Believe it or not, there are a number of economists who argue that nations with abundant natural resources are destined to be poor.  As evidence, they showcase oil rich countries like Iraq and Venezuela as prime examples.  But according to the National Center for Policy Analysis, such claims are unsupported, as recent studies reveal it is government policies, not rocks and minerals, that are to blame.  These studies point to the real world example of the United States, for instance, which experienced great economic development while becoming the world's leader in iron ore, timber, and zinc production, among others.  [...]

Because of global warming, there are a lot of proposals about ways to reduce carbon dioxide.  But one practical idea may be to simply pump the CO2 back into the ground where it came from.  Indeed, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, just such a test site is being developed at Teapot Dome in Central Wyoming.  Teapot Dome is famous for a major oil lease scandal in the 1920's, but now, researchers believe it could hold at least 1.6 million tons of CO2 per year for up to 10 years.  The gas would be injected as liquid into the [...]

Is the most commonly used herbicide in the developing world, known as paraquat,  a threat to human health and the environment?  Well many environmentalists say "yes" and have called for its ban by the international community. But as reported by the news source Tech Central Station, a growing number of scientific studies dispute this toxic claim.  This is because the herbicide paraquat tends not to be absorbed by the skin to any great extent, and it has not, as yet, been shown to be a health hazard when inhaled.  Further, since the chemical herbicide tends to bond with soil [...]

Each year, an estimated one billion birds are killed by a lethal device that has largely escaped the attention of major environmental groups. And while much fuss has been raised over issues ranging from oil spills to power lines, this eco-villain has dwarfed those in its bird-killing capacities. And the villain? Well how about common glass found in windows, which birds fly into each and every day as they see reflections which lead them to their fluttery doom. Fortunately, new bird-friendly glass designs are in the works, and scientists at Swathmore College believe they have a possible solution by [...]

Is there an domestic alternative, beyond the use of hydrogen or electricity, to fuel our cars that is safe and affordable? Well the answer is yes, according to the Cascade Institute's Angela Eckhardt, who recently studied the issue and gives a strong thumbs up to the use of biodiesel fuel. Comments Echardt: "Biodiesel is so easy to make that it could literally put power into the hands of every American, but only if the industry if freed of controls. Instead of subsidies and use mandates, we should simply set farmers free to process, sell and directly profit from their [...]

The next time you visit Japan, could you be eating with plastic chopsticks that were generated in the belly of bacteria? Well it may sound strange, but according to Kyodo News International, the Osaka Gas Company has developed this new manufacturing technology that could produce plastic dining equipment, garbage bags, and other plastic goods in 2 to 3 years. The plastic, called polyhydroxy butyrate, is created when the bacteria eats methane, and then accumulates the plastic inside their microscopic bodies. Since this production method costs one- third that of conventional types, and the product is both highly heat resistant [...]

For some time now, there has been concern over whether exposure to electromagnetic fields, or EMFs, from power lines and large electric motors increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. But now, a major new study from Sweden largely lays this concern to rest. According to Science News, a team at the Karolinska Institute studied more than 20,000 women in the Stockholm area who had developed breast cancer over a 23 year period, and determined that they had no higher EMF exposure than more than 100,000 cancer- free women in the same region. This came as a surprise to [...]

Home to giant sea tortoises, marine iguanas, and flamingoes, the Galapagos Islands are one the most unique ecosystems on  planet Earth.  Sadly, however, recent trends are making efforts to conserve this natural treasure a difficult challenge.  This according to the Environmental News Network, which reports how wildlife experts are becoming increasingly concerned about how Equador, which has historically been supportive of conservation, has released some 150 of its 226 park staff and has suspended much training.  Only one patrol boat now provides monitoring, and with increasing pressures from fishing interests that want to exploit the islands' rich marine reserve, [...]

Should pesticides be blamed for the decline of certain frog populations?  Well such a link doesn't seem to exist, or so says Alex Avery of the Hudson Institute, which recently released a report on the lack of science surrounding the alleged global amphibian crisis.  Comments Avery: "Ecologists have repeatedly created a false link between pesticide use and its impact on frogs.  In Minnesota, state officials charged that a chemical in water led to frog deformities, but that was later shown to be caused naturally by a parasite.  In California, the mountain yellow legged frog was supposed to be threatened [...]

While the idea of getting electricity from the sun holds bright promise for many, one of the great challenges has been coming up with a low-cost, lightweight solar cell made of plastic that could absorb both visible and infrared rays.  With current polymers only capturing visible light, they convert only 6 percent of the sun's energy into electrical power.  But according to Science News, researchers at the University of Toronto have come up with a new polymer made with semiconducting nanoparticles that can achieve efficiency up to an amazing 30 percent. With the material also holding promise for making [...]

Several states, as well as our federal government, believe that it is important to mandate increase fuel efficiency standards and reduce the level of carbon dioxide coming out of automobile tailpipes.  But are such policies wise?  Not according to Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who has this to say: "Fuel efficiency mandates and carbon dioxide emissions limits are political correct, but they are also dangerous.  They make cars less crash-worthy by reducing their weight, and so they increase highway deaths by the thousands.  Their proponents claim that these lethal effects are a thing of the past as [...]

There's often the perception that more globalization and free trade will mean more pollution and more exploited workers.  But according to a fascinating article by Pete Geddes of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, removing trade barriers is actually the quickest way to both boost living standards, and improve environmental quality.  In Mexico City, for instance, the air today is cleaner than that of Los Angeles 30 years ago due to economic progress and a more open political system.  And in the Pacific region of Asia, the number of people living on less than a dollar [...]

In the national debate over energy, the idea that world's oil production may have peeked is gaining currency. But according to Professor Barclay Jones, a nuclear engineer at the University of Illinois, such claims overlook the potential of new technologies to meet our growing demands. Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, Barclay notes there is approximately two trillion barrels of oil beneath the soil in some of our western states that can be extracted from shale, with another 1.5 trillion which can be recovered in the tar sands of Canada. With new technologies to economically refine these sources into gasoline, [...]

For many parts of the world, trying to get fresh water is a difficult task. And few places is this more of a problem than in China, where competition for water in one of the world's driest countries is aggravated by its population pressure of 1.3 billion people coupled with its surging economy. Fortunately, there appears to be a technological solution through the process of desalinization. Through a new plan issued by China's Finance Ministry, desalination plants are being constructed to produce 250 million gallons of water per day by the year 2010, thus supplying as much as 24 [...]