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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: alternative fuels

alternative fuels stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Exxon to Invest $600M 
 in Algae-Based Fuel 

Will partner with famed genome expert Craig Venter

Jul 14, 09 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Exxon Mobil, the biggest oil company in the world, will invest $600 million in turning algae into fuel, the New York Times reports. Known for blowing off concerns about global warming and dismissing biofuels—its CEO famously called ethanol “moonshine”—Exxon Mobil has in fact been researching alternative... More »

MORE ABOUT:
biofuel • investment • Craig Venter • alternative fuels • Rex Tillerson • Exxon Mobil • algae biofuel • algae

 GM Strikes Hummer Deal 

Buyer, price not disclosed

Jun 2, 09 7:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - General Motors has announced a "tentative" plan to sell its Hummer brand to a buyer who could take control by the end of the third quarter, says the Wall Street Journal. The firm didn’t say who was buying it or for how much, but noted that the purchaser... More »

MORE ABOUT:
General Motors • acquisition • auto industry • alternative fuels • sale • Hummer

 California Passes 
 World's First Carbon 
 Fuel Standard 

Rule requires vehicle fuel's 'carbon intensity' to be slashed

Apr 24, 09 4:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - California has passed a landmark rule to reduce the carbon content of vehicle fuel, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The regulation, the first of its kind in the world, requires refiners and distributors to begin cutting the "carbon intensity" of fuel next year, and reach a 10% reduction by... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • ethanol • fuel • alternative fuels • carbon emissions • California Air Resources Board • greenhouse-gas emissions

(Newser) - A tax provision in the 2005 transportation bill offering credits for the use of alternative fuels has had an unintended, even disastrous, result in the paper industry: “Paper mills are adding diesel fuel to a process that requires none in order to qualify for the tax credit,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • diesel • alternative fuels • tax credit • paper industry • paper mill • transportation bill • scheme

(Newser) - The electric car is real—at least in prototype form. Tesla Motors yesterday unveiled a working prototype of its much-anticipated Model S, a fully-electric 5-door sedan, the LA Times reports. It’s actually Tesla’s second electric vehicle, but unlike the Roadster, which is produced in London and carries... More »

MORE ABOUT:
electric cars • alternative fuels • Tesla Motors • Tesla Roadster • Tesla Model S

 Ethanol on Tap 
 From Beer Dregs 

Brewer Sierra Nevada gets in on plan to produce alternative fuel

Feb 3, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Brewer Sierra Nevada is part of an effort to turn byproducts of the beer-making process into usable, alternative fuel, CNET reports. E-Fuel sells a $10,000 portable ethanol refinery that the brewer will feed with its yearly output of 1.6 million gallons of “bottom of the barrel” waste.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • alternative energy • beer • biofuel • alternative fuels • brewing • Sierra Nevada Corp. • E-Fuel

ANALYSIS

 Human Waste Helps 
 Oslo's Carbon Footprint 

Buses in Norway's capital will run on methane distilled from feces

Feb 2, 09 4:21 PM CST
(Newser) - Norwegian officials have hit on a novel, if gassy, alternative to carbon-spewing gasoline, Dave Demerjian writes in Wired. Starting in September, Oslo will capture methane, a byproduct of the process at its sewage treatment plants, and use it to power city buses. Norway hopes to use the gaseous human contribution... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Norway • methane • Oslo • public transportation • alternative fuels • carbon emissions • carbon-neutral

Electric Motorcycles Closing Gap
on Speed

Brit creates all-battery bike for the racetrack

Jan 28, 09 5:45 PM CST
(Newser) - An English entrepreneur is developing an all-electric motorcycle he says can compete on the racetrack, Wired reports. Well, in the near future. His prototype—the bike is expected to be for sale next year and will be legal for street use—can go from 0 to 60 in 3.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • scooters • auto racing • Britain • alternative fuels • electric motorcycle • performance

PR Blitz Aside, Big Oil Drilled Consumers for Stockholders

As demand drops, companies shelve plans to explore—among moves that benefit shareholders, not consumers

Oct 28, 08 12:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Despite public-relations campaigns designed to make consumers think otherwise, big oil companies remain firmly tied to doing what’s best for their stockholders and bottom line, the Los Angeles Times reports. Though demand has outstripped production, companies spend more on stock buybacks than supply-boosting exploration. But, one analyst notes, “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shareholders • gas prices • alternative fuels • Royal Dutch Shell • oil companies • Exxon Mobil • Big Oil

Falling Gas Prices Could Put Electric Car Back in Neutral

Surge got automakers in gear, but economic downturn makes new projects tougher

Oct 20, 08 10:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Car companies are revving up work on alternative energy vehicles, responding to higher oil prices that, well, don’t actually exist just now. New cars take about 5 years to roll out, meaning the auto industry can’t nimbly react to price changes: Oil, which cost $130 a barrel just... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gas prices • electric cars • auto industry • alternative fuels • financial crisis

