News Sifting...Thursday Edition

Here's some of what has caught my attention in the last couple of days (other than Scarlett Johannson's engagement and the fact that my tax rebate has not arrived yet...)

National Geographic has released a new international survey ranking the green habits of consumers. Somewhat predictably, the USA comes in at about the same position as the Mariners, if say this were the AL West. While Americans' environmental consumption habits are well known, this survey appears somewhat suspect to me. It doesn't look like it adjusts for differences in income and choices (other than availability of mass transit).

It's easy for Brazil to be tops for their choice of small homes and less reliance on fossil fuels when the choices available to them are small houses and no central heating or air conditioning. As we've seen in China, when standards of living rise, people may make less green choices. Still, you need to do better, my fellow Americans. You can start by buying a Friends of the Hylebos 25th Anniversary canvas grocery bag!

What is the Lindsey Lohan of the alternative energy movement? Biofuels, or so it would seem. No, I don't mean that biofuels have been out drinking and passing out in cars (or appearing in clunkers like Herbie: Fully Loaded, for that matter)...stay with me on this forced analogy, will you. It's all I got...

Anyhow, early in their career, biofuels were hailed, hyped and overhyped (and one would presume, overhailed, too) as the answer to global warming, air pollution, foreign oil dependence, and other things. They were the cute, freckle-faced 12 year old dream alternative fuel. But, just a few years later, and biofuels are not that cute anymore. In fact, they are now getting bad press from all directions. An article in the P-I about biofuels troubles.

The WSJ takes a stab at getting the backlash going (though with a kind of odd Suzanne Somers reference that makes you wonder if the column author has an unrequited love thang).

Congress, of course, was shocked to find out that supply and demand were intertwined. And at least one North American town takes an ethical stand against biofuels.