Daily Archives: December 5, 2008

Beat the pump: SC mayor turns cooking oil to fuel

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the Associated Press story in Forbes. HONEA PATH, S.C. – Standing in an open-sided shed, 71-year-old Earl Meyers watched intently as gallons of used cooking oil flowed into a vat to be filtered and blended into a homemade fuel. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Local Initiatives | Leave a comment

Villaraigosa unveils solar plan for Los Angeles

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times. The mayor’s proposal aims to have solar power meet one-tenth of L.A.’s energy needs by 2020. But skeptics wonder if the plan will be cost-efficient and friendly to private enterprise.

Posted in Local Initiatives, Solar Energy | Leave a comment

Seattle company turning leftover grease into biodiesel

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full story at King5.com. You know what to do with all that leftover turkey, dressing and pie, but you may not know what to do with that leftover grease. Don’t throw it away. A Seattle company wants to … Continue reading →

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Biofuel Program Is Cooking

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full story in the Suncoast News. Straight from the kitchens of area homes, recycled cooking oil is powering a few Pasco County vehicles.

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Biodiesel tax break backfires

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full story in the Houston Chronicle. Federal subsidies to the U.S. biodiesel industry were supposed to help wean the nation from foreign oil, and a new law in 2009 will bolster the effort, but the money has fueled … Continue reading →

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Biochar could help tropical forest conservation

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full post at Biopact. The conservation of tropical rainforests and other biodiverse ecosystems in the (sub)tropics faces tremendous challenges. Simply declaring that a region becomes a conservation area without taking away the pressures that threaten the integrity of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Leave a comment

Finnish researchers to turn fish waste into biodiesel

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine. VTT Technical Research Center of Finland has launched Enerfish, a three-year project focused on producing biodiesel from waste generated at a fish processing plant.

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BP and Chinese Academy of Sciences To Establish Clean Energy Commercialization Center

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full post at Green Car Congress. BP and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) agreed to establish the Clean Energy Commercialization Center (CECC) joint venture in Shanghai, jointly investing some RMB500 million (US$73 million) to commercialize Chinese clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Fuels, International, Renewable Energy | Leave a comment

Fraunhofer researchers make bioplastic from liquid wood

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full post in Biopact. Bioplastics made from cellulosic biomass, such as forestry or crop waste, offer a smarter way to use biomass than turning it into liquid biofuels. Per hectare of crops grown or per quantity of biomass, … Continue reading →

Posted in Plastics, Research | Leave a comment

Perennial biomass crops build soil carbon

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Laura B.

Read the full post at Biopact. Converting farm fields to energy crops can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where – and which – biofuel crops are used, University of Illinois researchers report this month. The researchers analyzed … Continue reading →

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