Norfolk town's schools first to be heated by burning cattle

This takes my disdain for the biofuels movement to entirely new heights (not to mention weaving a little bit of "blech" into it).

A "trailblazing" Norfolk town has begun heating many of its buildings - including the schools - by burning oil made from melted-down cow and pig carcasses. The strategy is described as "equal or lower in carbon footprint than natural gas".

Read the whole story here.

World Water Week -- John Anthony Alan on biofuels and on consuming less meat

It's World Water Week in Stockholm. At least 2500 experts have gathered in Sweden at the Stockholm International Water Institute to discuss water-related issues ranging from sanitation to sustainability. The winner of the institute's 2008 Stockholm Water Prize, British professor John Anthony Allan, took the opportunity to issue a warning about what he predicts will be the frightening global impact of the increasing use of biofuels. He also stated that meat consumption is just plain old bad news for the world's environment -- particularly because of the huge amount of water wasted in raising animals for food. He called upon people to lower their meat consumption. The sad truth is that this isn't groundbreaking news. Experts have been talking about the meat industry's impact on global water supplies for years; we just haven't been listening.

Biofuels -- let the wars begin

Even as the EU backs away abruptly from its previous biofuels usage goals in the face of ''soaring world food prices blamed partly on competition for farmland from agri-fuel producers'', agribusiness giants Monsanto, Dow and Archer Daniels Midland are joining forces to mount a lobbying crusade (worth millions, natch) on Washington to build a case for continuing and / or increased usage of biofuels.

From controlling the world's food to controlling the world's food and energy...

Leaked World Bank study asserts that 75% of recent food price hikes are due to biofuels

It's finally slipping into the mainsteam that biofuels aren't the panacea that Washington would like us all to think they are. They're actually worse, and it seems that continuing to pursue them as a viable alternative source of energy will invariably mean that more and more people will go hungry. As it stands now, food prices will almost certainly hike significantly over the next several months as price increases for raw materials end up trickling down to consumers who'll pick and choose 'em off grocery store shelves. I hope that this report has an impact on governments currently rolling in minimum biofuel content requirements in their respective countries.

Read the Guardian article on it here.