The Biofuel Boom

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April 2008
- Europe Backtracks on Biofuels
  
  Guardian (UK) | Apr 19, 08 2:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The European commission is backing off a proposed 10% biofuels quota as scientists warn that the alternative fuels actually hurt the environment, the Guardian reports. “This is all very sensitive and fast-moving,” said a commission official. “There is now a lot of new evidence on biofuels, and the commission has become a prisoner of this process.” More »
- Food Crisis Lurks in Soaring Prices, Says IMF Chief
  
  BBC | Apr 13, 08 9:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rising food prices may soon have dire global consequences with starving people rioting in the streets, warns the head of the International Monetary Fund. “Hundred of thousands of people will be starving,” he said yesterday at a meeting in Washington. “Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with consequences for all their lives.” Climbing food prices will lead to increased trade imbalances in developing countries, with major ramifications. More »
- Congress Grills Oil Execs Over Skyrocketing Prices
  
  Washington Post | Apr 1, 08 5:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Top oil executives faced a panel of angry lawmakers on Capitol Hill today, as Congress fumed over the disparity between the companies’ hefty profits and soaring prices, the Washington Post reports. Said one rep, “I believe the laws of supply and demand when it comes to oil and gas are broken and completely malfunctioning.” Another congressman referenced April Fools’ Day, hoping that “soaring gas prices are just part of some elaborate hoax.” More »
March 2008
- As Global Temps Rise, So Do ... Popcorn Prices
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 14, 08 9:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The movie stars driving flex-fuel SUV are driving up popcorn prices at the nation’s nickelodeons, and it’s not because of their salaries: A move toward planting crops for alternative-fuel production has made popping corn more scarce—and therefore more expensive, the Los Angeles Times reports. Moviegoers shouldn’t fret too much, for the hike could be as little as 15 cents. More »
- Gas Prices Hit Record High
  
  CNN | Mar 10, 08 8:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Gas prices rocketed 64 cents in the last year to a national average of $3.20 per gallon of regular, CNN reports. A survey of prices at 5,000 gas stations found the highest price, $3.58, in San Francisco and the lowest, $2.99, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The last two weeks alone saw an increase of 9 cents a gallon. More »
- Corn May Be Recipe for Disaster
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 3, 08 12:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The US is becoming so dependent on corn that a drought would have catastrophic effects that would ripple throughout the economy, reports the LA Times. Corn is essential as staple livestock feed, artificial sweetener, and a basic component of ethanol. A "corn shock" could lead to $5 gas and $3.50 eggs, economists warn. "We are replacing price volatility from the Middle East with Midwestern weather price volatility," said one analyst. More »
February 2008
- Air Cars Motor Toward US
  
  Popular Mechanics | Feb 26, 08 4:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A car powered by compressed air and a supplemental fuel source will be available in the US as early as 2010, Popular Mechanics reports. Manufacturer Zero Pollution Motors wants to introduce a $17,800 six-seater, which the company estimates will get 800 to 1,000 miles out of a tank of air and 8 gallons of either conventional gas, ethanol or another kind of biofuel. More »
- Virgin Tests First Biofuel Plane
  
  BBC | Feb 24, 08 12:35 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A Virgin Atlantic jet powered partially by a coconut- and Brazilian babassu nut-based biofuel made it from London to Amsterdam today in the first commercial flight to do so, the BBC reports. Virgin topdog Richard Branson hailed the flight as "pioneering" in the development of "fuels of the future," but environmentalists denounced the experiment as a publicity stunt. More »
- Boom Time on Heartland Farms
  
  Wall Street Journal | Feb 15, 08 2:55 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The US economy may be teetering on a precipice but agriculture is enjoying what one industry analyst is calling a "golden age" after decades of decline, with bountiful harvests of crops and profits. The boom is fueled by the soaring demand from ethanol producers and to fill grain orders from China and India, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »
- Biofuel markets are booming worldwide
  
  Processingtalk.com | Feb 12, 08
  
  More than 2000 biofuel plants exist in 2007 worldwide, with USD8.5billion worth of investments have been made in biofuel plants, and there will be high growth to 2025
- Biofuels Will Add to Heating Climate, Studies Say
  
  Washington Post | Feb 8, 08 8:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Biofuels could hurt Earth more than help it, two new studies conclude. Over 30 years, argues one, corn-based ethanol would spout twice the greenhouse gas of regular gasoline; the other notes environmental damage likely to be wreaked by chopping rainforests and other areas for production, the Washington Post reports. The findings question international focus on using biofuel to combat climate change. More »
- Black News for Not-So-Green Biofuels
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 8, 08 3:54 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Producing crops for biofuel releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than is saved by using the alternative energy, according to the findings of two surprising new studies. Converting US farmland from producing food to ethanol necessitates food production elsewhere, vastly increasing greenhouse gas emissions as forests and grasslands are destroyed to make fields. The findings prompted 10 scientists to write to President Bush and lawmakers, urging new policy "that ensures biofuels are not produced on productive" forests, grassland or cropland. More »
- Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat
  
  New York Times | Feb 8, 08
  
  Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these %u201Cgreen%u201D fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.
January 2008
- Brits Debate Eco-Wisdom of Biofuels
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jan 20, 08 11:03 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Biofuels may actually exacerbate the environmental problems they were meant to allay, reports the Observer, and a UK Parliamentary committee has released a report examining the possible effects. Using fuel made from crops like tallow and rapeseed may actually worsen greenhouse gas emissions, kill rainforests, and drive up food prices due to land competition. More »
December 2007
- San Francisco Gases Up, Goes Green
  
  New York Times | Dec 6, 07 4:26 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - San Francisco may have the biggest green fleet in America now that all 1,500 diesel vehicles—including ambulances, fire engines, buses and street sweepers—run on B20, a combination of soy-based and diesel fuels. The transformation is part of the city's plan to reduce toxic emissions to 20% below 1990 levels in the next four years, the New York Times reports. More »
October 2007
- Puyo: It's Green, Safe and Glows
  
  Reuters | Oct 24, 07 4:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Honda unveiled the unusual Puyo today, an in-development concept car with no sharp edges and a coating of soft silicone to absorb collisions, Reuters reports. Visitors to the Tokyo Motor Show were given a look at the car, which runs on hydrogen fuel cells, is driven with a joystick, and glows different colors when it is running or standing still. More »
September 2007
- Ethanol Glut Sinking Farmers' Hopes
  
  New York Times | Sep 30, 07 4:46 AM CDT