Biofuel replacing oil in Asia

A number of Asian countries are turning to biofuels derived from local crops to counter the costs of importing foreign oil. Ethanol and biodiesel typically cost more than oil, but these fuels help support agricultural prices and add to the self sufficiency of countries, as described in this article, Asia Pushes Ahead on Biofuel.

Study predicts city flood threat due to warming

Part of my childhood was spent in the tiny town of Magnolia, located on Cape Ann, an energetic half-day bicycle ride from the city of Boston. The mental picture framed by this article in the Boston Globe, Study predicts city flood threat due to warming, gives me that unsettled end-of-the-world kind feeling that I remember from the Cuban missile crisis. We have no divine right to inhabit this planet, and the consequences of our indifference to global climate change may be making this and similar pictures all too real.

Billions Must Change Habits

News has been arriving from every direction lately on the global warming front, much of it bad. Credible scientists are no longer arguing about whether humans are causing global warming; they are discussing the potential impact and the timetables for when that impact will become evident.

Dr. Hermann Ott, the director of the Berline office of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, puts it in these terms: "What we face is an unprecedented challenge: Compared to what we're up against now, the nuclear threat was tiny. What we're faced with now is as destructive as a nuclear war, but unlike the Cold War. There is no individual here with his hand on a launch button. Billions of people have to take individual decisions about what they're going to do - and it's running up against vested interests. It has massive implications for the way we think about our economies and it runs up against the limits of a capitalist society. Our choices now are simple: hope for a technological miracle or try to steer the tanker a little bit from its current path and hope that that's sufficient. Mankind is, for the first time, in the position to actually do this, to consciously steer a different course. We've never had or even been able to do that before - but now we can and it's our biggest challenge. Nature does not forgive."

For more of the interview with Dr. Ott, visit: It's Too Late to Stop Climate Change.

Tilting at Windmills

Is it an either/or situation? Either we stop putting barriers up against the construction of wind energy installations in remote places or we can kiss all of the pristine wilderness goodbye... Bill McKibben answers the question in this New York Times story, Tilting at Windmills.

Power from the Waves

Marine power doesn't get much attention, but the source of this power--the ocean--offers abundant possibilities, as detailed in this article, U.S. Cities Eye Ocean Waves for Power Supplies.

Thousands of Jobs from the Climate Stewardship Act

The Climate Stewardship Act, a bi-partisan effort to spur technological innovation in renewable energy and create jobs, tackles two problems at once. As explained in this article, Global Warming Bill Means Thousands of New Jobs, this legislation could generate 800,000 new jobs by 2025.

Windmills and the Dutch

New innovations in wind energy are coming out of the Netherlands as the Dutch turn a traditional energy source into a modern technology being embraced across Europe. For details, visit: Wind Energy Gains Momentum in Europe.

Apocalypse Now

How Mankind is Sleepwalking to the End of the Earth is the subtitle of
this article, published in The Independent. As another slant on an increasingly inescapable message--we're rapidly making the planet uninhabitable--this piece summarizes the concerns from the Met Office in Exeter, where 200 of the world's leading climate scientists hashed out the issues in what ought to be (but, sadly, isn't) the primary concern of every citizen and every government on the planet. With people collectively hitting the snooze button on the latest round of wake-up alarms, the prospects look very grim.

Actions to Halt Global Warming

A group of UK economists, scientists, and politicians gathered last week in Exeter to discuss possible actions for averting global warming. Their conclusion, as detailed in this Nature.com article, UK climate meeting calls for action, was that major investments are needed immediately to reverse global warming trends and help people adapt to climate change dangers. The consensus was that we don't need more research; we need to take action now to avert the dangerous risks.

Flower Power

Green Week in Berlin showcased a variety of potential energy sources based on agricultural waste. German manufacturers generated some 1.1-million pounds of farm-based fuel, known as "flower power" locally, which includes biodiesel sold in about 1,800 petrol stations. For details, visit: German Farmers Championing 'Flower Power' for Cleaner Energy.

Convincing the Complacent Ones

It's not just in the U.S., but British scientists have noted how curiously complacent the UK public is to the threats of global warming. On the one side, you have evidence and studies from thousands of climatologists around the world; some of the most comprehensive, extensive computer modeling that has ever been performed to map climate change events; and the consensus of vast majority of the world's leading scientific organizations. On the other side, you have a handful of skeptics who have been thoroughly debunked by credible scientists; hack writers like Michael Crichton who use flimsy rhetorical arguments to bolster weak, improbable plot lines (State of Fear); and a laughably incompetent news media that pretends there is still a great debate over whether human activities cause climate change.

