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Farming for fuel will drive up the cost of your favorite brew

According to this story in the Financial Times, strong demand for biofuel feedstocks such as corn, soybeans, and oilseed rape (canola) is encouraging farmers to plant these crops instead of barley, driving up its price.

And what is barley a key ingredient of? Beer.

What would it take?

Jerome Woody writes about green computing. That raises the question: What would it take to make computers truly sustainable?

The first thing to note is that while we do need to consider the energy computers use in operation, it is dwarfed by what it takes to make them in the first place. Back in 2004, Eric Williams estimated that more than 80 percent of the energy a computer will use during its lifetime is consumed during manufacture [1]. To gain perspective on the total impact of computer manufacture (rather than just greenhouse emissions): the fossil fuels burned and water polluted during manufacture of a computer system typically weigh more than an SUV.

How do we reduce this?

Hee hee

In the midst of a long interview in which he tries to persuade viewers he’s not the far-right bully you might think he is from, you know, watching his show, FOX dude Bill O’Reilly says this: Government’s gotta be proactive on environment. Global warming is here. All these idiots that run around and say it […]

Michael Pollan and Whole Foods guy go head to head

For those who read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, you know he takes Whole Foods to task for greenwashing the industrialization of a food movement that's trying to be more sustainable. Then the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods took Pollan to task right back.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the two will appear before a paying audience at UC Berkeley and attempt to hug it out. For those who don't want to pay and/or leave their homes, there will be a live webcast on Tuesday night. And as any fourth grader will tell you, that's the safest place to be during a food fight.

Umbra on boiling water for tea

Dear Umbra, My roommates seem to be constantly boiling water for tea. We’ve got a gas stove, a microwave, and an electric teakettle. However, we don’t know which option is most efficient. Any ideas? Kate R.Syracuse, N.Y. Dearest Kate, Idears-R-Me, and microwaved tea is nasty. Nas-tea, I suppose I must say, if I wish my […]

An illustrated taxonomy

Via Crooked Timber, a short academic paper on standard denier tactics for fighting regulations of all sorts: "The Denialists' Deck of Cards: An Illustrated Taxonomy of Rhetoric Used to Frustrate Consumer Protection Efforts" (PDF).

While it concentrates mostly on consumer protections, it does include some global warming examples, and most of it applicable to the global weirding fight.

Unlike, say, the story of Noah’s Ark

Joining a brain trust that boasts such members Stone Age Senator James Inhofe and TV game show host Pat Sajak, conservative Christian Reverend Jerry Falwell has spoken out on global warming, proclaiming it … you guessed it … a "myth." (You should really watch the linked news segment. It must be seen to be believed.) […]

New Zealand fishermen nab largest squid in the history of the world

Its eyes are the size of dinner plates; its tentacles, large enough to fashion tractor wheel-sized calamari rings. It stretches longer than a semi-truck, weighs more than a Harley, and glides effortlessly throughout the darkest depths of the Antarctic waters, using razor sharp hooks to gobble up the unlucky that fall into its path.

This is not the tale of a fabled sea monster or an excerpt from a Herman Melville classic. This is the true story of a colossal catch netted by New Zealand fishermen earlier this month. It took two hours to land what is presumably the largest and only mature male specimen of a colossal squid -- a rare find indeed.

Kedzie Press: An eco-friendly publishing house

There is an interesting article on Mediabistro.com about Kedzie Press, a small publishing house that publishes environmental titles, as well as other genres, using environmentally friendly manufacturing practices.

Some details emerge

More on the TXU deal from the NYT: Matt Wald says the effect on other proposed coal plants is uncertain (in the absence of a price on carbon, that is), and Andy Sorkin digs into some of the personalities and details behind the deal.