Friday Favorites: Hungry Ladybugs, Fuel Economy, Rocking in the Hybrid World and more…

Ladybugs are being ‘employed’ for natural pest control by one of Manhattan’s largest apartment complexes

720,000 ladybugs land in Manhattan: huge apartment complex is using them as natural pesticide

NEW YORK - It sounds like a horror movie: 720,000 ladybugs on the attack in Manhattan. In this real life story, however, the red-and-black bugs have been unleashed on the 80-acre grounds of one of New York’s biggest apartment complexes with a mission: eat pests infesting the neatly landscaped property…read more at MSNBC

The Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Gasoline Consumption

Unfortunately, this year it looks like we’re not going to be able to count on a nice drop in gasoline prices during the fall and winter. With crude oil futures sitting at $90 a barrel and demand for both oil and gasoline going nowhere but up, it looks as if gasoline may test the $3 per gallon mark within the coming weeks or months…read more at Daily Fuel Economy Tip

Neil Young’s Silver Seed Comes to Visit

Last week, we had the distinct pleasure of a visit by rock legend Neil Young. Neil is touring the country in a soon-to-be converted 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV named Linc-Volt, spreading the word about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and vehicle-to-grid technology. As part of the trip, Neil and his crew are filming a documentary of their travels and the folks they meet along the way…read more at Google.org

Can Biofuels Save Rural Towns?

A major political selling point of ethanol production is the possible salvation it offers small towns in the center of the United States. But does “the biofuel revolution” actually benefit these communities or just Vinod Khosla? That’s the topic that Kansas State researchers will tackle with the $696,000 grant they received last week from the Department of Energy…read more at Earth2Tech

‘Bird-friendly’ call for gardens

UK householders can halt the decline of many birds by making their gardens more wildlife-friendly, a charity says. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said simple measures can help preserve populations of house sparrows, starlings and song thrushes…read more at BBC

Biofuels ‘crime against humanity’

A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity. The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger…read more at BBC