http://www.climateark.org/ Biofuel, agrofuel and industrial agriculture newsfeed from Climate Ark -- http://www.climateark.org/ Climate Ark a project of Ecological Internet, Inc. info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) http://www.climateark.org/img/ark.jpg http://www.climateark.org/ Record-Eagle: A local environmental group is increasingly worried that Traverse City Light & Power is on an unstoppable fast track to building a local wood-burning power plant, but the public utility insists a decision hasn't been made. Light & Power officials are expected to decide next month whether to construct a biomass plant in Traverse City. The facility would be fired on wood, but could accept designated fuel crops or other items. Officials recently released a consulting firm's ... http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_072220517.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=155067 13 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biomass energy ill-conceived | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Record-Eagle: Art Bukowski) redOrbit: Using green algae to produce hydrocarbon oil for biofuel production is nothing new; nature has been doing so for hundreds of millions of years, according a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. "Oils from the green algae Botryococcus braunii can be readily detected in petroleum deposits and coal deposits suggesting that B. braunii has been a contributor to developing these deposits and may be the major contributor," said Dr. Timothy Devarenne, AgriLife Research scientist with the Texas ... http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1836011/genetic_mapping_of_algae_biofuel_species/index.html?source=r_science http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154984 13 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST algae biofuel genetic mapping | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (redOrbit: Robert Burns) Huffington Post: A new study by University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (PDF) reveals that the current corn ethanol tax credit is effectively costing tax payers $4.18 per gallon and is driving up grain prices. The study estimates that the tax credit, which would cost about $5.85 billion next year if extended, will lead to 1.4 billion gallons above the 12.6 billion gallons required by law through the Renewable Fuel Standard (see page 64). In other words, next year the oil ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathanael-greene/study-shows-tax-payers-su_b_494877.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154866 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST ethanol subsidies | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Huffington Post: none given) Business Green: The US biodiesel industry was celebrating this week after the Senate approved the extension of the controversial $1 (66p) a gallon tax credit that had been allowed to expire at the end of last year. The one-year extension of the tax credit, which will retroactively cover biodiesel produce since the turn of the year, was passed as part of the new jobs bill. The bill will still need to be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the House of Representatives and there is no set ... http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2259444/senate-extends-controversial http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154864 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biodiesel tax credit | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Green: none given) Oregonian: By the end of this year, Seneca Sustainable Energy plans to fire up a power plant that will convert about 700 tons a day of logging leftovers and waste from its nearby sawmill into enough electricity to power 13,000 homes. The plant features West Coast-leading pollution controls endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency. It's projected to release far less pollution than the usual practice of burning slash piles in the woods. But it will also release more carbon dioxide ... http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/03/burning_wood_for_renewable_pow.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154885 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST renewable wood biomass concerns | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Oregonian: Scott Learn and Matthew Preusch) ScienceDaily: In the March issue of BioScience, researchers present a sophisticated new analysis of the effects of boosting use of maize-derived ethanol on greenhouse gas emissions. The study, conducted by Thomas W. Hertel of Purdue University and five co-authors, focuses on how mandated increases in production of the biofuel in the United States will trigger land-use changes domestically and elsewhere. In response to the increased demand for maize, farmers convert additional land to crops, and ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100311074121.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154750 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST ethanol emissions greenhouse gas boost | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (ScienceDaily: none given) ScienceDaily: Researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have succeeded in making a significant leap forward in the production of biochemicals and biofuels from waste wood. They discovered that the bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis breaks down harmful by-products which are produced when sugars are released from wood. They also managed to incorporate the degradation process in bacteria which are in common industrial use. This breakthrough does away with the need to resort to ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100310113527.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154635 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel biomass wood waste | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (ScienceDaily: none given) SciDev.Net: New biofuels offer a sustainable source of energy but we must consider the ethical and social implications, say Joyce Tait and Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka. Biofuels were first pioneered in the early days of car manufacturing. Cheap fossil fuels soon overtook them as our fuel of choice, but concerns about climate change have revived interest in them -- global biofuel production doubled between 2000 and 2007, and is expected to double again by 2011. 'First generation' biofuels, ... http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/are-new-biofuels-the-ethical-answer-.