Bio-fuel is coming out of the woodworks, literally! An up and comer in natural energy resources, the jartropha plant is sprouting in the field.
Corn-based ethanol is an environmentally friendly solution to our reliance on oil, right? Not if it creates food shortages in the world's poorest countries.
Wars rage in the Middle East. Gas prices are astronomical. There's a hole in the Alaskan pipeline, and another in the ozone layer. So is now the time to cultivate the youngest generation of SUV-lovers? McDonald's thinks so. Pick up any Hummer Happy Meal and inside you'll find a tiny replica of the gas-guzzling giant.
"This marketing ploy says more about how desperate General Motors has become than anything else," said National Resources Defense Council spokesman Jon Coifman. "Management in Detroit ignored all the signs and bet the farm on big gas guzzlers. Now sales of the huge SUVs and pickups have tanked. Unfortunately, they've taken thousands of good jobs with them."
What to do with all those SUV drivers? Should they be shamed? Mocked? Ostracized? Forced to wear a scarlet SUV across their chest? Greenpeace UK seems to think so.