Articles in Sustainability
(ETA) The environmental impact of clearing forests to make way for biofuel crops is such that using fossil fuel in cars is better for the environment than biofuels made from crops such as palm oil.
Under …
(European Bioethanol Fuel Association) “Meals per Gallons”, a publication against biofuels recently produced by ActionAid, is based largely on unfounded claims, disputed data and one-sided arguments says eBio, the European Bioehtanol Industry Association.
“In particular, the report …
(Advanced Biofuels USA) Since the provisions of the RFS were written into the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 without a realistic funding provision, RFS and RFS2 are, as a practical matter, “Sense …
(DTN Ethanol Center) President Barack Obama will continue championing biofuels as a job creator, said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack when he spoke to members of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition on Monday. Vilsack is hopeful …
by Niall O’Keeffe (FlightGlobal) Both of the major commercial airframers have joined forces with industry peers to pursue new biofuel research initiatives, reflecting an intensification of concern about future availability of alternative fuels in the …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) At least one ethanol industry representative has been appointed to an expert work group attempting to assess the true carbon footprint of all fuel sources under the California’s proposed Low Carbon …
(Environment News Service) The risk that biofuel crops will become invasive and outcompete native species is increasing as more advanced biofuel crops are planted, according to new research into this previously neglected but potentially costly …
by Oil Price (iStockAnalyst) …additives and substitutes such as biofuels will play an ever-increasing role by stretching beleaguered production quotas. As market forces and rising prices drive this technology to the forefront, one of the …
Palm oil from South-East Asia, sugarcane from Brazil and sweet sorghum in China are the most sustainable energy crops at present. Maize from the US and wheat in Europe have a much more negative environmental …
Our industry produced a record 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol in 2009. Efficiency enhancements and innovations in production combined with improved farming techniques allowed us to achieve this record with existing corn acreage and reduced …
(EurActiv.com) Industry is on track to ensure “carbon-neutral growth” in the aviation sector from 2020, but strengthened European Union support for research and development (R&D) is vital to help manufacturers deliver the green technologies required, …
(GreenAirOnline.com) Although not commercially viable yet, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) offers a strong financial, as well as environmental, incentive for the adoption of jet biofuels, says a new report by EQ2. Based …
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) …(S)aid Sarah Dunham of the EPA, the EPA received real data during the comment period that helped shape the rule, including indirect land use change (ILUC). “I can safely …
by Lisa Hare (Yankton Press & Dakotan) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent final ruling on the national Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was met with mixed responses by farm state politicians and organizational leaders.
“This is …
(TheBioenergySite) Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India and the seedlings for the first 100 hectares have been planted.
The company …
by John Vidal (The Guardian) EU companies have taken millions of acres of land out of food production in Africa, central America and Asia to grow biofuels for transport, according to development campaigners. The consequences …
by Gregor Heard (FarmOnline) THEY’RE back - after being flavour of the month in the middle years of the decade, renewable fuels were knocked out of the water over the past three years, and consigned …
(New York Times) letters to editor Re “Sensible Rules for Ethanol” (editorial, Feb. 11): While American corn farmers are pleased the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that corn ethanol offers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared …
Jonathan Fahey (Forbes.com) It is becoming ever more apparent that there is one big squishy variable in the calculations that determine whether biofuels help the planet or help destroy it. That variable is called the …
by Douglas Fischer (Scientific American) The Obama administration last week gave the green light to corn ethanol as a low-carbon renewable fuel – in apparent contradiction to California’s declaration last summer that the biofuel’s carbon …
(OPIS) The New York Times is praising U.S. EPA for including the international indirect land use change (ILUC) calculation in its lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction threshold as part of the finalized expanded renewable fuels standard …
by James Kanter(New York Times)…In a memorandum, Jean-Luc Demarty, the top civil servant in the agriculture department at the European Commission, wrote to a colleague in December that “an unguided use of I.L.U.C. would kill …
David M. Lapola, Ruediger Schaldach, Joseph Alcamo, Alberte Bondeau, Jennifer Koch, Christina Koelking, and Joerg A. Priess (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Abstract: The planned expansion of biofuel plantations in Brazil could potentially …
(Central Valley Business Times) The mass production of biofuels could be a major step toward eliminating dependence on fossil fuels, but a number of factors have stood in the way, including the argument against using …
by C. Boyden Gray (Washington Times) Little noticed outside a small policy community, an issue has quietly arisen in recent years that, while seemingly technical, has the potential to derail the nation’s attempts to address …
The study “2nd Generation Biofuels and Trade“ explores the potential supply and demand of 2nd generation biofuels up until 2030, and discusses various impacts on biofuel trade, ranging from cost advantages over shipping capacities and …
by Catherine Saillant (Los Angeles Times) Members of the Southern California Assn. of Governments reject $11 million in federal stimulus money to set up 55 stations throughout the Southland. They say ethanol causes environmental problems. …
by Campbell Wood (Business Lexington) Horse farm managers across the Bluegrass have their eyes on Keeneland’s proposed bio-fuel project. … The problem being what to do daily with tons upon tons of muck, a mixture …
by Neil Winton (Detroit News) It’s a bit like those old Looney Tunes cartoons, when the Road Runner races off a cliff and it takes a little while for gravity to establish its case for …
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) I’ve taken to adding “fun” to the quartet sung by many when speaking of the uses served by our crop land and forests: food, feed, fiber and fuel. The …
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (MN) issued the following statement on Renewable Fuel Standard regulations announced by the Obama Administration today.