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154596 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuels ethics | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (SciDev.Net: Joyce Tait and Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka) Reuters: Four environmental groups have sued the European Union's executive for withholding documents they say will add to a growing dossier of evidence that biofuels harm the environment and push up food prices. The lawsuit, lodged with the EU's General Court, the bloc's second highest court, alleges several violations of European laws on transparency and democracy. But the European Commission countered that the action was premature as it had not formally refused access and had already ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62801Q20100309 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154456 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel Europe court challenge | Europe | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Pete Harrison) Times (UK): A marine pest could be the key to a biofuel breakthrough, say scientists. Gribble, which resemble pink woodlice, plagued seafarers for centuries by boring through the planks of ships and destroying wooden piers. But now environmental scientists are taking a keen interest in the crustaceans. A team of British researchers has learnt that gribble have a gift for digesting wood not seen in any other animal. Enzymes produced by the tiny creatures are able to break down woody ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article7054684.ece http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154460 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel science | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Times (UK): none given) Times (UK): Grimsby or Hollywood? For most, it's not much of a choice. Tim Levy is the exception. As head of Future Capital Partners, a Mayfair investment firm, he has spent the past decade lining up financing for more than 300 films, including blockbusters such as Iron Man 2 and The Bourne Ultimatum. Today he is excited about a vacant lot in the gritty Lincolnshire port. Levy wants to build a refinery there that will turn wheat into petrol. The plant, he argues, will be a boon to British ... http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7052507.ece http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154126 07 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel wheat | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Times (UK): Danny Fortson ) Arab News: The world, it is said, belongs to those with the most energy. And the search for alternative energy, for a number of reasons - from political to environmental - continues. The price spike in 2008, preceding the recession the world is now desperately endeavoring to climb out - gave a fillip to the pursuit. In his State of the Union address in January 2007, former US President Bush emphasized developing biofuels, so as to reduce the American dependence on oil. And then on Jan. 24, while ... http://arabnews.com/economy/article26771.ece http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154124 06 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel concerns | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Arab News: Danny Fortson) Reuters: A move by Unilever to stop buying palm oil from Indonesia's top supplier Sinar Mas and to blacklist another supplier PT Duta Palma was "unfair," Indonesian Agriculture Minister Suswono said on Friday. Green campaigners and consumers have turned up the heat on European firms such as Unilever, saying these companies' palm oil suppliers are responsible for deforestation and peatland clearence that can speed up climate change. "If there is a dispute we should ask an independent to ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6243CO20100305 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154105 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest oil palm Unilever | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Aloysius Bhui) Reuters: The European Union's promotion of plant-based biofuels will raise EU farm incomes and agricultural commodity prices, but could create food shortages for the world's poorest consumers, draft EU reports show. The EU has a legal target to get a tenth of its road transport fuels from renewable sources such as biofuels by 2020. For EU farmers hit by falling incomes, Europe's 5 billion euros-per-year ($6.84 billion) biofuels market is coveted as a source of new revenues. Impact ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62420Y20100305 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154100 05 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel hunger Europe | Europe | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Charlie Dunmore) Reuters: Biodiesel and other "green" fuels that Europeans put in their cars can have unintended consequences for tropical forests and wetlands, European Union reports show -- the first evidence of EU misgivings. The EU aims for its 500 million citizens to get about a tenth of their road fuels from renewable sources such as biofuels by 2020, but some EU officials want the target reduced in a review in four years time. Modelling exercises are starting to show unwanted impacts spreading ... http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6211EK.htm http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=154016 04 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel environmental damage | Europe | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Pete Harrison) Asia Times: Palm oil plantations play a major role in the growing problems of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia and tropical woodlands around the world. Last week's gathering of the International Conference on Oil Palm and Environment (ICOPE) is one move toward making the industry part of the solution. Whether the palm oil industry can, in fact, be part of the solution to deforestation is a proposition that divides palm oil producers, manufacturers, retailers, and, ... http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LC04Ae01.