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  • Palin Against Abortion even if Rape or Incest October 7, 2008
    Palin debating the abortion issue in 2006. She's against abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Would approve of legislation outlawing all abortions except for health of the mother only.
  • Keating Economics: Brought to you by John McCain October 6, 2008
    New Barack Obama ad about how John "the maverick" McCain still hasn't learned his since 1989.
  • Bank Loans Have Not 'Dried Up' - Forbes.com October 2, 2008
    A view you won't hear on TV.
  • George Lakoff: A Brief Guide to the Debates October 2, 2008
    In the first debate, Obama did what he needed to do: convince a majority that he has what it takes. But there is room for improvement... The reason the list is short is that Obama did so well. Biden doesn't have to prove himself in this debate. Palin does have to prove herself. That means Biden can hold back, give short but powerful responses, and
  • Sam Stein: McCain Gets Testy With Des Moines Register October 1, 2008
    ...McCain got near anger when it was suggested that the Straight Talk Express had taken a detour, challenging the questioner to provide examples. Asked specifically about the kindergarten sex-ed ad, McCain defended it wholeheartedly....
  • Daily Kos: Seize the Day September 30, 2008
    The temptation now is going to be to coddle the poor right. Give them some minor tweak in the bill to salve their fragile egos and gain the dozen votes that are needed to pass yesterday's bill. Don't. Don't do it, damn it.
  • Economist: Why Bankruptcy is Better than Wall Street Bailout September 30, 2008
    Congress has balked at the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Under this plan, the Treasury would have bought the "troubled assets" of financial institutions in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown. This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.
  • Humiliated September 28, 2008
    Jonathan Weisman has a fascinating, even riveting narrative of what went down in Washington on Thursday as John McCain made his play to commandeer the high-level negotiations over the bailout bill. And TPM Reader TW called my attention to a...
  • America’s bail-out plan [Economist] September 26, 2008
    A good article detailing out the happenings of the last year with a focus on the last couple of weeks. Not the Huffington Post.
  • Art Of Time Ensemble with Steven Page · CBC Radio 2 - Concer September 24, 2008
    Internationally renowned Steven Page, lead singer of the band Barenaked Ladies, performing his favourite songs live at the Enwave Theatre, at the Harbourfront Centre. He teams up with members of the Art Of Time Ensemble, led by pianist Andrew Burashko.
  • Jun
    16

    A Non-Flood-Related Diversion

    Now that things are starting to look up a bit in Iowa City, maybe the timing is right to post some potentially excellent news about oil.  Apparently, there’s a new company that’s figured out a way to turn agricultural waste (wood chips, wheat straw, or whatever leftover plant material is available in large quantities in an area) into crude petroleum in a carbon-negative way.  Surprisingly, they’ve convinced yeast and E. coli to literally shit oil. 

    Apparently, bacteria shit is already very close to oil, so the DNA fiddling required for the final step is relatively minor.  The company says that the plants used to make the oil take more carbon out of the atmosphere than the oil itself will release.  Furthermore, since the end-product is still oil,  there’s no need to buy a new vehicle or convert your current vehicle to a new technology, or to invest in a huge infrastructure replacement project.  And, at the technology’s current level, it takes just a week for one 40-square-foot machine to produce a barrel of oil.  The linked article points out that it would take a machine array the size of Chicago to produce enough oil to keep up with America’s weekly oil usage, but surely the space requirements will decrease as the technology develops. 

    Frankly, this seems to be too good to be true.  It sounds like something out of a Greg Bear novel (or maybe Vonnegut, since some are comparing these altered microorganisms to Ice-9), which may be why I have a vague feeling of unease about this.  Surely something this promising must have a horrible trade-off, right?  Still, I’m feeling a little less doomed than I was a few days ago.  Here’s to bug poop!

    4 Comments

 
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