ANALYSIS

India's Effort to Boost Biofuel Encounters Growing Pains

Country aims to feed boom with hardier crops, though it's a tough sell

Sep 22, 08 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Just months after India’s finance minister called converting food crops to biofuels “a crime against humanity,” the government has launched a program that aims to get 20% of India’s diesel from plants by 2017, relying heavily on hardy plants that won’t keep rob needed land.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
India • biofuel • fossil fuel • biodiesel • alternative fuels • oil crisis • jatropha • pongamia pinnata

Biodiesel Gains Converts on Home Front

Reputable retailers selling kits to turn veggie oil to fuel

Sep 15, 08 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Half a billion gallons of it were brewed at home last year, and we're not talking beer. Homemade biodiesel is expanding from the days of hippies converting old electric water heaters to mainstream retailers offering safer, reliable processors, Wired reports. Anyone with the equipment, ranging from $3,000 to $13,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
biodiesel • alternative fuels • clean fuel • home brewing • eco-friendly

 As Oil Costs Bubble, Alternative Heating Gets Hot

With home heating oil prices rising, natural gas looks like a better deal

Aug 13, 08 9:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Northeasterners expecting the price of heating oil to hit $4.35 a gallon are creating an avalanche of new business for heating and cooling contractors as they increasingly look to convert from oil heat to natural gas, reports the Wall Street Journal. A conversion to natural gas heat can cost... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy prices • natural gas • alternative fuels • heating oil • oil prices

OPINION

 Let Innovators
 Light Way Out
 of Energy Crisis

Washington should learn from entrepreneurs

Jul 27, 08 9:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - As oil-addicted America looks to its energy future, the nation would be wise to follow in the footsteps of two innovators offering straightforward solutions to the crisis, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times. “The Jewish Henry Ford” has a plan to turn Israel on to electric... More »

MORE ABOUT:
electric cars • Thomas Friedman • alternative fuels • T. Boone Pickens • clean fuel • Shai Agassi • wind power • wind farm

 Gas From Garbage
 Finally Gets Momentum 

From sawdust to agricultural waste, scientists drive toward new fuels

Jul 24, 08 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - After decades of dreaming, schemes to turn waste into fuel are finally getting traction in the US, with some 28 plants in the works and a handful even up and running, the New York Times reports. They consume everything from wood chips to garbage, as once-prohibitively expensive processes become competitive... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • biofuel • energy dependence • alternative fuels • algae biofuel

OPINION

Admit It:
Carter Was
100% Right

Energy conservation sounds like a pretty good idea about now

Jul 15, 08 4:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - “Misunderstood, mocked and maligned” though he was, Jimmy Carter was exactly right about our energy problems and their solutions, Joseph Wheelan writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Way back in 1979, "Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence." In 2008, "It turns out that Carter was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Jimmy Carter • energy dependence • alternative fuels • fuel economy standards • thermostats

 New Engine
 Could Rev
 Green Flight 

Less fuel, emissions, and noise

Jun 26, 08 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in commercial aviation technology in years, Pratt & Whitney has developed a revolutionary jet engine that burns up to 15% less fuel and cuts carbon emissions by 1,500 tons per plane per year. The engine, which is also... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FAA • global warming • Boeing • Airbus • Boeing 787 Dreamliner • Mitsubishi • NextGen • Bombardier • alternative fuels • carbon emissions • Pratt & Whitney • Eco-Aviation Conference • geared turbofan engine

OPINION

To Fix US Energy Policy, Start Over

Activist argues for multipronged strategy on climate change

Jun 10, 08 6:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US must overhaul its environmental strategy, alternative-energy advocate Denis Hayes writes in Yale Environment 360, and here's how:
  • Cap carbon at its source—coal mines, oil fields, pipelines—not where it leaves the atmosphere.
  • Promote renewable energy and buy photovoltaic devices in bulk to drive prices down.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • energy • environment • global warming • cap and trade • alternative fuels

 Fill 'Er Up—
 In Your Own Back Yard  

Distiller could home-brew ethanol for as little as $1 a gallon

Apr 27, 08 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Backyard brew may soon ease the pain at the gas pump if two entrepreneurs pushing a home ethanol system have their way, reports the New York Times. E-Fuel Corporation's device is roughly the size of a stackable washer-dryer and will sell for about $10,000. Using sugar or feedstock... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • gas • sugar • alternative fuels • auto technology • green home

 A Plane That Runs on Hydrogen 

Boeing's manned flight successful, put passenger-aircraft application still far off

Apr 4, 08 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Boeing has successfully tested the world’s first manned, hydrogen-powered plane, the BBC reports, with one executive calling the three flights in Spain “a historical technological success.” The propeller-driven two-seater runs on a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only heat and water. Boeing engineers say they doubt the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Boeing • aerospace • clean energy • hydrogen fuel cells • alternative fuels

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