James Howard Kunstler on US Urban Sprawl

I've never quite seen anything like this - James Howard Kunstler asks brutal questions about US suburban sprawl - which much of the rest of the world seems to be keen to emulate. Tough love and some strong language.

Wall E is not a Wally

Wall-E, as you can't have missed, is the latest Pixar animation about the titular small recycling robot abandoned on a future earth knee deep in waste. You've probably also seen the fuss about all the Wall-E merchandising and the use of the robot to sell cars and other eco-nasties. It still surprised me how ruthless such merchandising can be - using an eco-hero to sell plastic tat without the slightest sense of irony. It reminds me of the Millennium Dome where the eco-message was rammed down visitors' throats along with the Maccy D's and associated packaging...

Well all is not lost in this cynical old world - Wall-E has also been signed up to front the Encams/Keep Britain Tidy Big Tidy Up campaign. A much more appropriate use of the little blighter, if you ask me.

Biodiesel - the industry fights back...

Interesting piece on edie with Graham Hilton, chair of the Renewable Transport Fuels Working Group and managing director of The Energy Crops Company, accusing the Government of panicking in the face of public criticism of biofuels when DEFRA's own research concluded that biofuels have not had an effect on food prices. I think this is the report he is referring to.