But I still use paper towels as well, but those are recycled paper and I recycle them after I use them.

Cotton is horrible for the environment, it's probably the worse crop in the world in regards to the environment.  So while the sentiment is there, between paper and cotton I would guess, so long as you recycle, paper is doing less damage.

COTTON

Cotton and Child Labour

250 million children globally are compelled to work, of which over 70% are employed in agriculture, where they are at risk from exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, machinery and arduous labour. The cotton industry is no exception, where children are employed in a variety of tasks from cottonseed production to pesticide spraying and the annual cotton harvest.

Cotton and Water

Cotton is one of the thirstiest crops in the world taking about 2,720 litres of water to produce one cotton T-shirt, equivalent to what an average person might drink over three years

Cotton and Pesticides

Cotton grows on 2.4% of the world's arable land, yet it is responsible for the release of over US$2 billion of chemical pesticides each year. Nearly half of these are considered toxic enough to be classified as hazardous by the World Health Organisation.

WWF

I have to admit that I fall back on the reasoning that by the time I add in the cost of electricity and water and laundry detergent, maybe using cloth wouldn't be saving me as much as I think I should...

I also have an aversion to "dishrags," as opposed to sponges; I just never feel like whatever I'm washing is getting as clean with a rag.

Once you get out of the US or other third world countries the general impression is that ethanol is a joke.  It destroys non metal parts in many engines unless special care is taken to replace these parts.

There is also the issue of not really gaining much in the big picture when using ethanol.  MPG goes down in vehicles using an ethanol blend.  There is also a cost to be paid to grow corn and produce methanol both of which require an energy input, often using oil based products, which leaves little gain in terms of reducing oil use.

Five-year-old Miles already has experience fighting villains - he's been facing off with acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was 20 months old.

With his cancer in remission and his last bout of chemotherapy finished in June, his biggest wish was to continue living his life heroically. "He wanted to be Batman," said Patricia Wilson, the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Bay Area executive director.

We can do that, Wilson thought, and she began putting the call out to volunteers to help turn San Francisco into Gotham City for a day for the boy from Tulelake (Siskiyou County).

It might as well have been a worldwide Bat-Signal. Word of the foundation's efforts spread quickly on social media, and soon what started as a small effort to make a 5-year-old boy a hero for the day turned into a citywide extravaganza, with support and volunteers coming in from all over.

On Friday, by Make-A-Wish's count, thousands of volunteers will cheer on "Batkid" as he defeats the Riddler and the Penguin at locations around San Francisco. The mayor will present Miles with a key to the city. Police Chief Greg Suhr will step in as Commissioner Gordon to alert Miles when his heroics are needed.

The first time I went to six flags or three flags (or whatever the eff it's called) with my already battle-hardened, over-stimulated-and-jaded kids, they got to be entertained by standing around chuckling and waiting for me to get my nausea under control after the first ride..

I mean, when the president puts that much ignorance on display for the entire world to see - fake-folksy, duh-inspiring, master-of-the-obvious ignorance - a lot - I'm sorry- a bunch of things suddenly make more sense.

Should be a good safe PR move, no?

Course, if the site worked they might get a little upset at the deals they have to choose from, so maybe it's not such a good idea after all?

United Health drops thousands of doctors from their plans.

UnitedHealth Group dropped thousands of doctors from its networks in recent weeks, leaving many elderly patients unsure whether they need to switch plans to continue seeing their doctors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The insurer said in October that underfunding of Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly could not be fully offset by the company's other healthcare business. The company also reported spending more healthcare premiums on medical claims in the third quarter, due mainly to government cuts to payments for Medicare Advantage services.

The Journal report said that doctors in at least 10 states were notified of being laid off the plans, some citing "significant changes and pressures in the healthcare environment." According to the notices, the terminations can be appealed within 30 days.

... people will do well if they stop listening to anyone with a loud mouth that professes to know all the answers.

The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 20, Verse 21: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

... who's 81 years old and has been around the block a few times, is also Roman Catholic. His response to Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva's public statements last week was to pointedly remind him that the legislature was discussing the eligibility requirements to obtain a civil license of marriage from the State of Hawaii, which has nothing to do with the Catholic rite of marriage as one of the Holy Sacraments. In other words, stop conflating the two as though they're one and the same.

Father Gary Secor, who serves as the Vicar General for the Honolulu diocese, was much more circumspect when he appeared last night on the local PBS program "Island Insights." He thanked Speaker Joe for allowing everyone who appeared before the House Judiciary / Finance Committee's joint public hearing on SB 1 the opportunity to testify over the course of 58 hours and five days, and further noting that while he disagreed with the legislature's decision, that's what democracy is all about, and it was now time to move on to tackle other issues like homelessness and education.

Both the Speaker and 75-year-old Gov. Neil Abercrombie were the big political winners out here this week. They rolled the dice in calling for a special legislative session to decide the matter of gay marriage, with the governor banking on the Speaker's ability to hold his 30-vote House coalition together, which he did. Had just five votes flipped, the measure would have been defeated.

And now, the two old men are being hailed as heroes by the gay and lesbian community, and are appearing together at the celebration tonight at Hula's Bar & Lei Stand in Waikiki, Honolulu's most prominent gay nightclub.