Topic on the Beat: Agriculture
Top Agriculture Stories From SEJournal
TipSheets & Toolboxes

TipSheets & Toolboxes
"For the first time, the federal government on Thursday released an estimate of the number of so-called green jobs in the United States economy, saying that 3.1 million people are employed in the production of goods and services that benefit the environment."
"WASHINGTON - It's the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show.
A statistical analysis of 36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production by The Associated Press shows no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump."
A nonfiction reporter takes a long look at Walmart's suppliers in China and elsewhere, assessing the company's claims to be greening itself as the world's largest retailer.
"The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that it would impose tariffs on solar panels imported from China after concluding that the Chinese government provided illegal export subsidies to manufacturers there. The tariffs were smaller, at 2.9 to 4.73 percent, than some American industry executives had expected."
"MANSFIELD, La.—The brilliant green artificial turf on high-school football fields here serves as a vivid symbol of the natural-gas boom that brought prosperity to this traditionally poor corner of northwest Louisiana.
But the foundation of this wealth has started to crumble. The price of natural gas has plunged to a 10-year low, prompting a flight of energy companies from gas fields across the country.
"The Energy Department is mismanaging oversight of $34 billion in taxpayer-backed loans for green-energy and other projects, congressional auditors said Monday in a new report."
"The Government Accountability Office said it took Energy Department staff more than three months to come up with data on the status of applications for loan guarantees, leading auditors to question whether oversight of the program is timely or fair to companies seeking federal subsidies.
"WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is bringing a new trade case against China that seeks to pressure the rising economic power to end its export restrictions on key materials used to manufacture hybrid car batteries, flat-screen televisions and other high-tech goods."
"Visiting the Daimler truck manufacturing plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced a new $1 billion set of incentives to help consumers and businesses purchase new advanced trucks and cars."