Climate Technology
All Stories
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Ethanol industry struggling
Big Ethanol, once all the rage, is tanking under the triple threat of inconsistent corn costs, the shaky economy, and falling prices for the product. Plans for new plants have been put on hold, and several companies have filed for bankruptcy; many analysts say significant consolidation is in the cards.
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The European wind industry continues its march to dominance
The European energy market has been driven for years by restrictions on CO2 and taxpayer support for renewable energy. As a result, Europe boasts many of the biggest, strongest wind companies in the world. In the U.S., we largely leave the energy market up to the vagaries of rising and falling oil prices. As a […]
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Ford rehires truck manufacturers
News from the They Just Don’t Learn Department: Ford will rehire 1,000 workers to build its F-150 pickup truck, expecting boosted consumer demand in the face of falling gas prices.
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Feds deny GM request for merger bucks
General Motors’ request for up to $10 billion to aid its potential merger with Chrysler was spurned by the Treasury Department, say sources; instead, the Bush administration will try to speed along implementation of a $25 billion loan to Big Auto to encourage R&D of fuel-efficient vehicles.
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Will a new administration give us the ‘safest food supply in the world’?
How many times have we been told we have the safest food supply in the world? Do we really? I suppose it depends on the comparison. Somalia? Kenya ? Eritrea? In developing countries, close to two million children die every year from contaminated food and water. These countries don’t have much of a food supply, […]
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Green jobs are breathing life into Midwest states’ economies
Renewable energy has become a crucial source of good jobs for laid-off manufacturing workers in Rust Belt states, reports The New York Times.
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Economic woes lead to slower growth for organic market
The decade-long boom in sales of organic products in the U.S. may be coming to an end, thanks to the economic slowdown. The market is still growing, but at about 4 percent annually, not the 20 percent seen in recent years. It means hard times for Whole Foods and good times for McDonald’s.
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Gross
In the wake of record-breaking profits, Exxon continues its fight to pay as little as possible to those scarred by its Exxon-Valdez oil spill.
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Ethanol industry craters; investors take a bath; world probably fails to learn lesson
VeraSun, one of nation’s largest ethanol producers, mulls bankruptcy. Ethanex Energy files. Alternative Energy Sources shuts down. E3 Biofuels files. A trend? Seems so: It was an American dream that has failed to become a reality. For much of the last decade, enthusiasts from President George W. Bush down have touted corn-based ethanol as something […]
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Starbucks will double its purchase of fair-trade coffee
Starbucks will buy 40 million pounds of fair-trade-certified coffee next year, doubling the hill of beans it bought this year and becoming the largest purchaser of fair-trade coffee in the world. The caffeine giant, though struggling financially and recognizing the price premium of sustainable bean-buying, has a goal of selling only “responsibly grown and ethically […]
