Biochar proponents slammed over secret “land-grab” agenda

TOKYO ~ Nineteen groups concerned with climate change have  expressed their dismay at an article by leading biochar advocates.
The groups say the article, published in the science magazine Nature and posted online in the August edition of Nature Communications, proposes that an area larger than the land mass of India could be turned into charcoal [...]

NGO outrage at Shell-funded report on Nigeria oil spills

TOKYO – Reports that a major UN investigation into Nigeria oil spills funded by oil giant Shell relies more on figures produced by oil companies and Nigerian state statistics than on community testimony and organizations on the ground who work with communities, has outraged NGO Friends of the Earth.
After releasing some information last week about [...]

Plastics from sugar cane coming to Asia

SINGAPORE ~ Braskem, a Brazilian petrochemical company, and Japan’s Toyota group have decided to bring to Asia what they choose to call  “green” polyethylene.
Braskem plans to produce the polyethylene from sugar-cane for the first time in the world on an industrial scale by 2011, it said in a statement.

Fuel use can be halved by 2035: MIT

THE United States and similar Western countries could cut gasoline consumption by up to 50 percent by 2035 under a combination of advances currently envisaged and underway in the automobile industry, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The report, “On The Road in 2035”, estimates that more efficient combustion engines, [...]

Germans make zero CO2 coal-fired power breakthrough

A COAL-FIRED power station that does not release any CO2 into the atmosphere is due to start operating in Germany next week.
According to a report by BBC World, it will be the first coal-fired plant in the world that captures and stores its own CO2 emissions.
The station is a 5Megawat pilot project for carbon capture [...]

Shell found guilty by UK watchdog

“If Shell were serious about sourcing sustainable energy, then they would be far better placed investing in renewable energy, such as wind, tidal or solar power.”

Oil price US$1,778 per barrel!

THE price of a barrel of oil has gone from US$11 in 1970 to US$140 today. If the price continues to increase at the same rate, we will be paying US$1,778 per barrel by the year 2046. Meanwhile, a spokesman for OPEC said on TV last night that demand for oil will increase by 50 [...]