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153748 04 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST palm oil sustainability | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Asia Times: Muhammad Cohen) Business Green: Measures designed to cut carbon emissions could inadvertently undermine efforts to improve air quality unless the government tightens integration between climate change and air pollution policies. That is the conclusion of a major new report from Defra released today, which estimates the UK economy would save £24bn by 2050 adopting measures that jointly help prevent carbon emissions and air pollution. The study, titled Air Pollution: Action in a Changing Climate, acknowledges ... http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2258856/government-report-warns-climate http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153682 03 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST air quality biomass | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Green: James Murray) Mongabay: Oil palm plantations support substantially less biodiversity than natural forests when it comes to ant species, reports new research published in Basic and Applied Ecology. Tom Fayle, a University of Cambridge biologist, and colleagues sampled ant populations in Danum Valley Conservation Area, a rainforest, and nearby oil palm plantations in Sabah, a state Malaysian Borneo. The researchers counted 16,000 worker ants from 309 species in the natural forest but only in 110 species at the ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0302-ants_palm_oil.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153581 02 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest biodiversity oil palm plantations | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Agence France-Presse: It is blamed for everything from deforestation to threatening the extinction of the orangutan, but palm oil is a vital source of income for many developing countries, the crop's producers say. In Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, where the plant provides work for three million people, the government is keen to promote the benefits of the crop. Gatot Irianto, research director at Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, pleaded with producers, scientists and NGOs ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100302/wl_asia_afp/environmentindonesiaenergyforests http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153549 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST palm oil environmental curse | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Agence France-Presse: Jerome Rivet) Mongabay: It is no secret that orangutans are threatened with extinction because their rain forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Ten years ago, Shawn Thompson, a writer, former journalist and university professor, set out to chronicle the threat to orangutans in a book released in March 2010. The book is called The Intimate Ape: Orangutans and the Secret Life of a Vanishing Species. The book spends most of the time talking about the nature of orangutans and the relationships between ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0301-thompson_orangutans_interview.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153506 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST oranguatans dying | East/South-East Asia | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Times (UK): Using fossil fuel in vehicles is better for the environment than so-called green fuels made from crops, according to a government study seen by The Times. The findings show that the Department for Transport's target for raising the level of biofuel in all fuel sold in Britain will result in millions of acres of forest being logged or burnt down and converted to plantations. The study, likely to force a review of the target, concludes that some of the most commonly-used biofuel crops ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7044708.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=3392178 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153442 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST green energy environment damage | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Times (UK): Ben Webster) News Tribune: Scientists in Eastern Washington are at the forefront of research into an ancient practice that shows promise as a clean fuel source, a way to improve soil condition and to capture carbon that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere. Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the federal Department of Agriculture's research station in Prosser and Washington State University have been integral figures in studies of biochar and its potential uses. Biochar, a ... http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/02/28/1090068/scientists-say-biochar-promising.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153338 28 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biochar fuel source | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (News Tribune: Kevin McCullen) Business Daily: Kenya's switch to green energy– thanks to blending of petrol with ethanol– is going to delay by up to two years, a government agency dealing with the project has said. The guidelines on blending that was planned to take off on Monday are not ready and the distillers may lack the technical capacity to undertake the assignment, the National Biofuels Sub-Committee says. Dr Benard Muok, convener of the sub-committee mandated with formulating a national biofuel policy, says it will ... http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/869038/-/t3aqp3z/-/index.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153228 27 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel delay | Africa | Kenya info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Daily: Walter Menya) ClimateWire: Britain's biggest coal-burning power station has gone to war against the government over its lack of support for the use of biomass. The move by the 4,000-megawatt power complex -- the size of four large nuclear power plants -- could undermine the nation's legally binding goal of getting 15 percent of primary energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Drax Power Station, located in the northern English county of Yorkshire, generates some 7 percent of the country's electricity, along ... http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/02/26/26climatewire-uk-and-its-major-power-producer-brawl-over-b-70774.