This article from The Guardian, How we put the heat on nature, examines the reasons behind public complacency and the rising fears of those scientists who are confronting climate change issues.

Stop Hogging Resources

In an curiously emblematic gesture, the owner of a double-parked Hummer in the Boston Back Bay region hurled scalding Starbucks coffee in a meter maid's face as she was writing him a ticket. In this article by Derrick Jackson, he skewers the sense of entitlement shown by the world's premiere energy users toward the rest of the planet. A single sentence from the article strikes at the heart of the issue: "An angry man in one of America's largest gas-guzzling cars in one of the most chronically congested parts of the city throws some of the nation's most expensive coffee at a working-class woman."

Point of No Return

One of the world's leading climate experts, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, fears that we've already reached the point where a reversal of global warming will be impossible unless immediate, drastic actiions are taken. Ironically, he was appointed to his post as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by the Bush administration after Exxon, a staunch opponent of action to combat global warming, complained that his predecessor was too "aggressive" in demanding action. In this article in The Independent, Dr. Pachauri concludes, "We are risking the ability of the human race to survive."

Solar Strides

A Canadian research team has devised a way to capture light energy outside the visible spectrum, using nanoparticles small enough to be dispersed in typical solvents, such as paint. The process described in this article, Solar Photovoltaic Breakthrough Taps Infrared Light, opens up possibilities for some very exciting applications.

China Goes Nuclear

Just about the time that most of the world has recognized that nuclear power is expensive, impractical, and dangerous, China is embarking on a major drive to build a series of nuclear reactors to meet projected power needs. As described in this article, China Promotes Another Boom: Nuclear Power, China's aggressive plans for reactor construction include building more than one a year until 2020. Public discussions on the risks and implications of increased reliance on nuclear power have been minimal; the government censors news coverage of this sort.

Homegrown is Best

When it comes to biofuels, such as ethanol, countries are best served by producing their own fuel from local sources, a senior scientist at a Greenpeace research lab in England stated. As reported by Reuters in this article, clean-burning ethanol can generate pollution during production if fertilizers and pesticides are used to grow the corn, sugar, or other crops on which the fuel is based. Fossil fuels burned during manufacturing processes and shipment also contribute to pollution. Just as the hydrogen for fuel cells can be produced in clean processes (using renewable energy sources) or dirty processes (using nuclear power or fossil fuels), biofuels are only truly clean when they are produced cleanly.

Do You Want Clean Car Options?

It's Monday--a good day to let your voice be heard. In response to recent California regulations intended to fight global warming through cleaner automobile technologies, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (with a membership that includes Ford, Toyota, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler) is suing to block the implementation. Their claim: consumers don't want clean car options. The Union of Concerned Scientists is coordinating a letter-writing campaign to convince their president, Fredrick Webber, otherwise. Take action by following this link.

Fuel-Cell Vehicles Gain Momentum

The major automakers have been experimenting with fuel-cell vehicles for years with mixed results. This year, however, those experiments are beginning to fruit, suggesting we are advancing toward a new generation of automotive machines that compare admirably with the performance of conventional gas-burning autos. This article, Automakers Put Hydrogen Power on Fast Track, tells the tale. Is it time to start planning a network of hydrogen filling stations?

Willie Nelson Bets on Biodiesel

As a long-time supporter of American farmers and the driving force behind Farm Aid, Willie Nelson makes an ideal proponent for biodiesel fuel. He makes an even more interesting energy company executive, as described in this story, Willie Nelson Bets on Biodiesel. Combining forces with three business partners, Willie recently launched Willie Nelson's Biodiesel and has begun marketing the vegetable-based fuel to truck stops throughout the midwest. As Willie explains it, "There is really no need going around starting wars over oil. We have it here at home. We have the necessary product, the farmers can grow it." If anyone can give a boost to this industry, Willie can.

As the Blades Turn: A Mighty Wind

Despite the hammerlock of a domestic energy policy that seems determined to anchor our future to a sinking ship (fossil fuels), the promise of wind power grows mightily. As discussed in this piece from emagazine.com, [E] - A Mighty Wind (by Doug Moss), wind power is a reality and the graceful spinning blades of wind turbines are finding many new homes around the world.