Grass makes for green fuel
Some of the world’s energy needs could be met cleanly and cheaply by burning grass, according to Dr. Jerry Cherney, a crop expert at Cornell University. He says this could be done by cutting, drying, and pressing grass into pellets that could be burned for heat and energy. One advantage is that farmers could churn out a crop of grass pellets every 70 days. Moreover, burning grass rather than fossil fuels is more sustainable environmentally, because as it grows, grass removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere when the pellets are burned, but is simply removed again when the grass regrows.
-Mike Ghenu
Source: Cornell University News Service
Bigger bowls bloat bellies
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found that visual cues influence how much people eat. They demonstrated this by serving free soup to 54 volunteers. Half were given regular soup bowls, but the others were given rigged-up bowls that slowly refilled with soup during the meal-unbeknownst to the volunteers. The latter group, researchers found, consumed 73 per cent more soup than the former, but thought they had consumed the same amount of calories. Dr. Brian Wansink, the lead author, said this is because people count calories with their eyes and not their stomachs. This tendency can easily lead to over-eating. One solution is packaging snacks and other foods in smaller plastic bags that make smaller servings seem as satisfying as full ones.
-M.G.
Source: Obesity Research