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153031 26 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biomass subsidies | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (ClimateWire: Jeremy Lovell) Reuters: Argentina is set to implement a law requiring diesel to be blended with biodiesel in the coming weeks, but the nation's key exports of the green fuel could still rise as production soars. Argentina, a leading exporter of biodiesel and the No. 1 soyoil supplier, was due to introduce the law on January 1, but it was delayed until the government agreed to allocate supply quotas to the country's top producers, industry sources say. "The delay was caused by the need to adjust the ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61P4EJ20100226 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=153215 26 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biodiesel export | South/Central America/Caribbean | Argentina info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Maximilian Heath) London Evening Standard: New Britain Palm Oil today spent $175 million (£113 million) on new plantations in a deal that means it can guarantee oil it provides to image-conscious food and cosmetics manufacturers is from 100 per cent sustainable sources. The deal came as Unilever blacklisted a second palm oil supplier in as many months after damaging revelations the Dove soaps-to Flora giant used oil from illegally cleared rainforest land. New Britain's takeover of 80 per cent of CTP gives it 25,000 ... http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23809496-new-britain-palm-oil-secures-eco-friendly-plantations.do http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152847 24 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest plantations oil palm | Pacific/Oceania | Papua New Guinea info@ecologicalinternet.org (London Evening Standard: Jim Armitage) BBC: An application to build a biofuel power station at Avonmouth, capable of powering 25,000 homes, has been refused by city councillors. The plant, which would had been fuelled initially by palm oil, was attacked by critics who blamed the demand for palm oil for rainforest destruction. The meeting was told the decision had to be made according to material planning considerations, not emotions. But councillors went against advice from planners and voted 6-2 against ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/8532017.stm http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152841 24 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel power rejection | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) Mongabay: Unilever has told Indonesian suppliers to stop sourcing palm oil from Duta Palma due to concerns over deforestation, reports Reuters. Unilever's warning comes shortly after a BBC documentary linked palm oil used in the company's products to rainforest destruction by Duta Palma. Derom Bangun, vice-chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board, an industry body, told Reuters Unilever's decision was a direct result of the documentary. "It is Unilever's decision," Bangun told ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0224-palmoil.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152760 24 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest oil palm | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: Indonesia will not allow the conversion of natural forest for oil palm plantations, claimed the country's Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan in comments reported by the Jakarta Post. Speaking at a hearing on forestry and agriculture, Hasan said he has no plan to draft a decree to incorporate plantations in the forestry sector. "There won't be any forest conversion into oil palm plantations," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post. "If you ask me about forest conversion into ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0223-indonesa_palmoil.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152651 23 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST climate rainforest | | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) BBC: The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the population has declined by 50% in recent decades and the Indonesian government admits that 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of de-forestation. A BBC Panorama investigation into clear-cutting in Indonesian Borneo - the island it shares with Malaysia - found that the thirst for land on which to plant palm plantations is encroaching on areas that the Indonesian government has deemed to be ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8523000/8523999.stm http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152435 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest organgutan oil palm | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) Independent (UK): The household goods giant Unilever has distanced itself from a major palm-oil producer after a BBC documentary filmed its staff clearing protected rainforest to make way for plantations producing the widely-used ingredient. In its second blacklisting of a palm-oil producer in three months, Unilever said it would avoid buying supplies originating from the Indonesian company Duta Palma, ensuring they did not end up in best-selling brands such as Dove soap and Flora margarine. The move ... http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/unilever-drops-major-palmoil-producer-1906474.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152376 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest oil palm Unilever | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent (UK): Martin Hickman) Macon: Two years after Gov. Sonny Perdue called bioenergy "the cornerstone of the new Georgia,' many Middle Georgia biofuel projects have been delayed or canceled, and biodiesel refineries have stopped production. Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are renewable fuels made from organic sources such as crop wastes and animal fat. State and national politicians have voiced support for alternative fuels in recent years as a way to reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil. With ... http://www.macon.com/local/story/1031620.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152337 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel industry failure | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Macon: S. Heather Duncan) Independent (UK): A Danish biotechnology company on Tuesday launched a new enzyme which it said will make it possible to turn agricultural waste into biofuel at a competitive price. The breakthrough will allow the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol for less than two US dollars per gallon (around 37 euro cents per litre), Novozymes said in a statement. This cost would put the fuel on a par with petrol and conventional ethanol, the company said. Novozymes said the new enzyme, ... http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/biotech-firm-launches-new-fuel-enzyme-1906087.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152319 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel enzyme technology | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent (UK): none given) Mongabay: The vehicle stopped on the way into Tabin Wildlife Reserve as a troop of pig-tailed macaques began making their way across the road. In a flash a domestic dog, which may or may not have been 'ownerless', ambushed the group. Chaos erupted as the big predator fell upon the community. As quickly as it began it was all over and the dog was rushing over with an infant monkey in its mouth, leaving the macaques' screeching out their helplessness. As my uncustomary welcome to Tabin Wildlife ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0221-hance_tabin.