Algae are “in”: ExxonMobil is the latest and largest company to invest in biofuels, specifically a $600 million project to turn algae into ethanol, in partnership with genomics pioneer J Craig Venter. Ironic considering Exxon’s chief exec once mocked ethanol as “moonshine”.
Britain’s Public Accounts Committee is urging the government to spend more on tackling the “alarming” decline of honeybees, whose numbers are estimated to have decreased by 15 percent in the last two years alone.
Easing the transfer of green tech to developing countries will be crucial in getting agreement on a new climate change protocol, a senior advisor of the Brazilian government says. China has also called for a broader approach than the traditional intellectual property regime.
Antibiotics should only be used on livestock to cure or prevent disease, not (as is common) to promote growth, the US Food and Drug Administration says. One estimate is that 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the US are used on food animals – with potential flow-on effects.
What they spend our money on: Australia, in concert with the US military, has launched a research competition to design robot soldiers capable of doing the army’s “dirty work” in urban environments. They’ll probably call them terminators….
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