Love and Rockets!

...as our friend Mark would say!

Ken is still in Snoozeville, and I'm just hanging out for a while, being quiet as little mousie.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, whether it's a Valentiney one or not. I'm feeling very mellow, but I'm sure once get to Chicago, I'll start getting stoked.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Valentine's Day, the Godfathers, or Chicago, but I'd better write it while I'm thinking of it! A while back, Ken wrote a Science Scene entry about the Jatropa tree, which is supposed to be the next big thing in biofuel. Both Marty and Mark commented and had concerns about using land to grow these trees, when it could be better used for food crops (especially in developing countries). We've all seen the price of food go up lately, including corn products because of ethanol production.

I wondered the same thing, because from what I've read, ethanol production really isn't all that great or efficient, and it cuts into our food crops. I recently read the full article that Ken referenced, and what's different about the Jatropa tree is that it can be grown on non-arable land. In fact, the stuff apparently grows like weeds in the worst of soils. Another talked-about biofuel source is algae, which also won't compete for land with food crops.

Just wanted to clarify that!

Okey-doke, more tomorrow!

Addendum

Want to read something really good? Try this.