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.

Rice, rodeos and Rob Brezsny

Rice rationing in North America has begun. As the price of rice skyrockets and as some consumers are beginning to hoard staples amidst fears of a global shortage, both Costco and Sam's Club are capping the number of bags of imported rice each customer can buy per visit.

The self-proclaimed ''largest rodeo in the world'', Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD), is suing animal welfare organization SHARK for having first persuaded Carrie Underwood (who is supposedly a vegetarian), and now rock band Matchbox 20 (whose lead singer Rob Thomas and his wife established the Sidewalk Angels Foundation to assist homeless people and animals) to cancel scheduled performances at the rodeo. SHARK's been busy providing the public with footage of the ridiculous amount of cruelty that persists at CFD (whose organizers have, incidentally, recentally announced that they're going to be ''toughening'' their rules on shocking horses to make them buck or bolt).

On a somewhat lighter note... It's offical, folks: Astrology is bunk. No more living my life according to Rob Brezsny. Sigh!