Baby, I've Changed.

Its almost like we've got a three party system going on here. Its the Democrats vs. the Republicans vs. the Republicans. Nevermind that the two types of Republicans are nearly indistinguishable from the lame-duck to the next duck in line. The latter Republicans have decided that its time for a change, stating that "Washington isn't working". Well maybe you should get your asses back there and punch the time clock while you're still allowed in the building. But despite the new stream of rhetoric about change and fixing "things" no one seems to be able to say what the New Grand Old Party would do differently from the current one, apart from understand less about the needs of people who don't have summer homes. Here are a few of the "changes" I noticed on McCain's site that we can we can look forward to:

• Magically reducing gas prices (he must have that wand George lost), continuing tax cuts for the wealthy and various other tax breaks that reduce revenue without explaining how to make up the difference.
  
• Fighting climate change by producing more power, domestically drilling for oil (growing our own opium) or burning coal and crops. Rewarding oil companies to keep gouging us and paying little
  attention to technologies that would ease their strangle hold and
  actually reduce global warming.
  
• More war; somehow increasing the size of the military despite it being underfunded and over-deployed as it is.
  
• Free range, sink or swim health care.
  
• Population increases through abstinence-only education and overturning Roe v. Wade; reducing our dependence on foreign adoptions. (domestically drilling for babies)
  
• Protecting people's rights by outlawing same-sex marriages. (not sure I follow)
  
• Protecting children from the dark side of the Internet... somehow.
  
• Protecting human dignity. (no torture, maybe?)
• Ensure that everyone keeps a trigger lock on their armor piercing high capacity magazine assault rifles.
• Provide high-speed Internet to all Americans (even you John?) by allowing local communities to build connections if the local telcom monopoly has waived its right of first refusal.
  

Its kinda like McCain is the boyfriend who did something stupid and
noticed that his lady is really pissed off. He wants to make it right,
but doesn't know what's wrong, and not if it means making real changes. The
classic "I'm not going to tell you if you don't already know." Lets
hope he doesn't show up tonight with wilted carnations and a 6-pack of condoms.

• Editorial - John McCain Runs Against Themselves - Editorial - NYTimes.com

Glorified T-Shirt Store.

What the hell is wrong with this place? I know I have a problem with most places that sell clothing for dogs, but this is just too ridiculous. American Apparel plays hipster music, charges $25 for cheap t-shirts and somehow people go there. I wouldn't have a problem with their prices, except the stuff doesn't seem very well made to me. Seriously, I saw some stuff there that you could have made from left-over picnic napkins. And besides everything being made from t-shirts, some of the stuff was unfathomably hideous. Check out this purple polka-dot hoodie I found in what I think was the men's section.

I know there's something to purchasing sustainable goods, but you know what's more sustainable than buying new expensive cheap shtuff? Using stuff that's already been made, even if it wasn't originally manufactured "sustainably". Also we went to cake love; I didn't get anything there either.

Like, Thanksgiving And Stuff?

Well shucks. It appears to be November and I still have post stubs going back all the way to September. Lets see what we can do about that; DP style.

<-- Maybe this is why I'm psyched to see wind turbines on the horizon. I think they're pretty.

• EcoGeek: energy plant

This little future-Civic looks pretty kickass. Slap a type R badge on the back and stick a diesel under the hood and its really something to get excited about. Honda is bringing the diesel; its gonna rock; just bide your time.

• Jalponik: Type R to burn oil

Nice little tip here: cotton balls soaked in petroleum, once lit, will burn through pretty much anything. I'm gonna start carrying cotton balls and steel wool in one pocket with Vaseline and 6 volt batteries in the other.

• Lifehacker: Start a fire in the rain

We're gonna need a term for faster than fast as balls. Remember the concord? Childs' play. Forget twice the speed of sound, when you're in a hurry you need mach 5. Maybe a little faster. That's what the EU is hoping to get out of the A2; fueled by hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Looks like we keep finding reasons to love hydrogen. Now if we could just figure out how to make an ass-load of it.

• Register: Hypersonic hydrogen airliner

Yeah, you can find good stuff in the trash. Especially if you know a little something about art, apparently. Although I gotta believe if you're lookin for large cash settlements, your chances are a little better playing the lottery or jumping in front of limos.

