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Car of the Future or a Lot of Hot Air?
Inventor, car enthusiast and environmentalist Guy Negre has built a car powered by compressed air and hopes it will be chugging along roads across the world within the next few years. Inside Negre's car, cold air compressed in tanks to 300 times atmospheric pressure is heated and fed into the cylinders of a piston engine. No combustion takes place, so there is no pollution. In fact, says Negre, the air from the exhaust pipe is cleaner than the air that goes in, thanks to an internal filter.

posted by Hal 6:48 PM

 

USDA Ushers In New Organic Food Labels
(Randy Fabi, Rense.com, 10-22-02)
New organic food labels regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department made their debut on Monday, enabling household names like Kraft Foods Inc to tell consumers which products are free of pesticides and genetically modified crops. . . . To carry the new USDA seal, organic products cannot include pesticides or genetically modified ingredients, or be irradiated to kill bacteria and lengthen shelf life. Meats sold as organic cannot be produced from animals that receive antibiotics. . . . "Like using a seat belt or bicycle helmet, choosing organic products is a simple way to reduce exposure to the potential for harm caused by the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers," . . . "an alternative for consumers seeking to "protect the wellness of the environment, their families and themselves." . . . The organic industry is the fastest growing U.S. agriculture sector, increasing at about 20 percent annually. . . . Sales of organic foods are expected to reach $11 billion in 2003, more than double the amount five years ago.

posted by Lorenzo 1:49 PM

 

Looming Water Crisis Threatens Food Supplies
(Environment News Service, October 16, 2002)
Water scarcity could leave millions of people without access to clean water or adequate food, warns a new report released in conjunction with World Food Day 2002. . . . Using computer modeling, the report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) projects that by 2025, water scarcity will cause annual global losses of 350 million metric tons of food production - slightly more than the entire current U.S. grain crop. . . . Declines in food supplies could cause prices to skyrocket, the report predicts, and higher prices will lead to increased rates of malnutrition, since many poor people in developing countries already spend more than half their income on food. . . . "For hundreds of millions of poor farmers in developing countries, a lack of access to water for growing food is the most important constraint they face," . . . According to the report, it would take only a moderate worsening in global water policy to bring about a genuine water crisis. If governments continue to cut spending on crop research, technology, and infrastructure, while failing to implement institutional and management reforms, global grain production will drop by 10 percent over business as usual levels, equivalent to losing the entire annual grain crop of India. . . . But the report also notes that it is not too late to make the changes that could avert future water and food shortages. A shift to more sustainable water use could expand river flows and boost the water available for irrigation and other human uses, the report notes. . . . A crisis is not inevitable," said Rosegrant. "The world can both consume less water, and reap greater benefits. To achieve sustainable water use, we must act now. The required strategies take not only money and political will, but time as well."

posted by Lorenzo 5:43 PM

 

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Greenpeace hails Deutsche warning that ExxonMobil is enviornmental enemy number one
(Terry Macalister, The Guardian, October 11, 2002)
A top investment bank has warned ExxonMobil that being tarred with the label of "environmental enemy number one" is a risk to its business. . . . Deutsche Bank says investors should be worried about the Greenpeace-backed StopEsso campaign. . . . Greenpeace has claimed that one million motorists are boycotting Esso petrol stations in Britain as a protest against Exxon's apparent unwillingness to take global warming seriously. . . . The investment bank's research note says: "While the company insists that it has suffered no fiscal impact from the boycott, being handed a reputation as environmental enemy number one for such a customer-facing business has to be considered a brand risk."

posted by Lorenzo 11:57 AM