Biological solar hydrogen production is researched by a Berlin university, using an Artificial Bacterial Algal Symbiosis (Project ArBAS).  A green algae converts CO2 and sunlight to oxygen and carbohydrates.  The carbohydrates pass through a membrane to purple bacteria that reduce the carbohydrate to CO2 and hydrogen gas.  The bacteria are normally nitrogen-fixers (NH3), but in a nitrogen-free medium they will produce hydrogen (H2).  Experiments in 1996 under ideal conditions (the Sahara!):  one liter bacteria suspension will produce two liters of hydrogen per day, for about 2% effiiciency.  Much greater efficiency is expected in future.  4:47:38 PM    

Two articles on the global appeal of consumer culture:

• A critique that quotes many including Tocqueville:  "artisans offer what Tocqueville called 'imperfect satisfaction' for diverse audiences rather than perfection for the few. Tocqueville also accurately anticipated the nature of pop culture: democracy, he wrote, shifts the preoccupation of art from the soul to the body, from the ideal to the real. "
• A look at the growing middle class in China:  "Europeans may be wont to view every Big Mac as a terrifying sign of American cultural imperialism, but Chinese have mostly welcomed the invasion — indeed they have internalized it.  In one recent survey, nearly half of all Chinese children under 12 identified McDonald's as a domestic brand, according to Beijing's Horizon Market Research."  Costco and other retail outlets are thriving.

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