• Treehugger: Dumpster diver finds $1m

Maybe its just cause my windows transfer more heat than a Central American arms merchant, but I'm totally in love with these windows. They have three, count em, three highly insulating panes. The center of which has a heat reflective surface like a one way valve. So in the summer you can keep heat out, but flip the frame during winter to keep heat in.

• EcoGeek: Better Windows

I know that anesthesiologists are generally very good and people normally don't wake up in the middle of surgery; but if I opened my eyes and saw a couple of surgeons standing over me with a bottle of hot sauce I would FREAK OUT. Straight-up crazy. Like they'd have to knock me unconscious with a shoe.

• AP News: Doctors test Hot Sauce

This one was gonna to be a joke about Cheney. I'm sure you can fill in the details.

• National Geographic: King tut died in hunting accident

I just couldn't resist the title of this one. Now that's good journalism. I'm not exactly sure how you make bio-fuel from lamb, but I'm sure quality is directly related to the fluffiness.

• EnvironmentalGraffiti: Cute Fluffy Lambs Sentenced to Death

This is pretty cool. It's a memory card with wifi built right in. So whenever it can find the Internet it'll upload your newest pictures whereever you want. Those chumps who bought that kodak wifi camera are kickin themselves now. Too bad my cameras take CF. Where's the Sea-FI love?

• Engadget: Eye-Fi Wifi enabled SD

Dangerous = Cool. Its just a fact of life. The more dangerous the activity, the cooler you look while doing it. For example: skydiving. Pretty cool looking. Now strap on a jetpack and some wings. Evel Knievel never dreamed of looking so good. Reminds me of the switchblade from Die Another Day, but with jet engines.

• Register: Stealth strap-on jet plane

Just Squirt It Into My Mouth.

Yes, ez-cheese meets breakfast. I can't really begin to describe how disgusting I find this. Not the pancakes oozing out of a pressurized container part, but the absolute waste and laziness this product represents. If you can't crack an egg and pour some milk, you don't deserve pancakes. There's 8 pancakes in this conveniently disposable and landfilling container, as opposed to the about 300 servings found in a cardboard box of pancake mix. What's next, some kind of potted meat aerosol sausage machine? Please don't buy this. Go get some Eggos if you're too stupid/lazy to make pancakes from "scratch".

• Strange New Products: Pancakes from an Aerosol Can

*Note: Actually making pancakes from scratch isn't really that hard, and using a premade mix is even easier. If you need to squirt them out of a can, I'm not sure you're gonna be able to handle the arduous tasks of flipping them over, pouring syrup from a bottle, and putting them into your mouth with a fork.

By YOUR powers combined...

I like to think that captain planet is directly responsible for the rise of ecologically minded young adults in America today. I mean any show with classic villains like "Looten Plunder" "Dr Blight" and "Verminous Skumm" has got to be fantastic. But to be fair those guys' mothers relegated them to lives of villainy from birth with names like that. Oh to be back in early 90's cartoon land... Although I'm not really clear on what the 'heart' ring power was all about. What a pussy superpower.

• Captain Planet and the Planeteers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Put Some Effort Into It.

Oh man, the next time I can't think of what to get someone, I'm going to get them nothing.  I mean, sure, I've gotten people nothing before, but I didn't wrap it and give it to them.  What better way to say "I resent having to think of something to give you."  Of course TreeHugger does have a point about pointless packaging, except that in this case the packaging is the product.  This is about the only think I can think of that I actually hope people will re-gift.

• Not Excessive, But Gratuitous, Packaging (TreeHugger)

Ocean Motion

Wave power is something that I don't really think about all that much when I consider clean alternative power sources. Normally my thoughts drift straight to solar and wind and then on to the dreamy hunk that is fusion. But that may be off base. Here's a presentation by Max Carcas of Ocean Power Delivery at a Google Tech Talk.

The presentation is about an hour long but it gives great details about the actual device as well as energy potential, market and economics of wave power. Watch the video if you have the time he's much better at explaining it than I am, but I'll put some of my notes below. Skip to about 26:00 for video of the wave tank simulation.

• Google Video: Wave Energy
• Treehugger: Max Carcas of Ocean Power Delivery
• Ocean Power Delivery Limited
  

Solar currently generates 100 watts per square meter, wind 1000 watts per square meter while wave power houses the potential for 20,000- 70,000 watts per square meter depending on teh region. Wave energy can be thought of as compressed stored wind energy.

