He said Ardisam will contract with regional farmers to grow about 30,000 acres of sunflowers and canola each year to supply the seeds needed to make the fuel. Schweitzer, who is Ardisam s biofuels operations manager, said some growers want to do both, excited that they can use their crops to break away from OPEC oil. Farmers are interested in growing crops for the fuel, which will be made from sunflower and canola oil, and people want to buy the finished product. He said the product would...

The UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 2500-member strong group of scientists, in its fourth report issued in Paris recently, has presented overwhelming scientific consensus on greenhouse gas emissions and put the onus on these human-induced gases since the Industrial Revolution. The UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 2500-member strong group of scientists, in its fourth report issued in Paris recently, has presented overwhelming scientific...

When universities across the country competed to be the site of a supercomputer that will be more powerful than any other general-purpose computer currently in operation, the National Science Foundation chose UT's Texas Advanced Computing Center for the $59 million project. When universities across the country competed to be the site of a supercomputer that will be more powerful than any other general-purpose computer currently in operation, the National Science Foundation chose UT's Texas...

The number of farmers continues to drop, feeding both the idea of putting together programs to encourage young farmers and the idea of changing from a commodity-based approach to a rural development approach in farm policy. Leaders of the cotton and rice producer groups have balked at stricter payment limitations, calling them an attack on their way of life because the cost of production per acre is higher for their crops. Also, as the person who often tries to bring state and national...

The southern African country is a major tobacco exporter in the world, accounting for five percent of the world's total exports and two percent of world's total production. The Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA), which promotes and protects tobacco farmers' interests, says that the leaf also accounts for 13 percent of the country's gross domestic product and makes up 23 percent of the tax base. Green gold is the term that Malawians use for the country's tobacco. The nation derives up to...

Located in the northernmost region of Lampung province, the regency of Tulangbawang boasts a long and glorious history that has left no trace of itself in our present time. Today, the regency plays host to 24 multinational companies, including cassava flour and palm oil producer PT Bumi Waras, shrimp farm company PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja, sugar producer PT Silva Indo Lampung, palm oil plantation owner PT Silva Indah Perkasa and rubber producer PT Huma Indah Mekar. But the regency, which...