You may have heard about the latest “solution” to the world’s energy crisis and global warming. This one is perhaps the most absurd idea yet, coming to us courtesy of the well-known environmental stewards of the meat industry.

Last week, oil company ConocoPhillips and the largest meat producer in the world, Tyson Foods, announced that they will soon begin producing diesel fuel from the fat of pigs, chickens and cows. While on the surface this may not sound completely insane, given that the fuel will be made from rendered animal remains currently used in nonvegan soaps, cosmetics and pet food, the reality is that this whole idea has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with lining the pockets of Tyson and ConocoPhillips execs.

Let’s be real here. The meat industry does not care about the environment. Period. In fact, it is one of the absolute worst corporate environmental offenders on the planet. Take for instance the recent U.N. reports pointing out that animals raised for food generate more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks combined, and that (according to a recent University of Chicago study), switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Prius.

No matter what kind of crazy PR spin the meat industry tries to put on it, at the end of the day what it comes down to is that the answer to global warming isn’t to fill up SUVs with the remains of tortured animals. The most effective thing anyone can do to help the environment is to go vegetarian, and until we accept that fact, all the plastic bottle recycling, Prius driving, and tree-planting are barely making a dent in the problem.

I don’t want to come off all gloom and doom here, quite the opposite really. When you consider that we all have the opportunity to “vote the environment” at mealtimes three times a day, it’s actually pretty exciting. If you’re looking for resources to help make the transition to vegetarianism, you can check out our vegetarian starter kit and start saving the planet, one bite at a time. It beats the hell out of pig fat biodiesel.

Not only do the folks over at Smashbox Cosmetics not test their products on animals, but they have these great store displays—and check out the cruelty-free bunny logon on the top of the Smashbox website:

As if that weren't enough to make us really big fans of the company here, they’ve just teamed up with us to make it easy to give your mom a great Mother’s Day gift this year. They’ve made two new eye shadow palettes (I had to ask for help on that one, I was just going to call them “thingies”) in PETA’s honor that will be sold exclusively at Sephora stores. Which was pretty damn nice of them.

Short on cash? You can try your luck in a contest to win free palette thingies here. The grand-prize winner also gets a $100 Smashbox gift certificate.

And just in case you need it, here’s the full list of companies that do and don’t test on animals.

Have you voted for North America’s sexiest vegetarian yet? Here's an interview with one of the finalists in Sacramento.

I had heard of this video about the “Bionic Burger” but I had never seen it until today. Gross.

Nancy from LA sent me this amazing story about a cat who must have heard about the Iams recall and took matters into her own hands, err, paws. Nancy said the cat must have decided, "Screw this, I'm going for fish and chips."

Guess which dinosaur is an ancestor to the chicken.

In case you're looking for another reason to go vegetarian . . . bacon may cause lung damage. For real.

Is your rescued dog lonely? Maybe this could help. I don’t even want to think about the cleanup.

Chicken ghost stories.

Andy Dick is funny. Check out his spoof Gap ad.

And finally, here’s a great piece from ABC on our chinchilla ranch investigation.

As always, if you find something cool on the Internet that you think other PETA Files readers would like, be sure to send it to me. Thanks!

After noticing that a female lobster in the tank at the Men’s Club of Reno was pregnant and carrying eggs, the club’s promotions director and lifelong vegetarian, Aquila Nelson, sprang into action. She convinced the club’s manager to let her free the lobster and called us for instructions on what to do. To make a long story short, the lobster has since been released in protected waters in New Hampshire! Check out what Aquila had to say about the ordeal: "I couldn’t bear the thought of this animal and her babies being thrown into a pot of boiling water. Whether they have claws or paws, no animal deserves to be tortured like that." Aquila, you're awesome.