Waves are a highly forecastable energy source, which is a major concern with wind and solar generation. Output, even without forecasting, can be held constant within a 5 and 10% threshold.

The device is called "Pelamis" (a type of sea snake) for its vertical and horizontal motion as waves pass under it. It resides in an optimal depth of 80m which is 2-10km from shore depending on the region. At this depth the waves are not compressed by the shore and retain more energy while remaining in a non-volatile state (not breaking).

A single unit is 140m long and 3.5m wide with 4 rigid sections and 3 joints that contain pneumatic actuators. The joints move up and down as well as side to side at non uniform angles to induce a kind of harmonic tuning that is used to maximize the power output depending on the type of wave. That single unit will average around 750 KW output which is enough for about 500 homes.

The device is designed to be survivable with "load shedding" as an innate feature of the design. If a large wave is encountered it will simply pass through the wave rather than rising too high on a crest and breaking apart. This is much the same as the way that wind turbines can feather in excess wind or a hydro-electric plant can discharge excess water.

The technology was designed using existing technology as a guide. Natural gas, Oil and various other marine industries have developed standards couplings and materials that are well suited to this type of environment. The device itself employs very few revolutionary, and untested, modules which makes it very reliable.

The current cost of deployment per kwh is above wind but below solar. There is a distinct trend in applications of new technologies that cost drops fairly dramatically as process is streamlined and technologies refined. Wind turbine prices have dropped 80% since the first wind turbine project; so one might make an educated guess that a similar trend will follow for wave power. Government subsidies generally provide incentive to new projects during the first few years to help with this innovation cost hurdle, as we've done for solar and wind.

I Bet Crude Oil Tastes Great!

Ethanol gets me so riled up. I mean, sure its a great way to stop using foreign oil and prop up the sagging farm industry. You know, aside from its general inefficiency, its failure to address the Neanderthalic burning-stuff-for-power lack of innovation, and the destruction of a perfectly useful commodity. People have been taking it up lately because that's a great way to impress the middle of the country. You know that same, unimproved commodity you're been growing all your life? Well turns out that it just got 7 times more expensive! Bullshit.

You want to grow power? Plant a field full of photo voltaic cells that do a much better job of harnessing sunlight and turning it into usable fuel. And I won't need to subsidize you cause it won't be ridiculously expensive to turn a mild profit.

Sorry I finally got around to watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" so I'm very angry about inferior alternatives being pushed out because they may benefit a small subset of people for a short time. These hydrogen and ethanol technologies that are the "salvation of the energy dependence" completely fail to address the issue of environmental efficacy. Electric cars have been around since the beginning of cars, but we've been distracted all this time by a better advertised, but less effective, alternative. Don't get suckered in again. Don't buy an "efficient" 42mpg hybrid, don't wait around 5 years for a "where the hell will the fuel come from, oh its expensive and inefficient to create" hydrogen drive vehicle. There are gigawatts of electricity out there in wind, sunlight, and waves just waiting to be harvested. And electric cars the possess durability and performance to make use of that free power NOW, without the need to throw billions into "future research".

So next time you feel pressured to use one of these "new innovations" in fuel, reply that you're more temped to crack open a can of 10W-30 instead of Gatorade at the gym.

• Ethanol in America: "Our Crop. Our Fuel. Our Country." (TreeHugger)
• Checkbiotech.org: Ethanol's corn-fed boom holds hidden costs: higher food prices

Jury To Whiners: Suck It.

A Texas jury sided with a multi-million dollar out of state corporation over the complaints of local residents. Damn straight, I'm not usually for big companies rolling over the opinions of citizens, but screw these guys. The difference is in the details. This company runs the largest wind farm in the world and these plaintiffs are alleging that the turbines are a public nuisance. They say that the sounds created by clean, efficient energy are too much to bare. (well, they say that now that a judge told them they can't make a case against the look of the turbines) An impartial sound engineer took readings and found that the highest reading was 44 decibels. That's smack in between a residential area at night and a quiet restaurant. Or how about the wind blowing at 10 mph? Imagine that, a wind farm makes as much noise as the wind. How dare they?

This wind farm has 421 turbines on 47,000 acres maxing out at 735 MegaWatts. Awesome. I would love to see some big-ass turbines outside my window.

