Research

Farm Subsidies

Conservation

Plowed Under

August 6, 2012

High crop prices and unlimited crop insurance subsidies contributed to the loss of more than 23 million acres of grassland, shrub land and wetlands between 2008 and 2011, wiping out habitat that...

Conservation

Water

Troubled Waters

April 12, 2012

Water that runs off fields treated with chemical fertilizers and manure is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorus, two potent pollutants that inevitably end up in rivers and lakes and set off a cascade...

Farm Subsidies

Giving It Away Free

April 1, 2012

View and Download the report here: Giving it Away Free A simple, free program to insure farmers against actual crop losses at full market price would be cheaper and fairer than today's hopelessly...

Ethanol Report 2012

February 17, 2012

Beware of higher ethanol gas. E-15 fuel could void warranties, damage small engines.

Will the Real Ethanol Beneficiaries Please Stand Up?

November 15, 2010

Eight years ago, the ethanol industry was keeping up the pretence that corn ethanol was a “bridge” to advanced biofuels. But figures like these, derived from the Renewable Fuels Association's (RFA)...

Higher Ethanol Blends May Harm Health and Engines

May 18, 2009

In March 2009 corn ethanol producers asked for help from the federal government to expand their industry. Growth Energy, a consortium of ethanol producers, petitioned the Environmental Protection...

America Needs a True Renewable Energy Policy

February 9, 2009

Finding ways to reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions while producing enough energy to support economic development worldwide is this century's preeminent challenge. We must meet this...

Ethanol’s Federal Subsidy Grab Leaves Little For Solar, Wind And Geothermal Energy

January 8, 2009

As Congress and the incoming Obama administration plan the nation's next major investments in green energy, they need to take a hard, clear-eyed look at Department of Energy data documenting corn...

The Unintended Environmental Impacts of the Renewable Fuels Standard

August 29, 2008

The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates a dramatic increase in the use of biofuels in transportation. The RFS mandates significant increases in...

Biofuels and Bad Weather

June 16, 2008

When the Bush administration and Congress required gasoline refiners to blend in 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol by 2015, they made the impossibly rosy assumption that American farmers would...

Colorado's Chemical Injection

June 10, 2008

Oil and gas companies in Colorado are injecting wells with millions of gallons of unknown fluids that contain dozens of dangerous chemicals linked to respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, immune...

Grand Canyon Threatened by Approval of Uranium Mining Activities

January 29, 2008

In an ominous move, the Forest Service has approved drilling for uranium at as many as 39 sites near the Grand Canyon's south rim, marking what may be the beginning of a rush to mine the radioactive...

Colorado’s Pristine Roan Plateau Threatened by Drilling Surge

December 16, 2007

As Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter prepares to take a stand on federal plans to allow thousands of oil and gas wells on Colorado's Roan Plateau and surrounding land, an investigation by Environmental...

Dirt Cheap: America's Lands in Speculators' Hands

November 8, 2005

A little-known provision in the current House budget reconciliation could precipitate one of the largest land giveaways in American history. The provision, spearheaded by Rep. Richard Pombo of...