Vertical Farming Puts Pigs High in the Sky

Dow's 'Enlist' resists powerful herbicide

(NEWSER) - Debate is raging over a new biotech corn engineered by Dow Chemical. The corn, called "Enlist," is intended to solve farmers' struggle against tough weeds; that's because it's resistant to a powerful herbicide, also made by Dow. But environmentalists fear that wind, heat, and humidity would carry the herbicide toward distant areas where it could damage other crops, as well as trees and gardens, reports Reuters . Dow says its new version of the herbicide, called 2,4-D, cuts such "drift" by 90%. More»

Roundup's strangehold falters in face of new threats

(NEWSER) - New breeds of “superweeds” are creeping across the Farm Belt, and shaking up the weedkiller and seed industries in the process. The long-dominant Roundup can't deal with immune invaders like pigweed, horseweed, and Johnsgrass, which has given rival chemical companies a chance to bring back old herbicides that Roundup long ago pushed out of the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

People who live near vegetation suffer fewer diseases

(NEWSER) - People who live close to parks or other “green spaces” are likely to be healthier, a new study suggests. Dutch researchers scoured the health records of 345,000 people, comparing their health status to the amount of green space in the surrounding area, from a half-mile to 2-mile radius. Of 24 health conditions—including cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases—people living in purely urban areas suffered higher instances of 15 of them, notes HealthDay. More»

Methane production drops after farms adopt new feed

(NEWSER) - Cow belches have been called a bigger environmental threat than cars and trucks—and now dairy groups are taking steps to keep dangerous burps to a minimum, the New York Times reports. One Vermont farmer has seen his cows’ methane emissions drop 18% after boosting the alfalfa and flaxseed in their feed, while methane has plummeted some 30% in France, where industrial farms are using alternative feed. More»

(NEWSER) - Being sensitive to the environment doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, the green option is often the most cost-effective one. Scientific American spotlights nine ways of cutting your bills as you save the Earth:

• Shrink your living space. Prefab homes and plans for dwellings as small as 65 square feet are widely available.