Articles by Maywa Montenegro

The numbers behind ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel in the U.S.

America devours oil like no other country in the world. Representing 5 percent of the global population, the country consumes fully a quarter of the world’s oil. Every year, to move ourselves and our goods around, we burn 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 40 billion gallons of diesel — enough to propel the average […]

It’s so sad it’s almost funny

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court considered its first global warming case ever. At issue is whether carbon dioxide falls under the Clean Air Act's definition of "pollutant" and thus whether the EPA has the responsibility to regulate emissions thereof. The ramifications of their decision could be huge -- yet this is what went on in those vaunted halls of justice yesterday:

Students worldwide weigh in

Google recently partnered with Global SchoolNet to invite teachers and students to use Google software in a project to brainstorm strategies for combating global warming. Children of all ages from more than 80 schools around the world participated. Here are their top 5 ideas:

One dime a month is all it takes

Just this morning I had to rip up the zillionth letter I've gotten from some anonymous agency somewhere out in Arizona urging me to reconsolidate my student loan (something I did years ago.) I tossed it into the recycling bin without further ado.

Now a start-up company called Greendimes promises to put an end to this incessant barrage of junkmail. For $3 a month, or a dime a day, the staff at GD will do the legwork to get you off of mailing lists and other pesky databases that flood your postbox with unnecessary paper. And each month they will plant a tree on your behalf through collaboration with Trees for the Future.