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152359 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest ecotourism | East/South-East Asia | Malaysia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Jeremy Hance) Independent (UK): One of the most promising solutions to the UK's mounting waste problems is under threat after the Government set the price it will pay for electricity generated from organic waste too low, green campaigners claimed yesterday. Farmers are aborting plans to build anaerobic digestion plants to convert animal slurries, manure and rotting vegetables into energy after the Government's climate change department made the proposed plants commercially unviable, according to the Renewable Energy ... http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/waste-not-britain-is-lagging-behind-other-countries-in-renewable-sources-1905794.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152304 21 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biomass organic energy | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent (UK): Susie Mesure and Jonathan Owen) Business Green: The UK's largest coal-fired power station has reportedly suspended high-profile plans to begin burning biomass alongside coal, which would have slashed the plant's carbon emissions by 3.5 million tonnes a year. The Drax plant in North Yorkshire, which is the single largest source of carbon in the UK, has invested £80m installing co-firing technology that was expected to help cut its carbon emissions 17 per cent. However, in an interview with the Times today Drax chief executive ... http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2258183/drax-shelves-biomass-plans http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152068 19 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST coal biomass | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Green: none given) Telegraph: Scientists in the Sainsbury Laboratory at the John Innes Centre have applied to start a three-year trial of blight-resistant GM potatoes in May. Around 400 potato plants will be sown in the plot at the Norwich Research Park behind high fences and with 24 hour security. It will mean Britain has two ongoing GM trials this year, despite the concern of environmental campaigners. Leeds University carried out a successful field trial last year and is expected to plant more GM ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7264846/Second-GM-crop-trial-could-go-ahead-this-year.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152061 19 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST crops technology GMO | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Telegraph: Louise Gray) Times (UK): Britain's biggest power station has suspended its plan to replace coal with greener fuel, leaving the Government little chance of meeting its target for renewable energy. Drax, in North Yorkshire, which produces enough electricity for six million homes, is withdrawing a pledge to cut CO2 emissions by 3.5 million tonnes a year, or 17.5 per cent. The power station, which is the country's largest single source of CO2, has invested £80 million in a processing unit for wood, straw ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7032738.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=3392178 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151998 18 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST coal Drax biomass suspend | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Times (UK): Ben Webster) ScienceDaily: Biogas from refuse produces 95 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, according to a new research report. With a few simple improvements to the biogas plants, the figure can rise to 120 per cent -- i.e. biogas becomes more than climate neutral. This can be compared with the standard figures used today, which indicate that biogas produces 80 per cent lower emissions than gasoline. A research group at the Lund University has calculated the figures on behalf of the Swedish ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218092611.htm http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=152400 18 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biogas climate | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (ScienceDaily: none given) Reuters: U.S. corn growers expressed relief when the Obama administration unveiled new environmental rules that would boost use of corn-based biofuel, but green groups complained the guidelines may fill the air with nitrogen, a greenhouse gas viewed as more potent than carbon. The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled what amounted to a tweaking of the national renewable fuel standard in early February, and still found that ethanol made from corn is still cleaner than conventional gasoline, ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G5CP20100217 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151981 17 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST corn ethanol hurt environment | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Ayesha Rascoe) Jakarta Post: Environmental activists have condemned the government's plan to classify oil palm plantations as forests, calling it a ploy to legalize forest conversions. Activists from Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), Telapak Indonesia and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) called on the Forestry Ministry to rescind the plan if the government was serious in efforts to safeguard the country's already threatened forests. FWI executive director Wirendro Sumargo said the plan ... http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/17/plantation-inclusion-will-%E2%80%98kill-forests%E2%80%99.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151775 17 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest oil palm plantation expansion | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Jakarta Post: Adianto P. Simamor) New York Times: Many cellulosic fuel producers are working with enzymes to break down tough, inedible plant parts, such as corncobs or switch grass, into simpler sugars that can be fermented to ethanol. Now enzyme companies say they are near to breaking down another tough obstacle: the cost of enzymes that will make the next generation of low-carbon fuels. The progress may help put cellulosic ethanol on course to compete commercially when the first large plants open next year. Novozymes, the ... http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/02/16/16climatewire-economics-improve-for-first-commercial-cellu-93478.