Capt. Kirk To the Rescue...Sort of & Getting Real

Capt. Kirk To the Rescue...Sort of & Getting Real. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

I suppose if anyone could do it, Captain Kirk could! Actor William Shatner is proposing to build a pipeline from Seattle to Lake Mead in California. He's contemplating launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise $30-billion dollars. During an interview with Yahoo! Tech's David Pogue, Shatner says they did it in Alaska.

SHATNER: They tell us there's a year's supply of water left. We're about to be arid, what do you do about it? So I'm starting a Kickstarter campaign to build a pipeline like the Alaska pipeline. I want to build a pipeline say from Seattle, a place where there's a lot of water. There's too much water. How bad would it be to get a large four-foot pipeline and bring it down here and fill one of our lakes.

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Kraft has announced they plan to get rid of artificial preservatives or synthetic colors beginning as early as January. No longer will their macaroni and cheese be made with Yellow 5 or 6. What will happen to the strangely orange colored staple? They plan to use colors derived from natural sources like paprika, annatto and turmeric. The move by the food giant is in response to pressure that the entire industry has been feeling lately and will be a part of an industry-wide shift away from synthetic colors. Other food giants like Nestle and Frito Lay have also announced similar moves. There is also pressure on the FDA to completely ban artificial food colors in an effort to make food labels simpler and foods safer.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.