July 04, 2009
UTNE READER

Short Takes: News From All Over

October 4, 2007
By Staff, Utne.com 
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Earmark Watch
By Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Sunlight Foundation
Americans have a new tool at their disposal to track the how the government is spending their tax dollars. Earmark Watch, created by the nonprofits Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Sunlight Foundation, sheds light on the often-shady add-ons (also known as "pork") to congressional bills that appropriate money to a specific person or project. The new website details the particularities of each earmark, including which representative sponsored it and who or what that recipient is. Visitors are encouraged to help out by contributing research or comments to the site. (Thanks, Future Tense.) -- Chris Gehrke
http://www.earmarkwatch.org

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The God of Sperm
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California Cryobank houses the father lode of all sperm -- enough, reports Steven Kotler, to "repopulate the planet several times over." But its founder, Dr. Cappy Rothman (a.k.a. the King of Sperm) reigns over a 30 percent share of the $75 million sperm-bank industry. Kotler reports that "a mostly inept series of somewhat bizarre FDA rulings" has allowed the Sperm King to shape the course of many important reproductive ethics issues, ranging from donor anonymity to accidental incest. -- Anna Cynar
http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/the-god-of-sperm/17290/

In the Future, Your Recycling Will Be Monitored and Dumpsters Will Be Trashed 
by Nina Shapiro, Seattle Weekly
Chris Martin has made a career out of Dumpster diving. Martin's Seattle-based company CleanScapes goes through individuals' and companies' trash to educate them about recycling, proper garbage disposal, and composting. The process is known as a "garbage audit." CleanScapes is now in the running for lucrative government contracts, and many companies are turning to if for help implementing innovative and cost-effective trash removal policies. Through CleanScapes, Martin hopes to build a world where Dumpsters are no longer necessary, and everyone knows what to toss in the can, and what not to. (Thanks, AltWeeklies.com.) --Chris Gehrke 
http://tinyurl.com/356y99

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