Publication archives

When the annual Farm Progress Show opens, one crop will be front and center: corn. American farmers have planted more of it than ever this year 92.9 million acres and prices have stayed high, largely because of demand for ethanol. Not coincidentally, soybeans, another crop touted for its biofuel potential, fetch good prices.

It's easy to blame the weak yuan for the huge U.S. current account deficit, but the McKinsey Global Institute says it's not the real problem

Brazil, which already has won a series of trade rulings over U.S. cotton subsidies, expressed dissatisfaction with Washington on Wednesday at the conclusion of talks aimed at avoiding a new WTO dispute between the two countries.

While corn and oil seeds will continue as dependable, renewable sources for manufacturing ethanol and biodiesel in the future, these well known crops will likely share the stage with other plants destined for energy greatness.

As more Minnesotans head for the lakes and trees of Brainerd and Alexandria, they're bumping into a contradiction. Such popular destinations face an emerging shortage of the large, regional parks that help preserve the outdoors attractions that lure people there in the first place, according to a new state-sponsored study.

With our own hands, we can help the planet by planting trees, returning greenery to deforested areas. But with a trick or two, the greenery can more quickly return to a natural forest that a range of wildlife can call home. This is what has happened in the upper Mae Sa valley, in the heart of Chiang Mai's Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, 1,328m above sea level.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is studying the possibility of using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips on trees to address timber theft. Its Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Sazmi Miah said that using the RFID system would enable authorities to detect stolen timber.

"Mother Nature never intended for trees to be underwater," explains Christopher Godsall, president and CEO of Triton Logging. But trees -- perhaps as many as 300 million worldwide -- are submerged in reservoirs and Triton has come up with an innovative, eco-friendly method for harvesting them.