I was very pleased that the country and the president are moving forward on renewable energy and energy conservation. Here is a snippet from the NY Times.
"The centerpiece of Mr. Bush’s proposal, which he said would cut the projected use of gasoline by 20 percent over the next decade, was a nearly fivefold mandatory increase in the production of ethanol and other alternative fuels for cars and trucks. The most obvious beneficiaries would be makers of ethanol and other biofuels, but it could also promote the production of liquefied coal.
Mr. Bush called for a mandatory requirement that makers of fuel produce 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels a year by 2017, replacing about 15 percent of the projected gasoline use in that year.
A second major plank of Mr. Bush’s energy proposal calls for increasing fuel-efficiency standards of cars and trucks by 4 percent a year — about one mile per gallon — starting in 2010 for cars and 2012 for trucks."

Fast food restaurants, office environments, and schools all use millions of plastic utensils and Styrofoam cups a week. As bad as this is for the environment, there is now hope.

From the consumer advocate show, Clark Howard: A California company Excellent Packaging and Supply creates biodegradable and compostable products such as forks, knives and spoons. The utensils are made of potato starch and soy oil and they're completely safe for the environment. EPS also makes dinner plates and coffee cups out of leftover sugar cane. This is a great idea with huge potential. The company has already sold $5 million so far. It costs a bit more to make these products and that is reflected in the cost to the consumer. But it may be worth it to you. Hopefully for the environment's sake, these products take off.

Thoughts on this topic via loyal reader RW:

The concept itself, using natural materials to make useful items so that when they are discarded they can continue to add value to the earth/environment, is not revolutionary. It is one of many topics covered in a book that I read 4 years ago titled Cradle to Cradle. Among other interesting topics covered in the book, the question: Why do more people not have grass roofs?