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Finally, teh soy and teh gay, united

Looks like there's more to soy biodiesel than protecting the environment and energy independence -- it's also going to help keep down the homosexual population!

Yes, it seems that medical "evidence" has finally shown homosexuality is not genetic at all. It is, in fact, your momma's fault for giving you soy-based formula.

Let's keep that "devil's food" out of the mouths of babes and in our fuel tanks!

Seriously, though, soy products (that aren't fermented) do contain high levels of phyto-estrogens, which are analogous to the female hormone estrogen. Studies are mixed as to the effects of soybeans' chemicals and metabolites on infants, as well as on adults. But none of them point to a link between soy and homosexuality.

If you're leery of soy formula's possible effects on babies (and want to give your baby the best start all around), stick to breastfeeding.

U.S. EPA thinks lead in the air may be A-OK, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Bra-vo Plumb Crazy By Hook and By Crook Folks, We’re Encountering Some Turbulence Native Shun Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Fill ‘er Up Que Sarah, Sarah Tanks for Nothing At Bat And don’t forget to donate to Grist’s “New Year’s […]

Good stuff

Newsweek's Enterprise section is focused on "the future of energy." There are a few good stories in there.

Famed author (at least famed to energy geeks) Daniel Yergin says the end of cheap oil is going to make for an era of enormous technological innovation, driven by private venture capital and entrepreneurialism rather than government programs.

Fareed Zakaria laments the rise of a set of anti-capitalist, authoritarian economic powerhouses fueled by high oil prices (a point the mustache is fond of making).

Best of all, in the normally unbearable My Turn column, presidential wildcard Al Gore shows up to tout the benefits of decentralized energy sources and smart grids. Be still my heart!

Here's an excerpt:

Congress passes mediocre fisheries bill

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the 109th Congress had the opportunity to leave the session as ocean heroes. Instead, they passed a bill with mostly incremental changes to the existing law that governs America's fisheries. The re-authorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act focuses more on who gets to catch the fish in the ocean than how we can make sure there will always be enough fish to catch.

Sarah James, Gwich’in activist and environmental prizewinner, answers questions

Sarah James. What work do you do? I am the board chairperson for the Gwich’in Steering Committee. I work as I live the life. And I am open to opportunities to tell my story in order to protect the calving and nursery grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. What does your organization do? The Gwich’in […]

Uh oh

Bush to Make Energy a 2007 Priority, Economic Aide Hubbard Says

Duck!

Author of seminal climate report locked out of UK governing circles

Remember the Stern Report on climate change? How it was going to change everything?

Yeah, well, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown -- widely expected to become the next British Prime Minister -- has completely ignored the report's recommendations. He's taking the minimal possible action to address climate change. Stern has been frozen out and will leave the gov't in March.

Bloody awesome!

Biodiesel is wack

... by feeding carbon sinks to our cars, trucks, and buses.

My wife pointed me to an article on biodiesel in the business section of the Seattle Times yesterday. I discussed this issue once before. But hey, if the Times can repeat the same story over and over, why can't I?

Let me parse this article out.

Plaza says Imperium's contract provides palm oil exclusively from sustainable farms, and it plans to perform audits to make sure that proviso is honored.

You can't possibly verify where a given gallon of palm oil came from, especially in a third world nation where graft and bribes are still standard operating procedure. What would you do if the person you send to Indonesia on a verification mission discovers that your competitors have hogged up all the palm oil from the "sustainable" plantations (whatever those are supposed to be) and that they are sending you oil from newer plantations (ones that more recently usurped rainforests)? Try to envision how effective this strategy will be.

"Quick! Shut down the refinery and lay everyone off! Recall that last shipment! We are using palm oil being grown on recently cleared rainforests!" Spare me. Had he said, "We will not be using oil imported from third world tropical countries because the incentive to destroy rainforest carbon sinks is just too great and there really is no effective way to verify sustainability," I would have been deeply impressed. You will also note that nowhere in this article was global warming mentioned.

Green power programs at utilities remain teensy

From last week, good news about Portland General Electric:

PGE [has moved to] the head of the pack nationally in terms of demand for green energy. Under its green-power program, Oregon's largest utility sells more kilowatts of renewable power to its residential customers than any other utility in the country, regardless of size. [Emphasis added]

Wow. PGE is nowhere near the nation's largest utility. Still, it leads the nation "green energy" signups -- people who opt to pay a bit extra on their home utility bills to support wind, solar, small hydro, or similar climate-friendly energy sources. Seems like PGE, and its customers, deserve a pat on on the back.

But wait, there's more! (Or perhaps less ...)

R.I.P.

Bling is dead, y'all. At least, it is according to this campaign (which I neglected to mention in my blood diamond post last week).

From the press release:

Two African-born artists are calling for the end of "Bling" this holiday season. Chosan, the Sierra Leonean-born hip-hop artist whose voice is heard on Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" video, and G. Kofi Annan of award-nominated Annansi Clothing Co. are spearheading an effort to eliminate the bling culture which helps fund bloody wars in Africa.

The "Bling is Dead" project is being launched in an effort to motivate consumers to be more selective in their gift purchases this holiday season. As part of Annansi Clothing Co.'s ongoing Demand Details! initiative, the "Bling is Dead" project features a newly released song by Chosan named "Blood Diamonds" and a special "Bling is Dead" t-shirt which will be used to encourage consumers to stop the illicit diamond trade.