US set at damage control

Trying to avoid “having Copenhagen failure laid at its doorstep”, the US administration is reported to be considering patching up a limited short-term climate deal.

Farms on the radar at Copenhagen climate [scam] talks | Green Business | Reuters

"We're not happy with an emissions trading scheme full stop, we remain emphatically opposed," said Don Nicolson, president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand. The American Farm Bureau (AFB) opposes draft U.S. climate bills which would cap carbon emissions from industry, but not from agriculture.

Readers Respond on "Grassoline": Scientific American

As a retired farmer, I know that the information in “Grassoline at the Pump,” by George W. Huber and Bruce E. Dale, about agricultural residues is false in a most dangerous way. There is NO extra residue from the corn harvest. Sure, you can take it away and use it to create fuel. But that residue is desperately needed right where it fell, to renew the soil. All of it and more are needed to sustain our already low organic matter levels created by years of plowing and other unsustainable agricultural practices. Soil can and does “die,” and then it is unable to produce food. Energy creation is important, but so is our ability to feed the world.

Britain's problem with pets: they're bad for the planet | Environment | The Guardian

Vale does not – as some of his critics seem to assume – advocate a mass cull of the world's pets. But some of his proposed solutions are still likely to shock some pet owners. For example, the book suggests catching vermin such as rats and processing them into a "natural" cat food. Equally, the book proposes a return to the days when families would – hence the book's title – have edible pets. For example, a pair of rabbits would be kept as pets and their offspring would be eaten. It's hard to see that one gaining much traction.