The nation spent the first half of the year complaining about expensive oil. It’s now enjoying the cheapest gas in four years, at levels a third of those last July. But what will happen next? Energy analysts say the reprieve will be short, and predict a price hike once the global economy recovers.

ALTHOUGH SHE’S ALWAYS RELISHED NATURE, IT WAS DURING Sherry Koontz’s five years of active military duty as part of the 45th Support Group that she first channeled that desire into a skill.

WHEN A TRACTOR PUSHING FIVE LAWNMOWERS first rolled down the fairways of the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1921, it must have turned some heads. Little did onlookers realize that the small company responsible for creating this innovative machine would one day become a household name.

John Deere was born into a poverty stricken family in Vermont in 1804 more than two hundred years ago. Today, his name and the company that he started are one of the most recognized names in the business world; however, his beginnings were much less auspicious.

This is a huge amount of water devoted to a use that isn'considered a necessity in all circles. To make matters worse, experts estimate that as much as half of the water used for landscape irrigation is wasted due to evaporation, runoff, over-watering, and poorly designed systems.

The doo-wop musical group The Five Royals recorded a song in the 1950s whose lyrics are oddly appropriate for today: You don't miss your water until your well runs dry. Anyone who's ever looked at a globe can see that water covers about 4/5ths of our planet. Looks like we have plenty of water. But 97 percent of that water is salt water, and a further two percent is inaccessible to us frozen in glaciers, for example.