A Grist special series on biofuels
4 Dec 2006 at 12:12pm
You probably think of diesel as a heavy-duty gasoline. But do you know what Rudolf Diesel wanted to use in the engine he invented? Peanut oil. And guess what Henry Ford imagined would power his Model T: ethanol made from corn or hemp. These visions evaporated when crude oil bubbled …
Vast new rainforest reserve unveiled in Brazilian Amazon
4 Dec 2006 at 12:12pm
The Brazilian Amazon will soon be home to the world’s largest tropical-rainforest reserve, in news that’s making conservationists beam — and making us feel better about all those pints of Ben & Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch we ate to help the cause. The vast tract — which, at 63,320 square miles, …
Umbra on peak oil
4 Dec 2006 at 12:12pm
Oh, how this world loves oil. We fill our tanks with it, fight our wars over it, coat our wrestlers in it — we can’t get enough. But experts say there will come a day in the not-so-distant future when the earth stops giving the stuff up. As Grist’s two-week …
Researchers hope new crops, methods will help farmers fight climate effects
4 Dec 2006 at 12:12pm
Agricultural researchers are joining the legions who are working to help the world respond to climate change. A coalition called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (which goes by the just-shy-of-delicious acronym CGIAR) is launching an initiative today that will pour money into developing crops that can withstand floods, …
Ron Steenblik, sustainability advocate and subsidies scholar, InterActivates
4 Dec 2006 at 12:12pm
Know how governments funnel large amounts of moolah into certain endeavors, purportedly for the public good, but often for the industrial good? Ron Steenblik of the Global Subsidies Initiative knows, and he fights the good fight to move subsidies in a sustainable direction. As InterActivist this week, Steenblik chats about …
