Sign up to get Grist by Email. Go here to unsubscribe. Since the end of a seven-year civil war in Liberia in 1997, rainforests in the country have been cut down at an unprecedented rate, say environmentalists. Foreign companies, along with the country's president, Charles Taylor, and his inner circle, have pocketed the profits from logging, while ordinary citizens have seen few benefits.
Protests are rare in the country because people fear for their safety.
In March, former Deputy Information Minister Milton Teahjay wrote a letter to Taylor saying that Liberians were not benefiting from cutting down the forest. He disappeared on April 6. Hemp cars could be ready to hit the road within a decade, say researchers in Australia. Alan Crosky of the University of New South Wales says hemp is the most viable biodegradable material to use for car bodies, beating out coconuts and banana trees in early studies. Crosky thinks car owners will soon save money if their car frames are eco-friendly.