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Earlier this summer, Pepsi announced that it would dole out $1.3 million in grants for Gulf oil disaster-related projects as part of the Refresh Project, Pepsi's online cause marketing campaign that asks participants how the company should give away cash. Now the wisdom of the crowd has whittled down potential Do Good for the Gulf grant recipients to 32 finalists.

The final projects span a variety of themes, but they all have one thing in common: They impact local communities and are implementable in a year or less. Among our favorites: a $250,000 grant for mental health services for oil disaster victims, a $50,000 grant to provide shelter to animals that lost their homes after the oil disaster, and a $25,000 grant to build seafood farms to help displaced seafood workers.

The winners won't be announced until September 22, but a Refresh Project representative tells us that the finalists are virtually guaranteed to get cash barring any paperwork issues.

Even after Do Good for the Gulf ends, the larger Refresh Project will continue. Pepsi plans to give out a total of $20 million in grants in 2010 in six categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education.

[Do Good for the Gulf]

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.

Natural gas is undoubtedly a practical source of electricity generation; it's plentiful, burns relatively clean, and produces minimal carbon dioxide. All good things--unless you happen to live near a drilling site with irresponsible owners. ProPublica reports that residents of Pavillion, Wyoming are being told not to drink their water and to even use ventilation when showering so as to avoid an explosion. Because apparently, they're all lathering up with benzene, phenols, metals, naphthalene, and methane.

Test results from the EPA are pretty ugly: oil compounds were found in 89% of all drinking wells that were tested in the area, methane was found in 7 wells (out of 23) and 2-butoxyethanol phosphate (a fire retardant and plasticizer) was found in 11 of the wells.

The EPA claims that it doesn't know the cause of the contamination, but EnCana, the oil and gas company responsible for most of the wells in the area, says it will pay for the cost of residents' drinking water--even though it won't admit to having anything to do with the contamination.

This is, of course, something that could happen at any drilling site. But it's a sobering reminder that natural gas is not a sustainable source of energy, and it can be dangerous, to boot.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.

Soon the TV you flick on to watch the news before your morning commute may be cinema-screen-sized and 3-D. Innovation, even when your eyes can't take the early-hour strain.

1. Stephen Hawking's new book is due out, and the physics guru has apparently changed his mind about God, according to an extract published in the Times U.K. today. Previously the prof had been ambivalent--physics didn't rule out a creator, he thought, even while it reduced his powers to significantly less than godlike. Now he's saying "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." No comment from God was immediately available.

2. Want to earn more? If you're a CEO, fire people. Lots of 'em. That's one conclusion from a new survey revealing that CEOs of the 50 U.S. companies that ditched the most staff between late 2008 and early 2010 were paid 42% more than the average for their peer group. Oh, and as a bonus? It'll increase your profits too.

3. Europe is seeing the strongest rise in consumer spending in years. Those Eurozoners have been forking over more cash in shops than since the start of the global economic slowdown in 2007. Europe, so thinkers now think, is more resilient in resisting financial glitches elsewhere in the world than some had worried. Our theory: thanks to Europop they listen to less Justin Bieber.

4. Even while Apple is injecting more and more deliciousness into its iPod lineup, Sony Walkman sales are reportedly surpassing the mighty iPod in Japan. How is this possible? The consumer research firm did admit that some Japanese MP3 fans were holding out for the new iPods, however.

5. Hurricane Earl girded his loins overnight, and this morning he's set his sights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Warnings are clanging from there all the way up to parts of Massachusetts, after weather experts wiggled their digital fingers in the air to sample the climate, and their computer models suggested Earl will spin Northwards today. Earl doesn't care much for models, of course, has been building up energy to blow winds at over 145 miles an hour. Batten down the hatches, Eastern Seaboard! Tropical Storm Gaston is close behind, and expected to become a hurricane on Saturday.

Yesterday, Steve Jobs boasted of iTunes' 160 million users when introducing Ping, Apple's new social music network. But anyone wading into the service this morning will find an empty community save a few artists (Lady Gaga, Yo-Yo Ma) and a few potential followers (Rick Rubin). Sure, early adopters are always a small crowd--but this is Apple, not some startup. Shouldn't we expect Ping to be a vibrant social network? Shouldn't there at least be some auto-integration with my other networks, namely Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter? Apple thinks so--the company even claims that iTunes 10 users can connect to Facebook. Yet that connection is nowhere to be found. Here's why.

First off, how does one find "People" on Ping? When downloading iTunes 10, Apple suggests on its website: "Find even more music fans with a quick search, by sending email invites, or by connecting to your Facebook account." But since a Facebook account can't be connected as promised, one must depend on quick search (impossible to search for friends when they are not registered on Ping) or email invites (a pretty desperate method to finding buddies). So where did that Facebook incorporation go?

Answer: Out the door because of Facebook's demands for "onerous terms," says Steve Jobs. All Things D caught up with Jobs yesterday at the press conference, and asked why Ping didn't have Facebook sharing or linking--the process of syncing friends from another social network. Jobs explained that they had held meetings with Facebook for "a variety of unspecified partnerships" but that discussions had hit a dead-end.

Though it's unclear what Jobs meant by "onerous terms," it's possible that the talks had ended over the different usership of each service. Facebook's network is all about sharing; Ping's service is aimed at buying. That is, in order to register for Facebook, one needs an email address; in order to become a member of iTunes, one needs a credit card. Ping's central purpose is to foster more song purchases through friend and artist recommendations. The question then becomes: If Facebook allowed its users to port over to Ping, would they have to add credit card information? Would Facebook have access to this data? Does Apple even want Facebook co-opting its users (and vice-versa)?

