Daily Roundup: July 27, 2009

Running on Sunshine: Joule Biotechnologies has developed a new “SolarFuel” that converts sunlight and carbon dioxide into ethanol. Though they’re keeping the identity of the “proprietary product-specific organisms” that will create the fuel a secret, the company claims that the new system uses just an acre of land to produce 20,000 gallons of fuel per year. Treehugger and Grist

Cooperation with China: In the first meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue between the U.S. and China, Obama expressed hopes that the two countries "can cooperate to advance our mutual interest in a clean, secure, and prosperous energy future.”  Los Angeles Times and Grist

Sealed Deal:  The E.U. officially banned the export, import, and transportation of all products made from seal within its 27 member countries.  Seal-lovers rejoiced; Canada pouted. Treehugger

Chilly Genes: You You, a giant panda in China, gave birth to the first cub conceived through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.  Zoos all over the world will now be able to trade frozen panda sperm, which could widen the gene pool and prevent inbreeding. BBC

A Sustainable Green: Justin Timberlake opened an eco-friendly golf course in Memphis.  Only 85 of the 200 acres are mowed, the majority of plants are native, and weeds are pulled by hand to limit the use of pesticides.  Ecorazzi

--Sarah F. Kessler