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151791 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biomass cellulosic ethanol plantsjj | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (New York Times: Jessica Leber) ScienceDaily: The development of alternative fuel will greatly benefit the U.S., say scientists in an Energy Foundation-funded report published February 16 by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the nation's largest organization of ecological scientists. However, in order to effectively reap the social and economic benefits of biofuel production, U.S. policies need to address potential effects of land-use choices on our ecosystems. In the report, scientists Virginia Dale, Keith Kline, John ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216140152.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151736 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST corn food fuel biodiversity | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (ScienceDaily: none given) Mongabay: The European Union's biofuel targets could starve up to 100 million people, warns a report from an anti-poverty charity. ActionAid estimates the E.U.'s plan to source 10 percent of transport fuels from biofuels would increase competition for agricultural lands, spurring a sharp rise in food prices. Dearer food would disproportionally affect the world's poorest people. "Biofuels are conservatively estimated to have been responsible for at least 30% of the global food price spike ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0216-biofuels.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151712 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel food starve poor | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Jakarta Post: The Forestry Ministry is drafting a decree to include oil palm plantations in the forest sector to comply with international standards in mitigating climate change. The ministry said it believed the policy would not lead to massive forest conversion into palm oil plantations as many critics feared. "By definition, oil palm plantations will be defined as forest, but its management will be under the Agriculture Ministry," head of research and development at the ministry, Tachrir ... http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/16/palm-estate-forest-says-ministry.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151657 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest palm oil | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Jakarta Post: Adianto P. Simamora) Jakarta Globe: As Indonesia looks for ways to meet its ambitious emissions-reduction targets, the Ministry of Forestry yesterday said it plans to issue a new regulation that would allow commercial forestry companies to plant crops such as palm oil in new concession areas. The ministry said the "mixed forest" regulation was intended to help companies survive the current low timber prices and would enable them to grow biofuel crops to help alleviate the country's energy shortage. Environmental ... http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/53276-indonesia-may-open-more-forests-to-palm-oil http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151653 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest palm oil | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Jakarta Globe: none given) Carbon Positive: Using carbon markets to prevent deforestation in developing countries is unlikely to provide a high enough economic incentive to save tropical forests, a study has found. The European Commission's Science for Environment Policy unit quotes a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, which compares the returns from clearing tropical forest for palm oil plantations with the likely carbon costs if such emissions were priced. The study, "Preserving the World's ... http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1894 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151610 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest REDD palm oil | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Carbon Positive: none given) Reuters: General Motors Co's growing output of vehicles capable of running on ethanol-gasoline blends won't help cut polluting emissions or U.S. dependence on foreign oil until a slim network of stations dispensing ethanol is greatly expanded, GM Vice Chairman Tom Stevens said. Half of GM's vehicle lineup will be able to run on a mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol, called E85, by the 2012 model year, said Stevens, GM's vice chairman for global product operations. "GM is ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61F1OQ20100216?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29 http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151626 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST ethanol automobile fuel stations | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Bernie Woodall) redOrbit: US biofuel policies will fail to achieve the intended environmental, energy and agricultural goals, warns an article in the journal Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy (AEPP). "A key feature of biofuels policy is the combination of mandate and subsidies that cause severe adverse effects," said Harry de Gorter, co-author of the article and Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. "The analysis of biofuel policies is shown to be unique ... http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1823684/biofuels_policy_fails_to_achieve_goals/index.html?source=r_science http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151679 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel policy goals | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (redOrbit: none given) Guardian: The biojet fuel British Airways is planning to produce in its new plant in London has not yet been certified for use by the UK authorities, the airline has admitted to the Guardian. BA said today that it would build what is believed to be Europe's first plant to manufacture "biojet fuel" using food scraps and other waste in an attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. But the airline admitted that the Ministry of Defence body, DStan, which regulates aviation fuel ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/15/british-airways-biojet-fuel-factory http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=151516 15 Feb 2010 11:00:00 PST British AirWays biojet fuel | Europe | United Kingdom info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: none given)