The Yes Men Snafu Oil Giants at Largest Petrol Industry Trade Show in Canada
By Marisa Olson, Art Threat
Forget ethanol, the new alternative energy source is Vivoleum, a biofuel made from dead people. The protest/performance group the Yes Men presented their idea for Vivoleum on June 15 while posing as execs from ExxonMobil and the National Petroleum Council at Canada's largest oil trade show. To demonstrate the viability of this Soylent Green of biofuels, operatives of the Yes Men handed out candles, supposedly made of the substance, and showed a video of Reggie, the company janitor from whom the candles were made. -- Bennett Gordon
http://www.artthreat.net/2007/06/269

Bear Carcasses Spark Alarm
By Kara Hansen, The Daily Astorian
In the spring, along the northern coast of Oregon, bears awaken from their winter hibernation and hungrily seek out sapwood treats by peeling bark from trees. Recently, locals discovered that many of these tree-peeling bears are being snared and killed by timber companies -- which are allowed to hunt the bears on private timberland during what is called 'bear damage season' -- and then dumped in a 'bone pit' on a state wildlife area. The bears can harm and even kill trees, but critics of the policy say taking aim at the bears' already dwindling population causes the greater damage. (Thanks, Goat: A High Country News Blog.) -- Natalie Hudson
http://tinyurl.com/2vd4wo

Build Your Own Natural Swimming Hole
By Douglas Buege and Vicky Uhland, Grit
Douglas Buege and Vicky Uhland offer an intriguing alternative to pouring tens of thousands of dollars into a conventional in-ground pool. A thorough DIY guide outlines the steps to ditching concrete and fiberglass for stone and clay, nixing expensive filtration systems in favor of the natural filtering abilities of aquatic plants, and creating a dragonfly-friendly environment that wards of pesky black flies. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, these natural pools also offer a safe haven for many organisms, transforming backyards into ecologically diverse oases. -- Cara Binder
http://www.grit.com/article/2007/07/Swimming-Hole.html