European politicians are enthralled to the biofuels lobby - they are living a fantasy and it’s time to wake up to the reality of an industry driving deforestation, land grabbing and poverty, says MOLLY SCOTT CATO MEP
A new GM bacterium can produce bioethanol from coarse switchgrass, rather than using food crops like maize, writes Tim Radford. It does this by 'digesting' the tough cellulose that yeasts are unable to break down.
Who and what are biofuel sustainability standards designed to benefit? They are meant to safeguard forests and communities, writes Almuth Ernsting - but their real purpose is to protect the biofuel industry ...
An Indonesian palm oil company has been convicted of large-scale burning of protected swamp forest in Aceh - home to some of Sumatra's last orangutans.
This month in Sumatra, Indonesia, 1,500 armed men demolished four indigenous villages and displaced inhabitants who were not willing to surrender their land to a palm oil company.
Biomass electricity in the UK = clear-cutting of ancient swamp forests + bulldozing of traditional communities' lands + deprived UK communities bearing the brunt of toxic emissions.
Last week Thomson announced the launch of a weekly flight to Palma, fuelled by old cooking oil. Henry Gass asks whether more sustainable air travel could finally be in sight
It's one of the healthiest, most versatile 'weeds' around. Asian countries have enjoyed the benefits for centuries. So where is the market for homegrown UK seaweed?
Richmond council has become the first in the country to run its entire vehicle fleet on 100 per cent recycled biodiesel, while Lincolnshire is using the stuff to patch roads
Biogas - a methane-rich fuel made from rotting food waste or sewage - has huge potential as a clean, green fuel for the UK. But a perverse web of subsidies, rules and contracts could mean UK councils are about to kiss goodbye to the real power of waste...
Crude oil may be running out, but Brighton's transport revolution is powering up. Jan Goodey meets Tom Druitt, the driving force behind the Big Lemon Bus
It has taken just one year for the land-based biofuels (agrofuels) bubble to inflate and burst. In February 2007, the Ecologist was almost alone in pointing out that growing energy crops for car fuel was ecological nonsense; now the tide of academic studies showing that agrofuels are neither energy - nor carbon-efficient seems unstoppable.
Green energy is coming under pressure to clean up its act after severe criticism of the Government’s attempts to change the rules on how renewable energy is calculated and further condemnation of the ‘splash and dash’ trading scam in biofuels.
The American Wind Energy Association has announced that 2007 US wind power generation made up 30 per cent of all new power generation in 2007 with 5,244 megawatts of new wind turbines installed in 2007 can power about 1.5 million U.S. homes.
Two critical markets are pursuing a stressed planet’s renewable resources, presenting policymakers with complex and difficult choices. The Worldwatch Institute’s latest look at Earth’s “vital signs” sees dangerous times ahead as the “sustainability crisis” unfolds. China Dialogue's Maryann Bird investigates
China has announced a major drive towards the use of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel - just as another report pours more water on the idea that biofuels will end the energy crisis.
The backlash against large scale biofuel production continues to build as Friends of the Earth urges the European Union to scrap its target for 10 per cent of transport fuel to come from crops by 2020.
