My ears are ringing!

Well, this new treatment discovered by researchers at UC Irvine helps alleviate tinnitus.

I wonder, can we get insurance companies to pay for iPods now?

Interesting use for biofuel ...

India uses biodiesel to run cellular networks in rural areas.

Phase two will involve setting up a supply chain using locally-grown crops to produce biodiesel to power up to ten base stations in the Maharashtra region.

Using locally grown crops is an even better idea.

A step in the right direction ...

United States the fastest growing biodiesel market in the world.

The question now is: Will we be able to maintain that momentum?

Also, it should be noted that even with this growth, only about half of 1% of all biodiesel is sold in the United States. So we have a ways to go as a nation.

Oregon says ...

Don't look at us for biofuel production.

Based on their analysis, the authors concluded that these three biofuel options appear to be a costly way to achieve limited progress toward energy independence or reduce greenhouse emissions in Oregon.

In a situation similar to what I blogged ...

... on Mexico, Europe's food industry calls for a more balanced biofuel policy.

Using agricultural land to grow bio-energy crops would also compete with the use of land for food and animal feed production, the CIAA stated in its memorandum.

For most consumers, raising food pries to cut fuel costs is not a viable alternative. Food prices need to remain low, which means we need to find biomass alternatives to canola, corn and sugar (as three major examples). The article cited specifically speaks of the increase in rapeseed (canola) prices, which doubled in the last five years as increasingly larger portions of the canola market went to biofuels production. Other cereals and starches went up 20% in the same time span. That trend needs to be reversed.

To deviate a bit ...

... from the discussion of biofuels (remember, I said that I might talk on other issues), I'd like to point out this article of Dr. Maureen Condic in First Things.

What We Know About Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem cells have received a lot of hype, and this article does a pretty good job in my opinion, of taking the veneer off the topic.

Algae Biofuel Process

PetroSun announces final testing for algae biofuel process

PetroSun, Incorporated announced last week that the field testing of the cultivation of algae for biodiesel production has now progressed to the final stage prior to the construction of a commercial cultivation facility.

Also reported ...

Algae BioFuels is considering sites in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Louisiana and Michigan for its initial commercial cultivation of algae feedstock in the United States. Australia and China are the leading candidates for production and refinery operations in the foreign marketplace.

MicrobeWorld Podcast

If you go to MicrobeWorld, they have a podcast section over on the right hand side of the site. Their latest podcast is entitled "The future of biogas". It's a little over 90 seconds in length.

While We're At It ...

While new sources of energy are critical, we should also learn to do more, with less.