“Typical of most decisions made in Washington, there is some good and some bad …
President Barack Obama announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its …
Following on the heels of the Forest Guild Membership and Policy Committee’s unanimous approval on November 10, 2009, the professional membership has voted overwhelmingly to approve the Forest Guild Biomass Policy Statement. This statement will …
by Darrel Good (University of Illinois and Cattle Network) …Planting decisions for individual crops in the spring of 2010 will be influenced by a number of factors. These include relative crop prices, prospects for net …
by Nidhi Nath Srinivas (The Economic Times) Indian biodiesel companies always wanted to be players in the global green fuel market. Most are 100% export units. But a near-death experience over the last one year …
The simple formula we’ve learned in recent years – forests remove the greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere; therefore forests prevent global warming – may not be quite as simple as we thought. Forests can …
Scientists have found a way to increase fermentable sugar stores in plants which could lead to plant biomass being easier to convert into eco-friendly sustainable biofuels.
Their research is highlighted in the latest issue of Business, …
The Algal Biomass Organization, challenged the conclusions of a published report in Environmental Science and Technology claiming that “conventional crops have lower environmental impacts than algae in energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and water.” The …
by Joanna Schroeder (domesticfuels.com) One of the biggest challenges for our country lies in the issue of how to create effective public policies that will grow the biofuels industry and reduce our dependence on foreign …
Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Electrification Coalition, an industry group composed of Cisco, Pacific Gas and Electric, NRG Energy, Nissan, and various investment bankers among others, wants to spend $124 billion dollars of …
by Cindy Zimmerman (DomesticFuel.com) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has analyzed a new report out from the National Wildlife Federation on “Corn Ethanol and Wildlife” and found it lacking in accuracy. … The RFA analysis …
(National Wildlife Federation) A new report shows how government incentives for corn ethanol are driving farmers to shift land into corn production, resulting in significant decreases in grassland bird populations throughout the fragile Prairie Pothole …
by Don Hofstrand (Agricultural Marketing Resource Center) Crop residue, traditionally considered as “trash” or agricultural waste, is increasingly being viewed as a valuable resource. Corn stalks, corn cobs, wheat straw and other leftovers from grain …
by Michael Kannellos (GreenTechMedia) Take marginal land, fish waste and a plant that’s not currently cultivated for human purposes and what do you get? Hopefully jet fuel.
The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Honeywell UOP, …
Homegrown energy could reduce millions of pounds of nutrients from entering the Chesapeake Bay’s streams, creeks and rivers and create more than 18,000 jobs in the region, according to a new report released by the …
Washington College teamed up with Tri Gas & Oil Company out of Federalsburg, MD, and New Generation Biofuels from Columbia, MD, to test NGB’s biofuel in one of the College’s boilers. The College uses approximately …
(Newswise) With many companies investing heavily in algae-based biofuels, researchers from the University of Virginia’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have found there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production ramps up. …
(Pangea Quarterly Newsletter) … In 2009, PANGEA staff spent a great deal of time looking at the food vs. fuel controversy and working to find ways to re-frame the discussion into one of food and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Camelina has been much in the news of late, as a biofuels feedstock of strong promise, because of its position as one of the few “sustainable, affordable, reliable, available” feedstocks suitable …
(GreenAirOnline.com) A major study to investigate the technical and financial feasibility of a biorefinery plant to supply Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport with 50,000 tonnes of jet biofuel per year has been completed. The project was initiated …