• Wind energy scores major legal victory in U.S. | Inside Greentech

Lets All Get Audited

This guy in Massachusetts reduced his home power consumption by so much that the power company audited him. They thought he'd messed with his meter, but in fact he just installed standard energy efficient devices. Fluorescent light bulbs, switches on outlets, energy saver appliances and effective insulation.

Also interesting is the global analysis of pollution tonnage. Sure we have the highest gross pollution tonnage, but we also have the highest per capita pollution. Sounds a little dismal, and it is disgusting that we're so excessive. But think of it this way, an individual can directly reduce more emission than in places with high tonnage but lower per capita numbers.

• Surprise: Not-so-glamorous conservation works best | csmonitor.com

This Title Is Not An Acurate Description.

I have a hard time picturing two million of anything but two million tennis balls seems like a lot. So I got all excited about the Japanese figuring out how to recycle them. Wait. No, they're just putting them on the legs of tables and chairs. Excuse me? Maybe I'm just used to mind-blowing technology coming from over there, but we were doing this in fourth grade.

I mean I can think of all kinds of things to do with tennis balls after they've given up the bounce, but the fact is that they still go in the trash at some point. Especially cause whatever you use them for makes them all grody.

But the fault lies not with the Japanese. Its an admirable program and achievement, but its not recycling. Treehugger, I can't believe you'd write that as a title. Don't you remember your three R's? Reuse and Recycle are obviously not the same thing. Otherwise its only two R's.

• Treehugger: Japan Recycles Two Million Tennis Balls

Too. Many. Carticles...

Ok, I'm not sure how to go about this so I'll just start with the stupidest one and work up from there.

The HHR was a terrible idea to begin with. Its just ugly. So now the news that you can pay $200 MORE for one without three seats five windows and one door makes me wonder what the hell is going on. Are people buying these? Is this the new child-snatcher mobile? Watch out plain white van, the HHR is coming after your target consumer.

• Like A Rock? Chevy HHR Panel Van Gets A Starting Price Of $16,750 - Jalopnik

You know those stickers on new cars "estimating" the milage? You know how they're wrong? Well apparently the EPA is taking this matter by the horns and is revising the testing system for the first time since 1985. The result? Most estimates will drop by around 12%. Now I'm not sure what these tests consist of or how they were revised, but it sounds to me like car companies got pretty good at jumping through the hoops over the last 21 years. Making cars appear more efficient than they are. Class action lawsuit?

• Mileage Will Vary: EPA Changes Rules On Fuel Economy To Reflect Reality - Jalopnik

Doing your part for the environment by driving a Prius? As with most be cool-and-make-a-statement products marketed to US consumers it may not meet up with expectations. People have been worried about the dust to dust cost of the battery component for a while; disposing of the materials is as detrimental that burning gas for the life of the car. Well look at this article about the Toyota supplier that provides nickel for the batteries. The area in Canada around the factory has become so desolate from sulfur-dioxide emissions that astronauts went there to practice driving their moon buggies.
But the nickel's voyage only begins there. Its shipped 10,000 miles around the world before reaching the battery incarnation in Japan. And then they ship the completed cars back around the world to wherever they're selling them. Is all this worth 40, maybe 45 mpg? (with the updated EPA estimates) My 11 year old Honda gets 35 and didn't require exotic materials.

• Toyota factory turns landscape to arid wilderness | the Mail on Sunday

Sure they do oil in Texas, but they also do bio-diesel. Well, they used to do bio-diesel. The use of these fuels produces nitrogen oxide emissions, which the state found unacceptable as they passed legislation against it last year. The industry has had one year to lower the emission levels, but that's almost up. I'm all for reducing pollution, but I'm not sure this is the way to encourage growth in a small market. You need to offer incentives, not just penalties. Right now what reason is there to try and develop this technology besides the goodness of your convictions?

• Biodiesel banned in Texas

Thanks Nissan, you're doing a great jeorb. The new hybrid Altima will be available in 8 states to meet their stringent clean air laws. But here's the kicker: they don't think they can make money on it. Yeah just another reason I'm not impressed by hybrids. People don't want to pay for them, companies can't make a profit from them, the environmental costs of producing and disposing of them, they still run on gas, and they misrepresent themselves as being a kind of environmental salvation.

