Back in October, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding NASA’s project of crashing a LCROSS satellite into the moon to determine if there is in fact water on the moon. While it was initially believed by spectators and researchers alike that the mission was a big failure, since there was no visible lunar dust or any other substances that resulted immediately from the cash; NASA says today that it actually was a success, indicating that the moon has a substantial water supply.
By Lisa Wojnovich •
May 26, 2009
Slash-and-burn agriculture may be bad for the environment, but in southeast Asia, the cure may be worse than the disease. Endorsed by multiple governments, at both the local and national levels, as well as numerous business interests, everyone from individual farmers to massive corporations has been replacing the traditional slash-and-burn, more technically known as swidden, method of farming with rubber plantations managed with European techniques. In the last 20 years, over 1.2 million acres of land in China, Thailand, Vietnam, [...]
By Reenita Malhotra •
November 4, 2008
U.S. stocks advanced today in the biggest presidential Election Day rally in 24 years. This has been led by energy and banking shares, on higher commodity prices and speculation the Treasury will bail out more financial companies. (Bloomberg)
By Nick Chambers •
October 24, 2008
Several bits of news trickled out this week that, when put together, indicate great confusion even among experts about whether or not corn ethanol government subsidies are helping or hurting.
To start with, researchers at Iowa State University have found that, even though $1.3 billion was given to the corn ethanol farming industry in the form of subsidies in 2007, the government saved $3.45 billion on what are called loan deficiency payments as a direct result of these ethanol subsidies.
Loan deficiency payments were established in 1985 as a way to ensure farmers’ incomes remained steady even when prices for commodities such as corn were abnormally low. Since 1998 the loan deficiency payment program has cost taxpayers more than $29 billion.
Rising prices for everything from copper and platinum to flour, gas and cooking oil are creating new markets for trend-minded thieves across the U.S.
With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.
Editor’s note: As you’ll figure out from reading Christan’s posts, she watches the markets for clean technology and alternative fuels very closely. At the same time, though, she’s not a licensed financial advisor, so nothing in her posts should be taken as advice to buy, sell, or otherwise take action in the markets. She’s not trying to push anything here — just offering her observations.
Maybe you don’t read the NY Times religiously,
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