This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
Humans continue to transform the global nitrogen cycle at a record pace, reflecting an increased combustion of fossil fuels, growing demand for nitrogen in agriculture and industry, and pervasive inefficiencies in its use. Much anthropogenic nitrogen is lost to air, water, and land to cause a cascade of environmental and …
Evidence that links increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations to global climate change has amplified over the years and led to a broad scientific consensus that the climate is changing fast and will have far-reaching impacts on our planet. To reduce the most severe effects, a global warming limit of 2
Brazil and the US are locked in hot competition over ethanol trade, with the former seeking more market access and the latter determined to protect its domestic producers.
Thumba (Citrullus colocyntis) seed oil can be used for production of biodiesel. A comparative experimental study, carried out on a four cylinder, direct injection, water cooled diesel engine operating on diesel and biodiesel blends (B10, B20 and B30) of C. colocyntis and Jatropha curcas, showed that like J. curcas, biodiesel …
Next-generation U.S. biofuel capacity should reach about 88 million gallons in 2010, thanks in large measure to one plant becoming commercially operational in 2010, using noncellulosic animal fat to produce green diesel. U.S. production capacity for cellulosic biofuels is estimated to be 10 million gallons for 2010, much less than …
IJCCI to work in tandem to tackle global warming, climate management CHENNAI: Japanese firms are coming to India to set up bio-fuel plants and others will collaborate with Indian firms in the area of sustainable energy development, said Kazuo Minagawa, Japan Counsel General in Chennai on Friday. Delivering the inaugural …
Dilip Kumar Jha & Sanjay Jog / Mumbai April 27, 2010, 0:16 IST Big investments by industry stuck due to lack of work on jatropha seeds, support It was supposed to replace a fifth of India
Japanese firm's India arm to set up biofuel plant. R. Balaji Allied Carbon Solutions of Japan, a biofuel company with a multinational presence, has launched a contract farming programme for jatropha cultivation in South India. The company's Indian subsidiary, ACS Alternative Fuels Pvt Ltd will set up a jatropha oil …
INDIA-BORN venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has found a place in the Forbes list of the 10 greenest billionaires, who have achieved corporate success through investment in environmental causes. For the list, Forbes chose the billionaires who are most active in green, sustainable causes and who are working to have the …
AUTO major General Motors is working towards developing frost tolerant varieties of jatropha for the US market. Having successfully tested bio-diesel made out of jatropha in India, GM has entered into a five-year partnership with Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) and the US Department of Energy …
The biofuel industry is finding it tough to remain in business, with both government pricing and raw material availability working against them. The government, on its part, has launched a massive programme to develop high-yielding varieties of jatropha, a plant that can grow in wastelands across India, to meet the …
This article evaluates the implications of uncertainty in the life cycle (LC) energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of rapeseed oil (RO) as an energy carrier displacing fossil diesel (FD). Uncertainties addressed include parameter uncertainty as well as scenario uncertainty concerning how RO coproduct credits are accounted for (uncertainty …
As governments elaborate strategies to counter climate change, there is a need to compare the different options available on an environmental basis. This study proposes a life cycle assessment framework integrating the Lashof accounting methodology, which enables the assessment and comparison of different carbon mitigation projects (e.g., biofuel use, a …
Urbanization has been mentioned as one possible cause of higher food prices, and in this paper we examine some of the suggested links between urbanization and food prices. We conclude that urbanization, conventionally defined as the increasing share of the population living in urban settlements, is being conflated with related …
FOR the better part of a decade, I have upset many climate activists by pointing out that there are far better ways to stop global warming than trying to persuade governments to force or bribe their citizens into slashing their reliance on fuels that emit carbon dioxide. What especially bugs …
