In The News

UK Is Wasting Far Too Much Food - Brown

Patrick Wintour July 7, 2008
The United Kingdom wastes about 4 tons of food a year, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon the British to be more conservative on their food purchases and preparation. Even as people in some developing nations go without food and other countries hoard, demand remains high in the wealthiest nations. The high demand, combined with some grains being siphoned off for biofuels, contributes...

Food Prices Threatened by Silence of the Bees

Tom Leonard July 4, 2008
The United States is the world’s biggest food exporter, but declining bee populations could make farming more difficult. Bees are responsible for pollinating one third of the crops grown in the US, and reduced bee populations will shrink the variety and size of crops, thus adding to rising food prices. Food prices have already almost doubled during the past three years, reports the World Bank....

Weather Plays Larger Role in Global Fuel Prices

Jad Mouawad July 3, 2008
Developed nations expect biofuels to help end reliance on fossil fuels, but the agricultural products – and their prices – are subject to the whims of weather. Flooding throughout the region that produces much of US corn raised ethanol prices by more than 20 percent, reports Jad Mouawad for the International Herald Tribune. He notes that energy prices also jumped after hurricanes struck oil rigs...

No Ice at the North Pole

Steve Connor July 2, 2008
Researchers suggest that the North Pole could completely lose its ice this summer for the first time in human history. The rate of melting has increased in recent years and a greater proportion of the ice is from a single season, reports Steve Connor for the Independent. “The polar regions are experiencing the most dramatic increase in average temperatures due to global warming and scientists...

Nestlé Asks EU to Soften Line on GM

Raphael Minder June 30, 2008
The European Union sets trends in trade, agriculture and culture, and so the decision to reject genetically modified food for its markets carries influence beyond European borders. For example, African nations produce crops for export to Europe, and most African countries do not want to risk including genetically modified organisms in their harvests, for fear of being excluded from the lucrative...

The Economics of Solar Power

Peter Lorenz June 26, 2008
The sun offers plenty of free energy for just about everyone on the planet. As oil prices rise, economists suggest that solar power, even unsubsidized, can pay for itself within a few years in the sunniest markets that already pay high prices for electricity. Unfortunately, because the world relied almost exclusively on fossil fuels in recent decades, the solar-power industry is in its infancy:...

Japan Poised to Be the Global Green Leader

Nathan Gardels June 26, 2008
Japan is not waiting for other counties to reduce carbon emissions or reliance on fossil fuels – and that firm commitment on environmental protection positions the country to take the lead at the G-8 summit in July. Japan has moved in many directions, developing many technologies to conserve energy. For instance, Japan’s companies design and manufacture the world’s most popular hybrid cars, and...