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NEWS ABOUT: biofuel

biofuel stories: 66 news summaries

1 - 20 of 66 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Biofuel Laws Make No Sense: Scientists 

Kyoto Protocols actually encourage harming the environment

Oct 23, 09 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Biofuel laws around the world actually encourage harming the environment, prominent scientists argue in the latest issue of Science. Under the Kyoto Treaty, in laws throughout Europe, and in the bill that passed the US House, biofuels count as carbon-neutral, on the theory that the plants the fuel is... More »

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climate change • environment • trees • biofuel • Kyoto Protocol • deforestation • carbon emissions

 Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas 


Aug 27, 09 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Once considered a win-win for the environment and energy independence, America’s biofuel industry is sputtering to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thanks to the recession, lower oil prices, and government delays, two-thirds of American biodiesel refineries—dozens of plants—are idle, and companies across the country are... More »

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environment • ethanol • biofuel • ecology • Environmental Protection Agency • recession • biodiesel • green revolution • energy independence • oil prices

 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 »

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

 EPA Eyes Crackdown on 
 Not-So-Green Biofuels 

Turns out, it's greener to burn plants than to make ethanol

May 10, 09 4:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Plants consume carbon dioxide, so growing corn to produce ethanol should be at worst a zero-sum game, emissions-wise, right? Wrong, says the EPA. There's another factor involved: Turning food crops into fuel drives up their prices, which raises demand for farmland worldwide. In places like Brazil, that means chopping down... More »

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ethanol • corn • biofuel • deforestation • EPA • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - Feeding cows parts of corn plants that farmers currently discard could eventually lead to American energy independence, Wired reports. An ammonia treatment applied to corn “stover” could make it palatable to cattle, freeing up more land for the production of ethanol, a Michigan State researcher says. That could,... More »

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environment • agriculture • ethanol • livestock • biofuel • cows • fossil fuel • petroleum

(Newser) - Big oil execs, analysts, and government sources say a century-old American tradition is waning: after years of increasing oil consumption, US guzzling has peaked, they believe. Last year, demand plunged 7.1% for gas, diesel, and jet fuel—the biggest drop since 1950, when dependable records began. And major changes... More »

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oil • biofuel • oil companies • gas stations • oil industry • gas consumption • oil demand

The Next Great Biofuel:
Pond Scum


Apr 11, 09 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - It’s as slimy as it is unassuming, but algae could be the stuff the next great biofuel is made of. The simple organisms convert solar energy into an oily material that could, theoretically, be processed into a biofuel to power a car. But there are untold varieties of algae... More »

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biofuel • algae biofuel • algae

 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 »

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

(Newser) - Scientists have genetically engineered the E. coli bacteria to produce a carbon-rich alcohol molecule equivalent in energy to gasoline, Popular Mechanics reports. The “long-chain” alcohol does not occur in nature, but with six to eight atoms of carbon, it is far more efficient than ethanol, which has only... More »

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E. coli • alcohol • biofuel • biodiesel • carbon • UCLA • scientific research • jet fuel • gasoline

ANALYSIS

Science Promises Cleaner Biofuels; Greens Wary

'Understanding the risks' of genetically engineered microbes is essential, some say

Jan 5, 09 4:54 PM CST
(Newser) - The future of alternative energy may lie with genetically engineered microbes that can efficiently convert sugar, or even sewage, into fuel, Yale Environment 360 reports. Small biotechs are using the tools of “synthetic biology” to create organisms that produce a range of carbon fuels without the extra energy expended... More »

MORE ABOUT:
greenhouse gases • biofuel • carbon • cellulose • microbe • sewage • sugar cane • synthetic biology

 Jumbo Jet Flies on Veggie Oil 

Boeing 747 powered by biofuel

Dec 31, 08 6:35 AM CST
(Newser) - A Boeing 747 powered by a mixture of aviation fuel and vegetable oil flew on a two-hour test flight which is being hailed as a technological and ecological milestone. The Air New Zealand passenger jet was powered in part by oil from the jatropha plant, reports the BBC. More »

