News Roll

Here are a couple of interesting articles I saw in the news:

USDA chief: Don't like ethanol? Too bad, since the industry "has pretty much been built"
Is all of the political fighting over ethanol subsidies kind of a moot point? Not entirely, but arguing over the role the biofuel will play in America in the future might be. This is the take from USDA chief economist Joe Glauber, who told Reuters point blank:

The fact is the industry has pretty much been built. This isn't a question of just saying 'cut it off.' It's much more complicated than that.

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15 groups unite to try and stop the EPA from funding nationwide E15
The E15 saga continues with more than a dozen trade organizations uniting in an attempt to bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using federal money to cover costs of boosting the amount of ethanol in gasoline from 10 to 15 percent.

The 15 organizations, some of which have obvious ties to the petroleum industry, include: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Bakers Association, American Meat Institute, American Petroleum Institute, California Dairies, Inc., Grocery Manufacturers Association, International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, National Association of Truck Stop Operators, National Chicken Council, National Marine Manufacturers Association, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, National Turkey Federation, Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the Specialty Equipment Market Association.
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Treehugger: The Greenpeace Coal Plant Protest and the Next Wave of Climate Activism
Earlier today, I set out to cover Greenpeace USA's first major act of civil disobedience against coal in quite some time. Activists unfurled a giant banner atop the Bridgeport Harbor coal plant with the words 'Shut it Down: Quit Coal' stamped across it. Unfortunately, I ended up spending most of the morning detained by police -- who wrongfully suspected I was involved in the protest -- instead of reporting on the significance of the event itself. I was released without charges (big surprise) after being held up for an hour and a half, and was able to spend the rest of the day covering the action. It's important to understand why Greenpeace did this today, and targeted the Bridgeport coal plant -- and why the event will serve as a major hallmark in the next wave of the climate movement.
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