Grist | Topics | 20 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 20 of 20
Headline	Author	Published	Section
Corn polls New surveys suggest changing views on biofuels	Ron Steenblik	11 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Biofuel policy has made it to the polls. Yesterday, the National Center for Public Policy Research, a nonprofit, non-partisan educational foundation based in Washington, D.C., released the results of a survey (PDF) conducted at the beginning of this month which claims to have found that most Americans -- 'including those in the Farm Belt' -- want Congress to reduce or eliminate the mandated use of corn ethanol. In response to the key question, 'What do you think Congr ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol, European Union, politics (all these topics)

Lieberman-Warner is a mess Climate Security Act could be worse than the 2007 energy bill	biodiversivist	08 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Last year the Energy Independence and Security Act put into place mandates that will in all likelihood increase GHG emissions. The Lieberman-Warner act (critiqued by Sean here) could turn out to be just as ineffective. From an analysis [PDF] of the Energy Independence and Security Act by the NRDC: ... the requirement for renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biogasoline, will grow from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons in 2022. So far, so good, ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, NRDC, politics (all these topics)

ILSR, spinning like a top	JMG	19 Feb 2008	Gristmill
This is really, really sad. A group, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which has done stalwart work on relocalizing the economy, has let their pro-local passion overcome their principles. Now they simply embarass themselves, beating the drums for corn ethanol, using flackery techniques that would do any corporate PR shop proud. Let's start in: New Anti-Ethanol Studies Reach Wrong Conclusion on Greenhouse Gases Wow, quite a headline, about not one but two studie ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Biofuels bombshell Researchers find corn ethanol, switchgrass could worsen global warming	Frank O'Donnell	07 Feb 2008	Gristmill
Some very respected researchers today have lobbed a real bombshell into the energy public policy world: they have concluded that ethanol produced both by corn and switchgrass could worsen global warming. In other words, Congress really blew it last year when it mandated a massive increase in biofuels (an action coated with green language but really an effort by both political parties to cater to farm states). This is also a slap at President Bush's effort to pa ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics)

A negative-carbon corn ethanol plant? Cogeneration and ethanol production	Joseph Romm	03 Jan 2008	Gristmill
I am not the biggest fan of corn ethanol. But I am the biggest fan of cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power, or CHP (well, maybe the second-biggest fan). It is probably the single most overlooked strategy for sharply cutting greenhouse-gas emissions while reducing overall energy costs. Now a new EPA report finds that running an ethanol plant on natural gas CHP can, with the right design, result in negative net CO2 emissions (click on figure to enlarge) ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, cogeneration, energy, ethanol, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Life Is Like a Fuel Tank of Chocolates British duo's carbon-negative road trip fueled by chocolate		21 Dec 2007	News
Posted at 1:35 PM on 21 Dec 2007 This weekend, while you're finishing up the last of the chocolates in your advent calendar -- oh admit it, you ate them all already -- Britons Andy Pag and John Grimshaw will be rolling to the end of a chocolate-fueled road trip. The duo claim that their trip from Poole, England through the Sahara desert to Timbuktu, Mali, will be the world's first carbon-negative ...
Topics: biofuels, carbon neutral, climate, energy, innovation, news (all these topics)

Gristmill community chastised! The global nature of global warming	biodiversivist	02 Dec 2007	Gristmill
This is my formal rebuttal to Brooke Coleman (director of the Renewable Energy Action Project), specifically to comments found in Tom Philpott's latest corn ethanol article. I'm using my access to the bully pulpit to pull it out of comments, like I did the last time a corn ethanol enthusiast joined the discussion. Welcome to the best environmental blog on the planet, Brooke. You don't seem to have a very high opinion of this community, but maybe you'll warm up t ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol, oil (all these topics)

Asking the wrong questions An alternative view on biofuels, from a Briton in Sudan	Ron Steenblik	24 Nov 2007	Gristmill
I've just discovered a great blog maintained by Clive Bates, a self-described 'selfless public servant, amateur chef, novice mountaineer, lawless cyclist, overweight runner and occasional optimist.' He is being modest: he's the former head of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) in the UK and more recently the Head of Environmental Policy at the UK Environment Agency. Over the last two years, Bates has written extensively and persuasively on a wide range of topics ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, energy (all these topics)

Toxic optimists vs. plaid shirts Delusional Beltway optimism about energy	Michael Tobis	12 Nov 2007	Gristmill
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a seminar hosted by several departments at the University of Texas on the topic of 'peak oil.' The occasion was the visit of David Sundalow of the Brookings Institution, who is hawking his new book Freedom from Oil. This was mutually convenient for him and the university, which is trying to carve out a position as an optimistic, rolled-up-sleeves, can-do problem-solver in the fields of energy and water. I have no objection to that ...
Topics: biofuels, ethanol, hybrids, cars, books, energy, climate (all these topics)

Clinton's climate and energy plan Some reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of Hillary's new proposal	David Roberts	05 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Efficiency and permit auctions and R&D, oh my! Hillary Clinton released her comprehensive energy and climate plan today. It is thoughtful, comprehensive, and though disappointingly conventional in a few areas, inspiringly bold in others. With the release of Clinton's plan, all three Democratic frontrunners for the presidency now have visionary, far-reaching energy plans that would fundamentally reorient the country away from carbon-intensive energy ...
Topics: biofuels, business, carbon trading, climate, climate equity, coal, elections, energy, energy efficiency, Hillary Clinton, politics, presidential race 08, public transportation (all these topics)

