Turning Plants into Plastics  

WorldChanging notes that petrochemical based plastics are slowly being supplanted by plant based varieties - perhaps British plastics manufacturers should start pursuing this approach before they all go broke.

The chemical industry has always been happy to remind us of the undeniable usefulness of petroleum-based plastics. "Look around you!", they shout. "Without us, where would you be? We made your contact lenses!" So it's sort of interesting to watch as bio-based alternatives have crept up into products and onto headlines.

The New York Times has done a tidy business-focused overview of Dupont and the other major corporate players who hope to turn this tide. Besides devising carpet ingredients and large-scale ethanol production, they've started working on a few concepts that at least sound more interesting, including "plant-based hair dyes and nail polishes that will not adhere to skin, surgical bio-glues that can stanch internal bleeding and a textile fiber made from sugar that will act and feel like cotton."

The New York Times has a long op-ed by Robert Semple Jr, associate editor of the Times Editorial Board, on peak oil - unfortunately its hidden behind their paywall, but The Oil Drum has some excerpts and a number of comments on the article - apparently Energy Bulletin, LATOC, PeakOil.com and HubbertPeak.com all got a mention - well done guys.

When President Bush declared in his 2006 State of the Union address that America must cure its "addiction to oil," he framed his case largely in terms of national security -- the need to liberate the country from of its dependence on volatile and in some cases hostile nations for much of its energy. He failed to mention two other good reasons to sober up. Both are at least as pressing as national security. One is global warming...

The second reason is just as unsettling, and is only starting to get the attention it deserves. The Age of Oil -- 100-plus years of astonishing economic growth made possible by cheap, abundant oil -- could be ending without our really being aware of it. Oil is a finite commodity. At some point even the vast reservoirs of Saudi Arabia will run dry. But before that happens there will come a day when oil production "peaks," when demand overtakes supply (and never looks back), resulting in large and possibly catastrophic price increases that could make today's $60-a-barrel oil look like chump change. Unless, of course, we begin to develop substitutes for oil. Or begin to live more abstemiously. Or both. The concept of peak oil has not been widely written about. But people are talking about it now. It deserves a careful look -- largely because it is almost certainly correct.

Dave Roberts at the GristMill has a post on "the loneliness of the long distance reporter", which looks at the weird world of a reporter assigned to the global warming beat.

The situation with global warming in the U.S. media is truly strange.

In the political press, the issue is pretty much invisible. There are lots of good stories in the science and health departments, but there are very, very few daily reporters tasked with exploring all the facets of what is likely to be the biggest story of the century.

So what's it like for those few reporters that do follow it?

For a brief but fascinating glimpse, check out this post from Bill Blakemore, who covers global warming full-time for ABC News. It's about the psychological effect of understanding an enormously dangerous and consequential story before the public at large does.

The Portland Oregonian has an interview with Ken Deffeyes - he is still predicting war, famine, pestilence and death are awaiting us...

Ever wondered what a plug in hybrid consists of ? Treehugger explains...

Crikey notes the 10th anniversary of the Rodent's rule with some pointers on why we love him so.

What are the ten worst things John Howard has done during his ten years in office according to Crikey? Well, one of your lists began:

1. Toadying up to Bush and taking us into Iraq war.
2. Toadying up to Bush and taking us into Iraq war.
3. Toadying up to Bush and taking us into Iraq war.
4. Toadying up to Bush and taking us into Iraq war…

Crikey subscribers might be decidedly down on Dubya, but you're even more dubious about the directness of our dear leader. John Howard told Sky yesterday: “As Prime Minister, I'm asked a question, I give a direct answer. I always have and I always will.” Your average Crikey subscriber would reply “Bollocks”.

The worst thing about the Howard Government, according to Crikey readers, is its lack of accountability – how it has fudged facts and avoided scrutiny on everything from core and non-core promises in 1996 to the current AWB ruckus, doing what it can to jig the checks and balances in the system in its favour.

You're concerned about what signing up for the war on terror actually involves, particularly the implications for civil liberties – be they your right to free speech or David Hicks's right to what we'd call justice.

Thirdly, Crikey subscribers simply fear the Howard Government is in denial over global warming – “Politicisation of climate change science” – and see ratifying Kyoto as at least a way of acknowledging this.

Australian participation in the war in Iraq came in at number four. A whole stream of factors can be bundled up in another major concern for Crikey subscribers – the culture wars. Ten years ago John Howard argued that political correctness had gone too far. Today, you'd say the backlash, loose use of the phrase “un-Australian”, dog-whistle politics and a vilification of intellectual debate is now cheapening and threatening free speech.

They also have a post on the mysterious government dirt unit.