Fields of parched crops surrounded Decatur, Ill., this fall as 10 students walked into the first-ever meeting of CCS 115. The class, "Introduction to Carbon Capture and Storage," marked the start of the first undergraduate degree program on that technology at a U.S. college. It was clear enough why Richland Community College had started it. For one thing, Decatur, nicknamed the Soybean Capital of the World in part for the huge processing plants run there by the Decatur-based agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co., is home to one of the most advanced carbon capture and storage projects in the country. For another, Decatur had just endured one of the hottest, driest summers in Illinois history. Go to story #1