Green Column: Raising Awareness of Plastic Waste

China's leading environmental watchdog has refused to disclose the results of a major national soil pollution study on grounds of state secrecy, according to a lawyer who requested the report's disclosure.

NEWS of what protagonists hope will be America's next big science project continues to dribble out.

The Chinese government has admitted for the first time that decades of reckless pollution have spawned a string of toxic "cancer villages". The admission by China's Environment ministry came in a five-year plan on tackling pollution.

ByNick Chiu:Investors need to be aware that growing prosperity and urbanization could double the volume of municipal solid waste, MSW, annually by 2025, as reported by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service. MSW consists of organic material, paper, plastic glass, metals, and other refuse collected by municipal authorities.

By Tom Konrad (AltEnergyStocks): The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published an article describing an increase in the energy content of municipal solid waste (MSW).

Kevin Grewal submits: In an attempt to bolster transparency, the SEC recently proposed more stringent disclosure rules for target-funds. Target-date funds are somewhat of a unique investment tool in that they are funds which automatically adjust their allocation of equities and bonds dependent on one’s retirement date. In general, the funds become more conservative by allocating more asset base to bonds as the retirement date nears.