• Nissan says hybrid will lose money - 12/08/06 - The Detroit News Online

Does diesel hybrid make sense? I'm the first to admit that I'm not an engineer, and don't know all that much about designing cars. But aren't diesel engines least efficient when they first turn on? When they're cold and not completely burning the fuel? So how does that translate to a system where the engine kicks on for a little while to top off the batteries and then switch off? Seems like we should have one big diesel that's always running, and you just hook your car up to it when you need some juice.

• A Diesel Prius? Toyota Could Use Isuzu's Greatest Asset in Hybrid Drive - Jalopnik

Fusion power. That's where its at. But until we get that ITER online, we'll just have to use the old-fashioned kind. That solar power folks, and its getting better. So I like to see people finding applications, cause demand drives research. So peep these guys giving their lackluster hybrids a tweak by fitting solar roofs on them. They're getting 20 miles a day already even without the ninja photo-voltaic cells that are coming. 20 miles a day could put some people in the range of using zero fuel on a daily basis, and still having the option to drive 50 miles on a weekend getaway if they'd like.

• Solar Electrical Vehicles

You know I like the Tesla roadster. I know it probably has its own environmental issues but I don't like the Tesla for its fuel efficiency. I like the concept, a small company building a redonkulous performance car by developing new technology while reusing body designs with plans to downscale it into a reasonable production technology. And its a sweet car. You don't even realize how fast you're going. Just ask this guy who got the first ticket while driving a Tesla. Shit, if I had one I wouldn't care.

• Treehugger: Tesla Ticketed

Daily Placebo: Friday Frenzy.

Well damn, here it is Friday afternoon and I haven't gotten to a single post today. I hate that feeling of being behind and putting it off till Monday so what do you say? Can I just cram all this stuff into one long unrelated post with no thought to consistency or quality? Can I write bland descriptions with no bite, no sarcasm and no witty repartee? I'd like to think I can do anything I put my mind to, so here goes.

Holy crap! A president giving himself and all his friends a pay cut in a effort to make government spending more accountable and transparent. Can we let this guy fill in for the rest of Bush's term?

• BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexican president takes pay cut

I love Tesla Motors so bad and not just cause they're making electric Elises. They're gonna license their battery tech to other companies, which is awesome. It will get the market rolling on EV rather than having competitors languishing trying to make a non-exploding battery.

• Tesla Motors' looking to license Roadster's battery technology - Engadget

Bush thinks there are monsters in the closet. And democrats in the Congress. He's right about one and letting *gasp* big polluters get nailed to the wall like they should.

• EPA drops plan to ease pollution rules - Yahoo! News

Laser weapons are coming! Well they're still a ways off, but still. They're increasing in power and that mythical beast of a 100 kw laser can't be far off. Just think we'll finally be able to have space wars like in Moonraker. Too bad we won't have a courageous leader to get us stuck in a Martian occupation for 35 years.

• Defense Tech: Lasers Blowing Up

You're an ambulance driver. You were making a 12 mile trip. You had GPS. You drove 200 miles the wrong way because the machine told you to. There will be no robot uprising, they're just going to kill off idiots with slight misinformation.

• Techdirt: Turn On GPS, Turn Off Brain

North Korea stole our ship. I think we should get it back. Honestly, I'm no history buff, but I'm shocked about the events I had no idea happened.

• Damn Interesting » The Seizing of the Pueblo

Wait, nix that thing about Bush not being able to get us caught up in an unethical occupational war on Mars. He's already got the ball rolling. NASA has its plans for a permanent base on the moon. Which makes perfect sense. Where are we going to take and illegally detain and torture all the captured combatants?

• NASA planning to set up shop on the moon in 2024 - Engadget

Kite sail ahoy. You poofters all thought I was crazy when I first blogged about this, but its here. Tankers supplemented by big-ass kites. Never doubt me.

• Hugg / Picture Of Kite Sail In Action!

The UK gets it. They've got the congestion charge to help reduce traffic in the city. But wait there's more! The fee is waived for users of EVs plus they're installing free stations so you car can charge while you're parked. Oh and they're increasing the congestion tax for SUVs. Sweet.

• Treehugger: Free Charge-Up for Electric Cars

Dining Room Compost.

