Have you ever noticed the mysterious, vaguely science-fictionesque “polysorbate 60″ on an ingredients list for a Twinkie or other processed food? Turns out that it’s a mix of corn, palm oil and petroleum.

True! And it’s found in a wide variety of processed foods, food author Steve Ettlinger discovered in researching his book, “Twinkie, Deconstructed,” this newspaper reported Saturday. Niacin and food coloring (that’s yellow dye 5 and red dye 40) are also made from petroleum products.

I thought there was, um, an oil shortage or something like that? So, maybe not such a good idea to put it in what we EAT, you think? (Photo of yummy oil slick: ctd 2005.)

If you’ve been dying to leap into the seat of a Toyota Prius, Honda Insight or other fuel-saving vehicle, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has just made it a whole lot easier.

Helping Californians to lower fuel emissions and save money on gas, CARB is offering up to $3,000 in rebates for natural gas and hybrid electric cars and zero-emission scooters.

And if you bought a low-emission vehicle since last May and have been waiting for state funding to come through before submitting your rebate application, wait no more.

Vehicles must have been purchased between May 24, 2007 and March 31, 2009 to qualify. CARB estimates there are 25,000 vehicles already on the road that would qualify for the first-come, first-serve program that has a $1.6 million dollar cap. For a list of eligible vehicles and other info, go to www.fuelingalts.energycenter.org.

And consider that the CARB is helping us all cut carbs, as in “carbon emissions,” from our C A R s. There’s a certain classic symmetry there, eh? (Photo: double.reed on flickr.)