The Bihar government approved Bihar Biofuels Production Promotion Policy, 2023, which will pave the way for production of compressed biogas (CBG) apart from ethanol in the state. CBG is produced from biomass and waste sources like agricultural residue, cattle dung, sugar cane press mud, municipal solid waste and sewage treatment …
The use of grain to make ethanol will rise by 31% to 124 million tonne in 2008-09, according to initial projections suggested by the International Grains Council (IGC). World ethanol output may continue to increase and the rate of expansion is likely to slow only slightly in 2008-09, despite reduced …
The FAO World Food Summit, which was addressed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, is aimed at forging a common international response to the food crisis. The immediate goal of the June 3-5 Summit - which is being attended by more than 40 Heads of State - will be to secure …
A private firm's $100 million plan of setting up maize-based ethanol generation plant near Port Qasim Karachi has been not been implemented so far. Sources in Sindh government told Business Recorder on Monday that poor law and order and political instability in the country had put the project in doldrums, …
In the search for renewable energy, turning low-value materials like switchgrass and corn husks into ethanol to fuel cars is something of a Holy Grail. In theory, these materials would replace corn as the main feedstock for ethanol in North America, reducing the pressure on farmland that has played a …
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he would seek to convince world leaders gathering in Rome this week that ethanol is not to blame for global food inflation threatening millions with hunger. Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter and a pioneer in sugar-cane based biofuels, …
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he would seek to convince world leaders gathering in Rome this week that ethanol is not to blame for global food inflation threatening millions with hunger. Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter and a pioneer in sugar-cane based biofuels, …
Biofuels are being promoted as energy sources that could reduce both dependence on imported oil and fossil fuel emissions. Currently, a large percentage of biofuels are produced from food crops, a situation that some experts say is leading to food insecurity around the world. Not only are more crops being …
Biofuels are held up as a relatively easy solution to the twin problems of petroleum dependence and carbon emissions. But new research suggests that fuels such as corn-based ethanol may cause as many problems as they solve. Clearing new land and converting existing cropland to certain fuel feedstocks can actually …
The current biofuel policies of rich countries are neither a solution to the climate crisis nor the oil crisis, and instead are contributing to a third: the food crisis. In poor countries, biofuels may offer some genuine development opportunities, but the potential economic, social, and environmental costs are severe, and …
The recent surge in world food prices is already creating havoc in poor countries, and worse is to come. Food riots are spreading across Africa, though many are unreported in the international press. Moreover, the surge in wheat, maize and rice prices seen on commodities markets have not yet fully …
Agriculture secre tary Edward T. Schafer is preparing to walk into a buzzsaw of criticism over American biofuels policy when he meets with world leaders to discuss the global food crisis next week. Mr Schafer took the offensive at a press conference on Thursday that discussed the food summit, planned …
Government legislation that will require all gasoline sold in Canada to contain 5 percent ethanol by 2010 passed the House of Commons on Wednesday. The bill, which also calls for diesel to contain 2 percent renewable fuels by 2012, won the support of the main opposition Liberal Party but was …
Global production of biofuels will rise rapidly over the next decade, helped by high government blending targets and subsidies, the OECD and the UN's FAO food agency said in a report published on Thursday. These rises will boost already soaring world agricultural commodities prices and reduce their availability for food …
Ahead of a global summit on the food crisis, the United Nations called on world leaders on Wednesday to agree to urgent measures to ease demand for grains and ease high food prices. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations suggested that countries might need …
Amnesty International criticized poor working conditions and forced labour in Brazil's fast-growing sugar cane sector on Wednesday, as the government tries to promote the cane-based ethanol industry as a way to reduce poverty. The human rights group said Brazil's government has taken steps to improve working conditions in rural areas, …
A fund-driven surge in sugar prices at the start of 2008 has been wiped out as a huge glut of the sweetener reasserted its grip on the market, but growing demand for cane-based ethanol could fuel future price gains. Raw sugar futures powered out of the starting blocks of 2008 …
This article examines interactions among climate change, political-economic interventions and technical progress, focusing on the impacts of biofuels in the Amazon and Cerrado regions in Brazil.
Not long ago, the fledgling ethanol industry was the darling of investors, farmers, the federal government and a lot of Americans who liked the idea of turning corn into fuel. Suddenly, it doesn't have nearly as many friends. RISING PRICES: Is a bubble brewing in super-hot commodities markets? Rising global …
About 45 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles, a machine the size of a small truck flattens tons of food scraps, paper towels and other household trash into the side of a growing 300-foot pile. To Waste Management which operates the landfill, this is more than just a mountain of …