The same can be said of other networks such as Google and Twitter--but what about MySpace? It's interesting that throughout this Facebook-Ping debacle, no one has even brought up MySpace integration. The once-popular social network made a name for itself through music and music streams, but if Ping works--providing users a streamlined social network with artists and one-stop shop for music and other media--MySpace will become irrelevant (if it isn't already). Still, it's no surprise that MySpace and Facebook are popular among record labels and artists--wouldn't an incorporation with the service instantly bolster Ping's artist social network? Currently, its artist community is limited and eclectic: U2 and Katy Perry, Linkin Park and Jack Johnson, Diddy and Taylor Swift. Wouldn't iTunes want to expand that part of its social network?

Ultimately, Ping isn't focusing on Facebook or MySpace integration as much as it is focused on selling music. Ping is an inherently store-based social network--it cannot even be accessed without first going through the iTunes store. Most importantly is iTunes' huge user-base of registered credit card members--the service boasts more than even PayPal! How many could Facebook possibly have?

Thus Ping is the more exclusive of the two social networks. And until Apple opens up its borders to other social networks such as Facebook, Gmail, MySpace, and Twitter, "exclusive" will just have to remain a euphemism for "empty."

An investment firm backed by a trio of wealthy Brazilians is buying the fast food franchise.

Burger King is being turned over to Brazilians and becoming a private company. The New York Times first reported on the sale of the global fast food giant to the investment firm 3G Capital, which is based in New York but funded by Brazilians. Several news outlets are now reporting that the deal will be finalized today, pending any last minute problems. Brazil is a rapidly developing "BRIC" country, and not the first to purchase an American company--although few acquisitions have cut as close to Main St. as this one.

It turns out there is a precedent: 3G previously had a 6.7 percent stake in Wendy's, and 3G's principals (a trio of wealthy Brazilians) are also largely responsible for the merger of InBev and Anheuser-Busch. The buyout is viewed by Burger King as a "turnaround opportunity, one that draws upon the operational expertise gained in its beer and retail investments."

Burger King has more than 12,000 restaurants around the globe, but the economic downturn has hurt sales in the U.S. and Canada this year. The chain last changed hands in 2002, when TPG, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Bain Capital bought the King from the U.K. spirits behemoth Diageo. Since then, the chain has pursued an aggressive strategy of expansion into international markets including China, Russia, and Latin America. And the Brazilians are not Whopper virgins: There are already 93 restaurants in the country.

And 3G, should it succeed in acquiring Burger King, would continue the chain's international build out. America's fast food takes over the world yet again, through burgers and beer.

Despite a seemingly stout business plan, and all the financial, social, and educational benefits it would bring, the FCC's just turned down M2Z's application for a coast-to-coast free wireless broadband system.

The FCC did not elaborate on why it turned down a plan from a new company called M2Z which would've created a U.S.-wide, free wireless broadband network. M2Z's trick was going to be to use a spare bit of the radio spectrum, the 2GHz "AWS-3" band, and earn itself cash by embedding ads in its free Net service as well as licensing out part of the spectrum it would then be controlling for other commercial uses. The entire nationwide system could've been up and running inside 10 years, and 5% of M2Z's revenues would've gone straight to the Treasury.

Ignoring all the potential commercial benefits, educational uses, opportunities for new businesses to spring up that utilized the free network, and all sorts of enterprising stuff that isn't even dreamed up yet, the FCC has finally ceased its deliberations, and has completely denied M2Z's application. Early on, the plan ran afoul of puritanical concerns about how it could be used for viewing pornography--but the FCC's intention to filter porn ran into opposition with civil liberties groups.

The FCC is known to have heard complaints about M2Z's plan from existing wireless carriers. Though M2Z's network would've operated at under 1 mbs peak speeds--meaning it was very slow by today's standards, and probably snail-like by tomorrow's--its free pricing may well have tempted many folks away from spending cash with an established ISP. Those carriers are now reported to be pleased with the FCC's decision, though they argue it's in line with the greater National Broadband Plan. Whenever that actually gets off the ground.

To keep up with this news, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

Just�weeks after Facebook announced its new location check-in feature dubbed Facebook Places, several companies have emerged�claiming themselves as the first to leverage the�features new set of user data. While each company is using the new service slightly differently, it’s not surprising that they want to tap into Facebook’s growing user base.

One company, Placepop, is looking to give Facebook users insight into their own check-ins as well as their friends. The new Facebook application�also shows trending check-ins, similar to topics on Twitter. As of right now, the top three trending check-in locations are all in California, including AT&T Park (where the San Francisco Giants play), Facebook HQ and Hollywood Bowl (a place for concerts).

Another, Scvngr, a mobile game company that gives users challenges after they check-in,�yesterday announced its own integration with Facebook Places in an attempt to increase its users, according to All Facebook. Ideally, more users may mean more interest from �the businesses and organizations that pay to have their customers and employees play the game.

Finally, Booyah, a�location-based gaming company,�recently�announced the launch of�InCrowd, an iPhone application that�lets users interact with friends and share posts in real-time in real-world locations.

There is no doubt that these companies are looking to cash in on a large Facebook user base, but I’m skeptical on how many of those Facebook users have actually used Places, or are even interested. A recent article in the New York Times highlights�a Forrester Research report which notes that just 4 percent of all Americans have even tried a location-based service and only 1 percent use them on a weekly basis.

Will Facebook be the catalyst to get more consumers participating more in location-based services and check-ins? Maybe, though there’s evidence that Facebook users may have some fear and confusion over privacy, an ongoing issue for the social networking site.

(Disclosure: I’m working on a location-based startup idea of my own.)

Tags: check-in, Facebook Places, friends, location based services, location-based, privacy, tagging

Companies: Booyah, Facebook, PlacePop, Scvngr