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An environmental-justice advocate responds to the biofuels boom

I am very excited to see this Grist series, because I am a biodiesel user. I am also very worried about the growth of the biofuels industry, because I am an environmental-justice advocate, and I see this industry rapidly leaving my community behind. What happens after the photo shoot? Photo: house.gov The growth of the […]

Good stuff

Newsweek's Enterprise section is focused on "the future of energy." There are a few good stories in there.

Famed author (at least famed to energy geeks) Daniel Yergin says the end of cheap oil is going to make for an era of enormous technological innovation, driven by private venture capital and entrepreneurialism rather than government programs.

Fareed Zakaria laments the rise of a set of anti-capitalist, authoritarian economic powerhouses fueled by high oil prices (a point the mustache is fond of making).

Best of all, in the normally unbearable My Turn column, presidential wildcard Al Gore shows up to tout the benefits of decentralized energy sources and smart grids. Be still my heart!

Here's an excerpt:

Alternatives to oil must take climate change into account

Let me engage in a piece of meta-wonkerific self-reference and quote myself:

"Energy security" is a lopsided way of framing our energy problem, and left un-balanced, will do more harm than good.

I said that in the context of talking about coal -- the enemy of the human race -- but this week brought another piece of evidence from a different quarter.

An interview with Greasecar founder Justin Carven

Justin Carven. In the span of just two years, Justin Carven invented the first waste-oil conversion kit for diesel engines, graduated from Hampshire College, drove a vegetable-oil-fueled van across the country, and started his very own company. Six years later, Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems is selling so many conversion kits that Carven is talking about […]

Congress passes mediocre fisheries bill

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the 109th Congress had the opportunity to leave the session as ocean heroes. Instead, they passed a bill with mostly incremental changes to the existing law that governs America's fisheries. The re-authorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act focuses more on who gets to catch the fish in the ocean than how we can make sure there will always be enough fish to catch.

Sarah James, Gwich’in activist and environmental prizewinner, answers questions

Sarah James. What work do you do? I am the board chairperson for the Gwich’in Steering Committee. I work as I live the life. And I am open to opportunities to tell my story in order to protect the calving and nursery grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. What does your organization do? The Gwich’in […]

Uh oh

Bush to Make Energy a 2007 Priority, Economic Aide Hubbard Says

Duck!

Author of seminal climate report locked out of UK governing circles

Remember the Stern Report on climate change? How it was going to change everything?

Yeah, well, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown -- widely expected to become the next British Prime Minister -- has completely ignored the report's recommendations. He's taking the minimal possible action to address climate change. Stern has been frozen out and will leave the gov't in March.

Bloody awesome!

Umbra on eco-tips in event programs

Dear Umbra, My bat mitzvah is coming up, and at my synagogue, we give out programs. This year, in my program, I would like to include some tips to lead a more eco-friendly life (when to turn off lights, etc.). Will you please help me with these ideas? Talia Minnetonka, Minn. Dearest Talia, Mazel tov! […]

Biodiesel is wack

... by feeding carbon sinks to our cars, trucks, and buses.

My wife pointed me to an article on biodiesel in the business section of the Seattle Times yesterday. I discussed this issue once before. But hey, if the Times can repeat the same story over and over, why can't I?

Let me parse this article out.

Plaza says Imperium's contract provides palm oil exclusively from sustainable farms, and it plans to perform audits to make sure that proviso is honored.

You can't possibly verify where a given gallon of palm oil came from, especially in a third world nation where graft and bribes are still standard operating procedure. What would you do if the person you send to Indonesia on a verification mission discovers that your competitors have hogged up all the palm oil from the "sustainable" plantations (whatever those are supposed to be) and that they are sending you oil from newer plantations (ones that more recently usurped rainforests)? Try to envision how effective this strategy will be.

"Quick! Shut down the refinery and lay everyone off! Recall that last shipment! We are using palm oil being grown on recently cleared rainforests!" Spare me. Had he said, "We will not be using oil imported from third world tropical countries because the incentive to destroy rainforest carbon sinks is just too great and there really is no effective way to verify sustainability," I would have been deeply impressed. You will also note that nowhere in this article was global warming mentioned.