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ethanol • biofuel • Virgin Atlantic • Air New Zealand • Boeing 747 • coconuts • babassu nuts • jatropha • vegetable oil • International Air Transport Association

One Man's Coffee Grounds Are Another's Biodiesel

Waste can be turned into cheap fuel

Dec 16, 08 11:25 AM CST
(Newser) - If lattes seem overpriced now, wait until coffee becomes a precious commodity. An engineering professor spied an opportunity in the layer of oil he found floating in an old cup of coffee one morning. He extracted what was left in some used grounds—about 10%-15% oil by weight—with simple... More »

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energy • coffee • biofuel • fuel • biodiesel • green energy • clean fuel • cars

 Saltwater Crops 
 Could Ease Land Demand 

Hardy, saltwater-loving plants could produce biofuels from otherwise unusable land

Dec 5, 08 6:04 AM CST
(Newser) - A worldwide shortage of prime farmland has scientists taking a closer look at plants that thrive on briny water, Wired reports. Plants that can grow in earth too salty for other crops have huge potential for use as biofuel as well as food: One variety produces 1.7 times more... More »

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agriculture • farming • biofuel • plants • crops • farmland

 Biofuels' 
 Green Cred 
 in Dispute 

Some say producing more of the greener fuel makes world less green overall

Nov 11, 08 12:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Biofuels, once hailed as a planet-saving alternative to gasoline, are now savaged as much the opposite, the Wall Street Journal reports, with critics charging the “ripple effect” on land use globally actually adds climate-harming carbon. The EPA has signaled plans to modify biofuel emissions measurements to reflect that, but... More »

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environment • biofuel • Environmental Protection Agency • lobbyists

Biofuels Not Worth Upward Push on Food Prices: UN

Nations should rethink subsidies: report

Oct 7, 08 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - While use of biofuels is supposed to combat climate change, the effects of its production on food prices is not worth the emissions they offset, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said today. The FAO called for countries to review production quotas and subsidies that encourage biofuel use in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • United Nations • global warming • biofuel • biodiesel • food prices • carbon emissions

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 »

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

ANALYSIS

Biofuel Firms' African Land Grab Has Colonial Echoes

Western companies shower nations with promises met with some suspicion

Sep 5, 08 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Africa is being seeded for a coming boom in biofuels, as Western companies buy thousands of acres to cultivate vegetable-oil-rich plants like the Jatropha curcas, Der Spiegel reports. In countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Ethiopia, firms are often securing century-long farming rights for nothing but a promise to invest in... More »

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Africa • Ethiopia • biofuel • Tanzania • colonialism • biodiesel • green technology • Ghana

(Newser) - Sewage and sunlight are offering unexpected aid to the poor of Kenyan slums, the AP reports. Public toilets are recycling waste into gas, while sunlight disinfects water and reduces cases of waterborne illness. Adapted from a plan in Tanzania, the project was funded by international donors to help people struggling... More »

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Kenya • biofuel • green energy • solar power • Kenya's economy

My Car Runs on ... Cuervo?

Mexican scientists push agave-to-ethanol project; resilient plant could far outstrip corn

Aug 7, 08 8:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - A small group of Mexican scientists is working to create a massive agave-to-ethanol project that one says could supply the entire US need of 36 billion gallons by 2022, Renewable Energy World reports. The agave, used to make tequila and mescal, is high in sugar, resilient, and needs little cultivation,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • Mexico • corn • biofuel • tequila • agave • mescal

 EPA Refuses to
 Lower Ethanol Quota

Agency denies request by Texas governor

Aug 7, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The EPA refused to cut a minimum ethanol quota today, despite critics’ charges that the biofuel mandate is driving high food prices, the New York Times reports. The agency approved Congress’ quota that requires the US use 9 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline blends this year, denying Texas Gov.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • alternative energy • corn • biofuel • gas prices • cars • subsidy

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