*BONUS Article* — Consumers Say Biodegradable Chip Bag Is Too Noisy

Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about its noisy SunChips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for the old packaging on most flavors. [Say whaaaat?! *Smirk* C'mon son!]

The Plano-based company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips.  It will keep the biodegradable bags for its sixth variety, its original plain flavor, which is the second best-selling after Harvest Cheddar.

The snack maker said the switch started in the middle of September and should be complete by the middle to late October.  The bags were launched in April 2009 with a big marketing effort to play up their ability to compost because they're made from plants and not plastic.

But the technology Frito-Lay used to make the packaging results in a bag that's stiffer than the plastic packaging -- and louder.  Customers complained and created abounding Facebook groups entitled, "I wanted SunChips, but my roommate was sleeping..." and "Nothing is louder than a SunChips bag."

Spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez said the company received complaints about the noise form the bags, although it also received thanks from customers who liked being able to recycle them.  So the decision was made to remove the bulk of the biodegradable line.

"We need to listen to our consumers," she said. "We clearly hard their feedback." [LOL!]

Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, NY, is developing its next generation of biodegradable bags and will use what it learned withe SunChips effort, she said.

For the full article, open a SunChips bag while your roommate is sleeping.

Save The World In Virtual Reality One Click At A Time

Ever wondered how one person could save the planet from effects of climate change?  A British-made computer game on trial release creates different ways of doing just that.

'Fate of the World' puts the Earth's future in players' hands, placing them in charge of an international environmental body which could save the world from the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions or let it perish by continuing to rely on emissions-heavy fossil fuels.

Through different scenarios, players can explore options such as geoengineering and alternative energy sources to save the planet from rising temperatures, dwindling natural resources and a growing population over the next 200 years.

A rough cut of the game will be followed by a three-month feedback period from players, with final release due in February next year.

For the full article, click here.

Levi's Introduces 'Water Less' Jeans

Levi's announced its new 'Water<Less' jeans -- made using significantly less water.  The average pair of jeans uses 42 liters of water in the finishing process.  The Water<Less collection reduces the water consumption by an average of 28% and up to 96% for some new products in the line.

During the production process, a typical pair of jeans are "finished" in large washing machines and dryers to create a unique look and feel.  Using traditional garment washing methods, the average pair of jeans undergoes 3-10 washing cycles -- adding up to approximately 42 liters of water per unit.

Levi's Water<Less jeans have reduce the water consumption in the finishing process by making simple changes to the process including:

• Reducing the number of washing machine cycles by combining multiple wet cycle processes into a single wet process
• Incorporating ozone processing into the garment washing, and
• Removing the water from the stone wash

The first collection of Water<Less products will be available in January of 2011 and will include over a dozen classic Levi's jeans, including the Levi's 501 jeans and the popular 511 and 514 jeans, as well as the Levi's trucker Jacket.

The Levi's Spring 2011 product lines will contain more than 1.5 million pairs of jeans with the Water<Less method, saving approximately 16 million liters of water.  The line will also include jeans made with brand's traditional rigid finish, which, by its nature, utilizes virtually no water in its production.

For the full article, click here.

Jellyfish Cells 'Diagnose' Cancer

York scientists say that luminous cells from jellyfish can be used to diagnose cancers deep inside the body.  The process used the green fluorescent protein (GFP) enabling jellyfish to glow in the dark.

Researchers in North Yorkshire found it can be targeted at cancer cells allowing them to be spotted using a special camera.  A team from the Yorkshire Cancer Research Laboratory at York University has developed the procedure.

The team's leader, Professor Norman Maitland, believes it will revolutionize the way some cancers are diagnosed.  He says, "Cancers deep within the body are difficult to spot at an early stage, and early diagnosis is critical for the successful treatment of any form of cancer.

"What we have developed is a process which involves inserting proteins derived from luminous jellyfish cells into human cancer cells.

"Then, when we illuminate the tissue, a special camera detects these proteins as they light up, indicating where the tumors are."

The team expects the procedure to be ready for clinical trials within five years, if the research continues to go according to plan.  A United States company is the only one which has so far designed and built a camera system which allows the jellyfish proteins to be seen with the desired resolution so deep in the body.

For the full article, visit here.

Crime-Fighting Trees

Many people already know that city trees are highly desirable to make a neighborhood more attractive.  It's also common knowledge that shade from trees keeps temperatures on the ground cooler, can help buildings lower their overall energy usage, and their roots absorb storm water runoff efficiently.

What people may not be familiar with is that trees also aid in fighting crime! Yes, trees can lower crime rates.

Researchers from the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Southern Research Stations have published a study on this issue in the journal Environment and Behavior.  Their theory is that certain types of trees can reduce crime in a given area.  Their study focused on the neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon.

They looked at many factors such as the number and size of trees per lot and trees in the surrounding area.  They also factored in canopy size of streets and yard trees.  They concluded that large trees were associated with a reduction in crime.  Meanwhile, numerous small trees were associated with an increase in crime.

For the full article, click here.

French Fried Fuel: Bio Taxi Offers A New Kind Of Transportation

Bio Taxi is a Richmond-based company that offers a new kind of transportation service to the Richmond metropolitan area.  By taking grease obtained from local restaurants and converting it to bio-diesel, Bio Taxi provides Richmond with a fully sustainable, luxurious transportation service and nearby pedestrians can enjoy the smell of cooked French fries being emitted from the tailpipe instead of the normal petroleum diesel stench.

Bio Taxi was formed by two brothers, Jeff and Joey Anderson.  After working many hours in a fast-food restaurant growing up, they came up with the idea of using grease as fuel.

Biodiesel is a clean-burning, alternative fuel source that is produced from vegetable oil, soybeans, algae, and any other renewable resource -- in short, all natural biological ingredients instead of petroleum (or crude oil).

Biodiesel is produced through a chemical process called transesterification (organic chem. anyone?) or ester interchange where glycerin is separated from fat or vegetable oil.  The byproducts of this process are 90% biodiesel and 10% of a glycerin product, which can be used in soaps and other products -- meaning virtually no waste products at all!

For more information, visit www.richmondbiotaxi.com.