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Gas 2.0 - Opinion: Biofuels, Food Prices and Global Warming Roundup
The current rate at which biofuels are falling out of favor is largely founded on biased ideologies, which have been shaped by widespread political and corporate agenda-pushing from all sides of the fence.
But first, a digression.
Part 1: When an egg was just an egg
I remember a time when an egg was just an egg. Nobody argued about that. It was a blissful time. Yet, for all its strengths, it was a fragile time held together by unsupported conclusions and limited knowledge.
Part 2: The Time of the Bad Egg
Like many a simple concept before it, the idea of an egg as “just an egg” was consumed in a storm of health consciousness and bad hair. I shall call this storm “the 80s.” Richard Simmons was sweating to the oldies, and cholesterol, it was determined, should be ripped from your body. Just like that, eggs were bad.
Part 3: The Time of Ambiguity; When an Egg is Only Halfway Decent if Eaten in Moderation
Luckily for us, we snapped out of the 80s. Sweatbands disappeared and Jazzercise faded from our collective memory. We got around to doing some research and found that there are such things as good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Turns out you need some of both to remain healthy. And eggs were good again…. but only if you eat less than 7 a week.
Part 4: The Point
From a human health perspective eggs are confusing, and still not very well understood. They’ve been researched to death, yet we still don’t know exactly how they interact with the human body. The only thing I can say about eggs with any confidence is that in ten years time, new research will make the case for eggs even more confusing, yet people will still eat them.
And eggs are tiny.
RFA | Increasing Food Prices: It’s all about oil, speculation, drought and worldwide demand
At a press conference today, leaders from farm and ethanol groups pointed to skyrocketing oil prices, hedge fund commodity speculators, growing worldwide demand for grain and severe droughts as the major factors underlying rising food prices. They also pointed to the expansion of biofuels as preventing even higher oil prices. The groups cited Merrill Lynch analyst Francisco Blanch’s estimate that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15% higher, or $4.14 a gallon at today’s prices, if biofuel producers weren’t increasing their output.
Forbes.com | Albidon says commercially-viable mining possible at Chirundu Uranium jv
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Albidon Ltd. said commercially viable mining was possible at the Chirundu Uranium joint venture in Zambia as it raised the inferred resource estimate for the project.
The company said a pre-feasibility study pegged total uranium U308 at 14.0 million tonnes.
Albidon now holds a 30 percent stake in the Chirundu jv, with African Energy Resources holding the remaining 70 percent.
Inc. | Credit Tighter for Small Firms
By:Angus Loten
Citing the economic downturn, more banks are raising lending standards for small businesses, the Federal Reserve reported this week
In a survey of senior loan officers at 56 domestic banks, about 50 percent said they tightened lending standards for small firms in April, up from 30 percent in January. The number was even higher among U.S. branches of foreign banks, the report said.