More news (but less than my last news post)

Here's someone suggesting coal into oil. While this is an intriguing idea, it suffers from one of the author's own criticisms of oil: there's only a finite amount of coal as well. It would decrease dependence on foreign oil, however, and perhaps buy us some time to get actual alternatives working (solar, wind, hydrogen... whichever turns out to be most cost-efficient).

And here's a religious criticism of government programs reimbursing churches for helping out in society. I am pleased that the good reverend recognizes it was Jefferson who was most adamant about keeping a separation between church and state. For some reason, I'm reminded of a quote from Dune: "When politics and religion ride in the same cart, the whirlwind follows."