NewsCloud.com Biofuels News

Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

Biofuel backlash: High prices, pollution worries hit consumers

But in the last year, the promise of renewable fuels has lost a lot of its luster. Prices of biodiesel have almost doubled to about $6 per gallon, and many experts blame biofuel production for driving up food prices worldwide. Prominent scientists have questioned whether growing crops for biofuels produces more greenhouse gases than it prevents

US corn biofuels will expand Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone': scientists

A boost in corn production will worsen the Gulf's so-called "dead zone," an area with so little oxygen that sealife suffocates, said Simon Donner, a geographer at the University of British Columbia in Western Canada.

Not so fast with biofuels, U.N. warns

Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry, the United Nations concluded Tuesday in its first major report on bioenergy.

A Renewed Push for Ethanol, Without the Corn

The promise and challenges of cellulosic ethanol

Food prices to rise as biofuel demand grows

"Feed prices are rising, so that pushes up the costs of poultry, hogs and cattle and therefore a rancher is going to lower the size of his herd to keep costs down. In turn there is going to be less meat, which means prices are going to go up," said Mr Collins, who is responsible for the USDA's agricultural forecasts and is adviser to Mike Johanns, the US secretary of agriculture.

Main Dish: A Grist special series on biofuels

Is the world's love affair with oil over? These days, ethanol is praised as the whiz-bang cure-all for our energy ills. And maybe all the sweet talk will cause this "new" fuel to forget that America dumped her for oil in the early 20th century. Oil's just so ... ew all of a sudden. We may finally be ready to return to our first love, an energy sour

World must wake up to the dangers of biofuels

Extensive production of biofuel crops, such as oil palms, could destroy remaining areas of rainforest and bring about a new cycle of worldwide intensive agriculture involving vast applications of artificial fertilisers and pesticides, and requiring enormous water resources, said Professor Sir Peter Crane, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who is the world's leading plant scientist.

Bio-crops may be created for biofuels

"Crops with energy-specific traits may be developed to help meet the growing demands for renewable alternative fuels," said USDA's Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture in a report looking at possible paths for genetically modified crops in the coming decade. It said genetic engineering could be used to add traits to food crops, such as corn and soybeans, and nonfood crops, like grasses and trees, to enhance energy production.

ear and Loathing in Biofuels

Researchers are launching FUD campaigns against biofuels in a big way. First, University of Minnesota researchers published a paper saying that "even if every acre of corn were used for ethanol, it would only create 12 percent of the ethanol needed for U.S. motoring fuel. Instead of wasting your keystrokes slamming biofuel for not being panacea, talk about the other solutions to the problem -- conservation through increased use of mass transportation, better fuel efficiency, other alternative fuels (Fischer-Tropsch diesel, tar sands oil), and possibly producing hydrogen from renewable resources.

The False Hope of Biofuels

For Energy and Environmental Reasons, Ethanol Will Never Replace Gasoline

GM Yeast Turn Waste Into Ethanol

This makes a lot more sense than turning food into biofuels. The key to producing environmentally friendly biofuels from agricultural waste may reside in the gut of Indian elephants, say researchers in the Netherlands. Dutch researchers genetically engineered a special strain of yeast that can also convert leftover plant material into ethanol, starting with wastes like straw, woodchips, and cornhusks.

Ethanol farm

Biofuels have prompted an uneasy pact between enviros and the agricultural lobby. Is Big Ag drawn by idealism -- or the smell of pork?

Organic Waste Could Produce Half of Washington State's Energy

If all the organic waste generated in the state each year were converted to energy, it would meet 50 percent of the state's energy needs, according to a report released by the state Department of Ecology. Combined, the 45 sources total about 16.9 million tons of biomass capable of producing 1,770 megawatts of electricity, according to the report compiled by biological engineers from Washington State University.

Planting seeds for biofuel

Washington State is leading the way towards homegrown fuels!