of lust is LED backlit, comes with a recycle-friendly aluminum case, and gives purchasers the option of an efficient 64-gigabyte solid-state hard drive. It also boasts a mercury- and arsenic-free display, a circuit board without brominated […]

Organic production and research

This is the third in a series of five farm bill fact sheets from the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. For more information on the status of all sustainable agriculture provisions in the Senate and House versions of the farm bill, please visit SAC's farm bill legislative tracking center.

Despite the fact that organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing sectors of American agriculture, the U.S. is currently experiencing a domestic shortfall of organically produced food as consumer demand continues to outpace supply. Considering the enormous potential organic practices have to increase farm revenue in our rural communities, preserve and enhance the environment, and provide nutritious food to our citizens, federal policies aimed at assisting farmers' and ranchers' transition to organic production must be a priority in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Scientists unveil genetically modified calcium-boosting supercarrot

U.S. scientists have unveiled a new “supercarrot” genetically modified to provide extra calcium, which they hope could ultimately help ward off osteoporosis. Say what you will about genetic modification, but you can’t deny that picturing a carrot flying across the sky in a cape is funny.

Hybrid emissions: Facts and numbers

Having laid out my views in part I, let me turn to the actual data regarding hybrids -- both from an environmental and economic perspective.

How do carbon emissions per mile driven compare for various cars? The Volt is expected to be "less than $30,000" with a 1.0L engine. Compare this to the Corolla, with a 1.8Lengine (peak hp of 126; 31 mpg) and a price of $14,400. It's worth noting that this is in the optimistic, no-gasoline-use scenario for the Volt, computed below along with carbon emissions for the Volt running on cellulosic ethanol and gasoline, and emissions for comparable-sized ICE cars. Questions on the Volt's actual usage patterns remain: how many people will recharge everyday? What percentage of total miles will be on the grid, and what percentage on gasoline?

U.S. Green Party holds its first presidential debate of the season

The Green Party held its first presidential debate of the campaign season last weekend in San Francisco. The five candidates answered a series of questions about the Iraq war, the farm bill, health care, and more at the three-hour event. Ego and rancor weren’t on display at the Green debate the way they have been […]

Protesters converge on Japan’s whaling fleet; Aussie court rules Japan hunt illegal

It’s been high drama on the high seas the past few days as the unpopular Japanese whaling fleet has been at the heart of legal action and a target of direct-action protest. Earlier this week, Greenpeace successfully tracked down Japan’s whaling fleet in Antarctic waters and has been chasing them around, disrupting the hunt. Today, […]

Conservation title schemes, youth flee CAFO country, and a side of E. coli beef

In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat industry. In the business section of Sunday’s New York Times, reporter Andrew Martin shined a bright light on a USDA program called the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP. Funded through the conservation title of the farm bill, EQIP was originally intended to […]

Shameless

In an election year, even Senate minority leader and filibuster cowboy Mitch McConnell claims to be green. Are these people born without a shame gene, or do they beat their shame instinct into submission over a lifetime in politics?

E.U. says it will be mindful of sustainability in boosting biofuels

Realizing that biofuel production can have negative social and environmental consequences, the European Commission says it will propose “strict conditions that biofuels used in the European market are produced in a sustainable way” instead of barreling ahead willy-nilly (because really, that would be crazy). The commission will announce specific climate-change mitigation plans later this month; […]