A few days ago we got an email from a proponent of Algae farming to produce biodiesel.  He referenced a study from 1998 sponsored by NREL entitled “Biodiesel from Algae.”  Referencing the study, the writer stated, “Spanning almost two decades of research, this article covers the prospect of large scale production of biodiesel using relatively [...]

We have reported on the state of cellulosic ethanol development, and the potential of cellulosic ethanol, in our recent feature entitled (not surprisingly) “Cellulosic Ethanol.”  But if you take an interest in the future of biofuel, this is only half the story, if that.  What about biofuel derived from algae?  Despite the title of this post, it [...]

Since publishing “Jatropha Reality Check” we’ve received comments, but also direct emails to the Editor.  Many of these were from growers - and one new writer, a grower also located in Madagascar, provided some interesting insights.
“We planted Jatropha in 2003 and have been taking care of the plantation by pruning, irrigating, applying fertilisers and managing [...]

Back in 2005 we published the feature “Jatropha in Africa - Fighting the Desert & Creating Wealth.”  About two years later we rewrote the editor’s introduction to this story, stating, among other things “the yields claimed in this story have been challenged by many of our readers, and the author may have been optimistic.”  Today [...]

In many cases it’s that stark:  Either you preserve and expand forests, or you deforest in order to grow biofuel.  If you believe, as we do, that tropical forests are far better for the global climate than biofuel plantations - in terms of all three popular measures; global warming, extreme weather, and droughts - then this [...]

Sacramento is the capital of California, a state that is world-renowned for its concern for the environment.  As such, the Sacramento region is attracting businesses and investors from around the world, eager to capitalize on Sacramento’s enthusiastic embrace of green industry.  But sometimes green is brown.
At the Port of Sacramento, a start-up company based in Long [...]

In our previous post, “Earthly Heating,” we noted that because we want to limit CO2 emissions, carbon neutral biofuel plantations crowd out food crops, and in the inner recesses of mega-cities of earth’s equatorial regions, food costs more, and the poor starve.  This is an over-simplification.
It is true that biofuel crops may raise the price of food, [...]