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Independence Day celebrations can be tough for pets that are noise-phobic. My dog, who is usually fairly laid-back, absolutely hates bottle rockets and those whistler fireworks that kids shoot off on July 4. The U.S. Humane Society says dog freakouts on July Fourth are so common that pet shelters often receive "July 4 animals" that run for their lives when they hear fireworks. The Humane Society says:

Pets across the nation often become frightened and frantic by the noise and commotion of Independence Day. In fact, animal shelters across the country are accustomed to receiving "July 4th" dogs -- dogs who run off during fireworks celebrations and are rescued by animal control officers or Good Samaritans who take them to the safety of the local shelter.

The Humane Society of Boulder Valley (Colo.) says that, on the Fourth of July, it is typically inundated with animals:

Firecrackers, cherry bombs and sparklers are fun for humans, but when pets see and hear them, they head for the hills, warns the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. "Animals have extremely sensitive ears," explains Chief Executive Officer Jan McHugh-Smith. "To a dog or cat, even the distant sound of fireworks is like a bomb exploding."

Each Fourth of July the Society is inundated with lost pets from all over Boulder County. "We receive many cats and dogs who aren't wearing tags and who aren't microchipped," says McHugh-Smith. Animals wearing identification can often be returned to their homes immediately, either by a good Samaritan or an animal control officer.

What can do you for Fido? Here are some tips.

Paying Farmers Who Don't Farm

Nationwide, the federal government has paid at least $1.3 billion in subsidies for rice and other crops since 2000 to individuals who do no farming at all, according to an analysis of government records by The Washington Post.

Here's some context:

The payments now account for nearly half of the nation's expanding agricultural subsidy system, a complex web that has little basis in fairness or efficiency. What began in the 1930s as a limited safety net for working farmers has swollen into a far-flung infrastructure of entitlements that has cost $172 billion over the past decade. In 2005 alone, when pretax farm profits were at a near-record $72 billion, the federal government handed out more than $25 billion in aid, almost 50 percent more than the amount it pays to families receiving welfare.

The Post's nine-month investigation found farm subsidy programs that have become so all-encompassing and generous that they have taken much of the risk out of farming for the increasingly wealthy individuals who dominate it.

Get local. It is easy to find out who in your county is paid the most in farm subsidies. Just click here. The Environmental Working Group's database is easy to use. (The EWG is a farm-policy reform activist group.) As you use this database, remember: Just because somebody is getting a subsidy does not imply that he or she is doing something wrong. Far from it. It is a reflection of how the system is currently set up. The question is whether or not it should be set up this way.

Green Burial

More than one in ten burials in the United Kingdom are "green" burials, involving biodegradable caskets, not watertight steel vaults. Now, there are a handful of these "green" cemeteries around America. The Associated Press explains:

At Greensprings [Natural Cemetery], where a plot costs $500 plus a $350 fee to dig the grave, bodies cannot be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved. They must be buried in biodegradable caskets without linings or metal ornamentation. The cemetery suggests locally harvested woods, wicker or cloth shrouds. Concrete or steel burial vaults are not allowed. Nor are standing monuments, upright tombstones or statues.

Only flat, natural fieldstones are permitted as grave markers (they can be engraved). Shrubs or trees are preferred.

And only one person is allowed in each 15-foot-by-15-foot plot.

"This is more than just dig a hole in the woods and roll them in. We see it as a natural return to the Earth, becoming part of the circle of life," said Mary Woodsen, a lifelong conservationist and the cemetery's president.

"Not everyone will find this appealing," she said. "But there are people who want that look and feel of nature."

Natural or woodland cemeteries are common in the United Kingdom, where they make up more than 10 percent of burials. In the United States, however, green burial is a relatively new idea, but one that has caught the attention of people who favor blending land conservation with a natural approach to funerals.

Are the Penny's Days Numbered?

The end could be in sight for the penny. As I reported to you some time ago, it now costs more than a penny to mint a penny and that could be enough to push the Mint into a change. AP reports:

For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make this year, thanks to higher metal prices. "The penny is going to disappear soon unless something changes in the economics of commodities," says Robert Hoge, an expert on North American coins at The American Numismatic Society.

That very idea of spending 1.2 cents to put 1 cent into play strikes many people as "faintly ridiculous," says Jeff Gore, of Elkton, Md., founder of a little group called Citizens for Retiring the Penny.

And yet, while its profile of Abe Lincoln marks time in the bottom of drawers and ashtrays, the penny somehow carries a reassuring symbolism that Americans hesitate to forsake.

"It's part of their past, so they want to keep it in their future," says Dave Harper, editor of Numismatic News.

Gallup polling has shown that two-thirds of Americans want to keep the penny coin. There's even a pro-penny lobby called Americans for Common Cents [PDF].

The Mint's announcement is a milestone, though, because coins have historically cost less to produce than the face value paid by receiving banks. They are moneymakers for the government.

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona wants to keep it that way. But when he asked Congress to phase out the penny five years ago he failed; he intends to try again this year. If he fails again, he joked recently, he may open a business melting down pennies to resell the metal.