Biofuel: Is it a greenhouse gas, gas, gas? New study claims ethanol and biodiesel may actually boost GHG emissions	Tom Philpott	25 Sep 2007	Gristmill
Update [2007-9-25 15:12:2 by Tom Philpott]:In the 24-hour lag time between finishing this piece and its posting, I had an email exchange with Keith Smith of the University of Edinburgh, one of the authors of the study discussed below. I've modified the post to add information I got from Smith. By all accounts, biofuels deliver startlingly modest reductions in greenhouse gases. In a relatively generous assessment of the environmental benefits of ethanol and biodiesel ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

How bad is peak oil, really? Would the biosphere care?	Jon Rynn	20 Aug 2007	Gristmill
Recently we've had a couple of discussions here at Gristmill concerning various aspects of peak oil; that is, the assertion that very soon (if it hasn't happened already) the global supply of oil will peak, and even though demand is going up, supply will start to come down, so prices will skyrocket. It seems to me that some of the contention in these discussions boils down to the question: would it really be so bad if the oil started running out? After all, we would ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, coal, energy, oil, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics)

Regular oil cleaner than ethanol Saving and restoring forests better for climate than switching to biofuels	Glenn Hurowitz	20 Aug 2007	Gristmill
A new study in the journal Science ($ub req'd) validates what many have been saying here in Gristmill: Biofuels, especially those from the tropics, are far worse for the planet than regular old crude oil. The study finds that we could reduce global warming pollution two to nine times more by conserving or restoring forests and grasslands than by razing them and turning them into biofuels plantations -- even if we continue to use fossil fuels as our main source o ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, deforestation, energy, ethanol, greenhouse-gas emissions, oil, rainforests (all these topics)

For peat's sake, stop the palm oil madness It's not a 'sustainable' biofuel	Joseph Romm	31 Jul 2007	Gristmill
So Europeans are buying Indonesian palm oil as a 'sustainable' biofuel, but it isn't sustainable, as we've noted before. The tragedy continues: Palm oil companies are burning peat forests to clear land for plantations in Indonesia's Riau province, despite government pledges to end forest fires ... Blazes have started flaring again since the end of June with the start of the dry season. How a big deal is this? As The New York Times put it earlier ...
Topics: biofuels, climate, deforestation, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, logging (all these topics)

Jack Bauer is going to stop global warming The TV show 24 will reduce its carbon footprint	Chris Schults	27 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Fans of 24 know that if there's one person that can stop climate change, it ain't Al Gore. It's Jack Bauer. If you are not familiar with Jack, here are some of his qualifications from the site Random Jack Bauer Facts: There are two hands that can beat a royal flush. Jack Bauer's right hand and Jack Bauer's left hand. Most people would need months to recover from 20 months of Chinese interrogation. Jack Bauer needs a shower, a shave and a change of clothes. ...
Topics: biofuels, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, ecological footprint, energy, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy, TV (all these topics)

Give ethanol a chance: The case for corn-based fuel With the right rules in place, it could work	David Morris	17 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Working Assets is my long-distance phone company. I love it dearly for its combination of business efficiency, social responsibility and progressive politics. Each month, my phone bill carries alerts that urge me to take action on a specific issue or two. Recent Citizen Actions suggest the gravity of the issues chosen: "Save Our Constitution," "Impeach Dick Cheney," "Close Guantanamo." This month Workin ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, ethanol, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy (all these topics)

Is corn ethanol a climate solution? Depends on how it's made	Joseph Romm	30 May 2007	Gristmill
It depends on the fuel used to drive the conversion process -- according to a new study: In particular, greenhouse gas emission impacts can vary significantly -- from a 3% increase if coal is the process fuel to a 52% reduction if wood chips are used. These results come from the energy life-cycle wizards of Argonne Lab, who have published a new study, "Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission impacts of different corn ethanol plant types," in t ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, climate, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Biofuels and the poor The former: Not good for the latter	Maywa Montenegro	22 May 2007	Gristmill
How climate change will disproportionately affect the world's poor is a message making the rounds of late, after the publication of the second IPCC report earlier this year. How climate change policies, such as carbon taxes, will either help or hurt the poor is also a topic we've been discussing of late. Now researchers at the University of Minnesota have assessed the impact of an increased dependence on biofuels on the developing world ... and the outlook isn't ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, carbon tax, climate, climate change impacts, climate change mitigation, energy, IPCC (all these topics)

The CO2 sings 'Bury me, buuuu-reee me, bury me, across the world' Charcoal carbon sequestration -- birth of a new CO2 removal wedge?	JMG	04 May 2007	Gristmill
I would love to hear Graham Nash and David Crosby rerecord their old 'Carry Me' song about agrichar and removing carbon from the atmosphere while revitalizing soils: 'Bury me, buuuu-reee me, bury me, across the world ...' This is sounding so good it's scary -- like I am being set up to have my bubble burst when it turns out to violate one or more basic physical laws, or only be net negative by ignoring some huge emissions somewhere in the process, or whatever. But for toda ...
Topics: biofuels, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

Strike It Richard Richard Branson chats about embracing ethanol and slashing airplane emissions	Amanda Griscom Little	07 Dec 2006	Main Dish
Does a music mogul who signed the Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson have what it takes to make a pop star out of biofuels? Sir Richard. Earlier this fall, publicity-chasing British entrepreneur Richard Branson made a $3 billion bet that he could do just that -- and help solve the climate crisis to boot -- via Virgin Fuels, a new company in his wide-ranging Virgin Gr ...
Topics: biofuels, business, climate, energy, ethanol, greening biz operations, Richard Branson (all these topics)

Stories About: biofuels AND climate AND energy