Why biofuels are not a good idea
If you have always been thinking that biofuels are not a good idea, this book by Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi will tell you exactly why in their book, The Biofuel Delusion.
Biofuels
Energy – Jan 11
– Biofuels become a victim of own success – but not for long
– Brazil, short of biofuel, can’t open spigot to US
– Keystone XL pipeline: Oil chief issues threat to Obama over decision
– Oil sands pipeline battle turns ugly
– Arab News: Renewables making inroads in emerging global energy mix
The end of the U.S. ethanol tariff
The U.S. Congress refused to extend the 54-cents-per-gallon tariff levied against imported ethanol. By opening up the American market to imports as of January 1, 2012, the geopolitical impacts of this decision promise to be profound.
Energy – Jan 7
– The end of the U.S. ethanol tariff
– Building a better suntrap
– Storehouses for Solar Energy Can Step In When the Sun Goes Down
Energy – Jan 6
-Canadian crude oil production to increase 3300% by 2100
-Burning Oil to Keep Cool: The Hidden Energy Crisis in Saudi Arabia (report)
-A perilous and crucial quest – video interview with Daniel Yergin
-Brazil, short of biofuel, can’t open spigot to US
Deep thought – Dec 30
– The Economist: How Ernest Dichter, an acolyte of Sigmund Freud, revolutionised marketing
– Corporate monopolies ‘may dominate green economy’
– Ugo Bardi: The invisible toothpaste: overselling science
– The Arctic Will Burn
Land Rights and the Rush For Land Report (excerpt)
Originated by the rising concerns expressed by many International Land Coalition (ILC) members in 2008, the Commercial Pressures on Land research project is intended to go beyond the large-scale land acquisitions phenomenon, focussing on the wider set of converging drivers for investment interest in land, such as rising food consumption and predicted long-term food prices rises; demand for feedstock for agrofuels; increasing commodity prices; carbon-trading mechanisms such as REDD; and rent seeking and speculation practices on land by recontextualising them within longer term trends.
ODAC Newsletter – Dec 9
OPEC head Abdullah El-Badri warned European leaders on Wednesday against imposing sanctions on Iranian oil, stating that the 865,000 barrels a day which goes mostly to Southern Europe would be difficult to replace. Global supply is already tight and oil prices remain stubbornly high despite the chronic Euro-crisis…
Biofuels and biomass – December 8
-Biomass is the next biofuel ‘land grab’ on tropical forests, warn campaigners
-Climate Committee: Biomass has “no role” in electricity production without CCS
-CLIMATE CHANGE: Biofuels Are Not the Solution
-Navy’s Big Biofuel Bet: 450,000 Gallons at 4 Times the Price of Oil
-Aviation could switch to low-carbon fuel ‘sooner than thought’
‘Net Energy’ ignorance reigns on Capitol Hill
If there is one unshakable belief in America today it’s that the U.S. economy can and must continue to grow. That’s why the messages delivered in November in Washington D.C. at a gathering of oil geologists, scientists, economists and others challenging that core belief went largely unheeded in the nation’s capital. The approximately 300 people who attended the 7th Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil–USA (ASPO-USA) in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol were told that economic growth is no longer possible as oil production flattens and declines, that U.S. energy independence is impossible and that domestic shale gas will fall far short of fueling American prosperity even while polluting the nation’s vital aquifers.
Energy – Nov 18
-Onshore wind energy to reach parity with fossil-fuel electricity by 2016
-Gas Companies Caught Using Military Tactics To Overcome Drilling Concerns
-EU biofuel target seen driving species loss: study
-New study suggests EU biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol
-Local Power: Boulder Considers Moving Off the Grid
The biofuel grind
When we enter the decline phase of conventional oil—likely before 2020—we will scramble to fill the gap with alternative liquid fuels. The Hirsch Report of 2005, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, took a hard look at alternatives that could respond to the scale of the problem in time to have an impact. Not one of the approaches deemed to be currently viable in the report departs from fossil fuels. But what about biofuels? To what extent can they solve our problem? We’ll dip our toes into the math and see where a first-cut analysis leaves us.