US: Caution warranted on oil shale

With crude-oil prices inching toward $60 a barrel earlier this month, renewed talk of tapping Colorado’s vast oil-shale resources wasn’t surprising. This time, federal lawmakers are wisely urging caution in possible shale development to avoid the dislocations of the frenetic oil-shale boom and bust of the early 1980s.

More than 30% of our food is thrown away – and it’s costing billions a year

The British may waste more food than any other nation, throwing out 30-40% of all the produce they buy and grow each year, according to research. … modern food production methods may appear efficient, “but the reality is that large-scale manufacturing and rigid supply chains are creating very significant quantities of waste”.