Welcome to the return of Friday Linkfest. I have the pleasure of resuming this much loved Celsias tradition. Here you can find the good, the bad and the ugly interesting of this week's environmental happenings. You might notice that corn is a staple of this week's linkfest. I don't know what it is but it seems that corn is all over the place these days.

Good News:

• A collapsible wind turbine that can be lowered at the flip of a switch. The turbine design allows it to be lowered out of the way of migrating songbirds and nesting seabirds. We have recently addressed bird mortality from wind turbines here on Celsias.
• Acrylamide, a chemical that occurs in baked and fried foods is said not to cause breast cancer after all. Apparently, the levels at which it occurs are too small. Still, given the option I think I would pass...
• I'm not sure if this one is a good or bad. Biorefining of corn is said to produce vegetarian gelatin capsules, dispensing the need for animal products to make medication capsules and tablets. The catch is, the process requires genetically modifying corn to produce "recombinant gelatin". I'm wondering what does the vegan code say about this...
• Cheaper solar power with thin layer panels might be in our future. At least researchers from Durham University are working on a 4 year project to develop cheaper and more sustainable materials to produce photovoltaic cells.

• The old food vs fuel debate is still fueling the news, with reports of imminent food crisis. Land use for biofuel crops isn't sparing anyone, driving up the prices of bread, tortillas and beer and most recently, meat. Maybe if the price of meat begins to come close to its true cost we'll all start eating less of it.
• Crop engineered to tolerate toxic soil - Cornell researchers figured out how to GM sorghum, an important food crop in Africa, South America and South Asia to be tolerant to aluminum toxicity. Now, I am going to go out on a limb here and say, yeah well, if it ain't good for the plants, it can't be that great for humans now can it.
• High fructose corn syrup is found to increase the risk of diabetes, especially in children. American Beverage Association denies (big surprise). Allegedly, carbonyls, highly reactive molecules that cause tissue damage are to blame. Everyone knows they sneak into your soda when no one is looking, without the ABAs knowledge.
• The case of the missing dolphins: dolphin sightings at the Bay of Biscay, a known worldwide hotspot for whales, dolphins and seabirds are down by 80%. Marine Life researchers worry that this might be an indication of a big reduction in fish stocks due to over fishing or a change in distribution of fish stocks due to temperature changes (in turn linked to climate change).

• The Ethicurean urges us to take action against mandatory almond sterilization (read fumigation). The claim: mandatory pasteurization is an excuse for sloppier food safety practices. Visit the Authentic Almond Project for more information.
• Looking to do some renovation? How about building a beer can house? Other alternative materials options include cardboard, tires, trees or straw. Looks like the first two little pigs were on to something ;)
• Blue Egg might be a somewhat atypical name for a green site, but the content is definitely worth a visit. You can learn how to choose a energy efficient TV, check out the latest green news, or explore some of the excellent articles in the ideas & issues section.
• "Casaubon's Book" blog posts are lengthy, but an excellent, thought provoking read. If peak oil does happen as soon as Sharon says, this is the go-to blog.