The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

From Wired News:

http://www.wired.com/news/furthermore/0,2348,0--10,00.html

Hallowed Grounds

02:00 AM Apr. 22, 2004 PT In a move that seems to prove going green can be good for the bottom line, java powerhouse Starbucks is giving away coffee grounds to Seattle customers eager to give their gardens a boost. The company cuts its trash bill, and the spent grounds make great compost. Lots of plants benefit from the acidic leftovers, which release nitrogen and hold moisture, says organic gardener Spencer Orman. The worms in the soil like it, too -- possibly getting a caffeinated jolt just like humans. "That hasn't been documented," said Orman, "but I wouldn't doubt it."
-- Lewis Wallace


Gunning for Scoops

02:00 AM Apr. 17, 2004 PT These are strange times for the journalism biz. First -- sensing the total lack of liberal voices in the media -- the fledgling left-wing network Air America Radio launched in March. Now, reacting to new limits on political advertising, the National Rifle Association has fired up its own straight-shooting news organization. Calling itself "freedom's last channel of communication," NRANews.com unloaded Friday with a show hosted by conservative talker Cam Edwards. The gun-rights group plans to buy a radio station as well. "Someone needs to show the court and the politicians how absurd their speech gag on the American public is," said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president. "This is an act of defiance."
-- Lewis Wallace


You Don't Soy?

02:00 AM Apr. 14, 2004 PT Men may have a way to fight prostate cancer and baldness in one fell swoop. U.S. researchers discovered that a molecule produced in the intestine when soy is digested halts a hormone that can fuel prostate growth or cause baldness. This may explain why Japanese men, who eat a lot of soy, rarely develop prostate cancer. The molecule, equol, arrests DHT, a byproduct of testosterone that also causes male-pattern baldness, without influencing testosterone. Said Dr. Kenneth Setchell of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, "These findings are of immense clinical importance because blocking the action of the potent male hormone DHT has been one of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry." Edamame, anyone?
-- Jenny McKeel


Come One, Come All

02:00 AM Apr. 07, 2004 PT In what may be a stroke of good luck for many men, a study released Tuesday shows that sexual activity does not cause prostate cancer, and instead, more-frequent ejaculation may protect men from developing the disease. The U.S. study, based on an ongoing survey of more than 29,000 men, covers sex of all kinds including masturbation and nocturnal emissions, and corroborates an earlier, smaller Australian study. Researchers had thought that frequent sex might cause prostate cancer due to increased production of testosterone. But the recent studies suggest that frequent ejaculations may decrease the concentration of certain chemical carcinogens in the prostate, a small gland that produces some of the fluid for semen.



'George Bush's Vietnam'
08:17 AM Apr. 06, 2004 PT Sen. Edward Kennedy has been a persistent critic of President Bush's war in Iraq and the Massachusetts Democrat let loose another salvo Monday, attacking the administration's domestic policy and saying that Iraq has become "George Bush's Vietnam." In a blistering speech that infuriated Senate Republicans, Kennedy accused Bush of leading America into war under false pretenses while allowing the real terrorist threat, al Qaeda, to regroup. "As the terrorist bombings in Madrid and other reports now indicate," Kennedy said, "al Qaeda has used that time to plant terrorist cells in countries throughout the world, and establish ties with terrorist groups in many different lands."


Isn't It Ironic?

02:00 AM Apr. 03, 2004 PT A University of Iowa art student learned the hard way that a work of art made of cash won't last long these days. Curtis William Readel created The American Flag by meticulously coloring and stitching together 130 dollar bills in the shape of the famous flag. The piece, put on display at the University of Iowa Art Building, was swiped Wednesday evening by someone who presumably did not grasp the work's larger message. "My whole show is about greed and how it can take over anyone, and just having this piece stolen further proves the point," Readel said. No word on where the thief spent the big bucks.


Put a Cork in It

02:00 AM Mar. 31, 2004 PT Legions of dieters, ever on the prowl for an easier way to lose weight, have piled onto the low-carb bandwagon. But now many suffer irregularity from eating more meats and cheeses, clogged up by their limited intake of fruits and vegetables. Companies that sell fiber laxatives are responding by shifting their marketing campaigns from the silver-haired to the fiber-impaired. GlaxoSmithKline is trumpeting a "zero-carb solution to a low-carb problem," saying Citrucel can "help you get back on track." Proctor & Gamble urges dieters to buy Metamucil to "stay regular. The 0 net carb way." Sounds like consumerism at its finest: Rather than exercising more and eating less, just feast higher on the food chain and turn to the drug store to cure what ails you.


Corporate Nightmare

09:01 AM Mar. 26, 2004 PT John Kerry's intention to do away with corporate overseas tax breaks in order to keep jobs in the United States met with immediate criticism from the Bush administration, which says the plan "does nothing to help America's small businesses and entrepreneurs be more competitive." Should Kerry win the Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency, he can expect a major fight from a Republican Congress and corporate fat cats who have lived very large for a very long time.


Auf Wiedersehen

08:39 AM Mar. 25, 2004 PT Up to half of the 71,000 American troops currently stationed in Germany will be pulled out and redeployed to areas considered better suited for the rapid projection of forces against terrorists and hostile states, under a plan nearing approval by the Bush administration. U.S. officials were quick to reassure the Germans that the troop pullout is not meant to punish Germany for its refusal to back the Americans in their Iraq invasion. This means, presumably, that Donald Rumsfeld no longer considers Germany to be a hostile state.


Bernstein's Rx for Idiots

02:00 AM Mar. 20, 2004 PT Carl Bernstein -- half of the legendary Washington Post team that broke the Watergate story that led to President Nixon's resignation -- doesn't much care for modern media's value system. The storied reporter said Thursday at a Florida fund-raiser that he blames lightweight television news and tabloid journalism's emphasis on gossip and sensationalism for "the triumph of idiot culture." He recommended that concerned citizens reject "sound bite journalism" and dig into the Internet to find their own reliable sources of information about the world around them. And when it comes to the vapid video that spews from the ol' idiot box, Bernstein served up a time-honored solution: "Change the damn channel. Simple."


Manufacturing Consent?

02:00 AM Mar. 17, 2004 PT So much for freedom of the press. The feds are investigating the Bush administration for manufacturing television news segments for which actors were hired to pose as journalists, according to The New York Times. The "video news releases" lauded the benefits of the new Medicare law, which the White House says will help elderly Americans obtain prescription medications. The videos were sent to local stations to be run as part of regular news programs and were aired in several states. Several included footage of the president receiving a standing ovation as he signed the Medicare law. "Those to me are just the next thing to fraud," said the chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists. "It's running a paid advertisement in the heart of a news program."