Eyes too big for your stomach? Well don't scrape those leavings into the trash. And don't run them down the in-sink-erator. Feed them to your table. A slot in the center leads to a sack filled with worms, bugs and bacteria that are just salivating for some compost. At the bottom is a nozzle that sprinkles out the finished product; sweet rich compost for your house plants. Nevermind what I'm sure must be a gut wrenching stench, man-up and take one for the environment. I'm pretty sure we've got some compost going in my apartment right now. Its just slow going cause the items in question are in the fridge.

Treehugger: Amy Youngs' Digestive Table

Coal Diet.

Awesome. They're getting off the coal habit in California. Unfortunately they've still got to use up the coal they have hidden all over the house, under the mattress, the flour canister, the toilet tank. Oh and they get home delivery. And the contract doesn't expire till 2027. But that's OK, it'll give them some time to figure out another option. The first step is the hardest and by not renewing this contract they've gotten the ball rolling.

• Hugg / californian cities do not renew contracts for coal-fired power

Imagine your electricity bill. Now imagine it gone. Now imagine it replaced with a check for two grand. If you're in the Puget Sound area there's a serious opportunity and incentive to produce renewable power thanks to Initiative 937. Large utility companies need to increase renewable energy sources to 15% by 2020. So PSE is outsourcing the task, paying citizens that produce excess clean power for the grid.

• Hugg / Energy company to pay customers for power

Water Power Update.

I can't believe how many ideas there are for getting electricity from water movement. Wait; yes I can. I can't believe how few of them we use. Tide, current, wave, and different mechanical implementations for each. Add these to the list:

• Treehugger: New Innovations In Tidal Energy
• Hugg / S.D.E. Wave Power for $0.02 per kWh
• Hugg / brandl generator
• Hugg / wave plane
• Hugg / The Kobold turbine within the archimedes bridge
• Hugg / exploiting flows within water treatment works

Monday Greening

More wave power generation. These guys are floats anchored to the ocean floor that bob under the surface as wave crests and troughs roll by. I'm assuming that they're more sheltered and less susceptible to damage in rough seas.

• AWS Ocean Energy Limited

Bio solvent and striper; way better than chemical strippers that give me the jibblies.

• Treehugger: aMAIZEing: Bio-Based Paint Solvent & Stripper

Using corn to make biodegradable plastics like this water bottle and filter.

• Strange New Products: Corn-Based Water Bottle with Filter

Whole Foods is to sell wind power gift cards. Bound to be the best stocking suffers you give this year.

• Hugg / World Exclusive! Whole Foods to sell Wind Power Gift Cards

Why aren't there plug-in hybrids? A nice long article about the benefits of plug-ins that actually talks with engineers about why they're not here yet. Spoiler: they're worried about battery longevity.

• Hugg / "Still Miles to Go for the Plug-In Vehicle"

Watch Me Burn Your Dinner.

I've never really been so hot on ethanol as an alternative fuel. Sure, its technically renewable, but I'd rather see these fuels come from untapped resources, not re-purposed necessities.

I know its hard to get solid facts, since sources vary so widely on the subject. Mostly you hear about how wonderful ethanol is as a renewable fuel that releases zero carbon emissions and works in current engines. I don't want to discount those positives, but I think the glossed over downsides are worth contemplating. Environmentalist Lester Brown is a major proponent of using food for food. He points out that rising gas prices are making corn more profitable as fuel than as food. Ethanol plants are being installed all over the world, Brazil leading in production. Last year the US ethanol industry consumed more corn than the entire Canadian harvest.

"There is no international body to mediate the competition between 800 million people with cars and two billion of the poorest people who spend more than half their income on food.'

How is someone supposed to be able to compete with an industry that is willing to pay double an item's worth just to burn it? Couple the ethical dilemma of burning dinners with the fact that ethanol just shifts pollution. Sure, zero emissions when it is burned; but ethanol is produced using fossil fuels that release just as much carbon. Then think about the production and transport of crops using fossil fuels, and you'll realize that such a complicated process requires many layers of infrastructure that will all need to be modified as we try to shed fossil fuels.

Ethanol is a stopgap. Its meant to appease people without having to lay out for a new car that uses a fundamentally different technology. I'm not saying it isn't a small improvement over the past 50 years of consumption, but I find it hard to believe its superior to other methods of energy collection.

• globeandmail.com: New fuels depleting food supply, critic says