In Oklahoma, two legislators have introduced a bill to outlaw the production and transportation of castor beans. Castor beans contain 50 percent or more oil and are increasingly used for producing biofuels. However, they also contain high levels of rincin, a potent toxin that induces a slow, agonizing death marked by vomiting and diarrhea. Oklahoma […]
In Washington, the Sierra Club has been lobbying against Agrisol’s $100 million purchase of 325,000 hectares of land in Tanzania on the basis of human rights violations. The purchase, which opponents claim would displace up to 160,000 refugees from Burundi, will “help stabilize local food supplies, create jobs and economic opportunity for local populations, and […]
In California, about 55 students will begin classes in March of 2012, with each student receiving the equivalent of a $7,000 grant from the State of California. The students, who will attend classes at UC San Diego Extension and Mira Costa College, are the second cohort of students in a program funded by a two-year, […]
In India, the government says that it is preparing to release the final price at which oil companies must buy ethanol from sugar mills with the decision going to cabinet by the end of November. The temporary price of about 50 cents per liter has been criticized by industry as being too low. So far […]
In Mozambique, the World Wildlife Fund has urged countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to put in place sound policy and legal mechanisms to foster responsible investments in biofuels. Without good policy in place, there could be environmental, economic and social risks due to poor coordination of biofuels activities between government institutions the […]
In India, the country’s renewable energy minister is pushing for the private sector to invest in co-generation from agricultural waste, especially sugar mills but also pulp and paper factories, distilleries and food processing facilities. He says there is potential to produce 1,300MW of electricity from waste while that could reach 2,000MW by 2017. At least […]
In France, Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, outlined six steps for governments to promote the successful commercialization of sustainable biofuels: (1) foster research into new feedstock sources and refining processes, (2) de-risk public and private investments in aviation biofuels, (3) provide incentives for airlines to use biofuels from […]
In Washington, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that he did not feel political pressure to issue a loan guarantee to Solyndra, and took personal responsibility for what he said was a decision made on the merits. “Certainly knowing what I know now, we’d say `no,’” Chu […]
In Belgium, the European Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into whether US ethanol producers are receiving unfair subsidies before exporting their fuel to Europe. The move is a result of an official complaint by EU ethanol producers and is the precursor to a complaint to the WTO. The investigation that will begin this […]
In Washington, Rep. Dan Boren (R-OK), in co-sponsoring a bill this past summer to eliminate the $0.51 per gallon VEETC subsidy, which went to obligated ethanol blenders, wrote: “The bottom-line is that our constituents don’t want it in their gas, they don’t want it in their cars, and I definitely don’t want it in my […]
