Palm fruit. Photo by Rhett Butler. The European Commission has approved palm oil-based biodiesel for the renewable fuels standard provided it is certified under the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil…
In a dramatic reversal, the United States is set to become the world's largest producer of oil by 2017, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).…
The ongoing decline in Arctic sea ice hit a new record this year that rocked even the most pessimistic predictions. The low sea ice extent hit 18 percent below the…
Rio Pini Pini flowing out of Manu National Park. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Major concerns about the danger posed by gas exploration in a UNESCO World Heritage site in…
US oil consumption and fuel economy. Data from the EIA. The Obama administration finalized rules that will boost the national fuel economy standard for cars and light trucks to 54.5…
UPDATE: After failing to slow down Gazprom by occupying its oil rig, Greenpeace is trying a different tact: activists have now attached their boat to a Gazprom passenger vessel preventing…
Drought has created a standoff over water supplies in the U.S. Midwest between energy producers and farmers, reports Bloomberg. Natural gas and oil producers have been forced to seek new…
Coal truck in western China. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Governments, NGOs, and others fighting climate change should consider buying coal and oil deposits—not to exploit them, but to keep…
Surface coal mining in Bihar, India. Around 40 percent of India's power is currently provided by coal, the most carbon intensive fuel source. Last year global carbon dioxide emissions rose…
Pronghorn females with male in background in Montana. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Development of natural gas fields in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is pushing pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) out of crucial wintering…
Greenhouse gas emissions from palm oil-based biodiesel are the highest among major biofuels when the effects of deforestation and peatlands degradation are considered, according to calculations by the European Commission.…
Oil palm plantations and rainforest in Malaysia The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled on Friday that palm oil-based biofuels will not meet the renewable fuels standard due to carbon…
Global carbon emissions are a complicated matter. Currently, officials estimate national fossil fuel-related emissions by what is burned (known as production) within a nation, but this approach underestimates the emissions…
Gold mining in Peruvian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Peru's new president, Ollanta Humala, has signed into law a measure requiring that indigenous groups are consulted prior to any…
Yesterday a federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah convicted climate activist Tim DeChristopher of defrauding the US government, sentencing him to two years in jail and a fine of…
As climate change melts the Arctic sea ice, nations are rushing to carve up once-inaccessible areas for oil and gas exploitation, industrial fishing, and shipping routes. Now, BBC reports that…
Recent studies point to the feasibility of a global clean energy revolution. Last night US President Barack Obama called for a massive green energy make-over of the world's largest economy.…
Peruvian oil abandons plan to drill in uncontacted indigenous zone, but opens up new areas. Perupetro, the Peruvian government's oil and gas corporate leasing body, announced last week that it…
A new study in the Environmental Research Letter finds that the Peruvian Amazon is being overrun by the oil and gas industries. According to the study 41 percent of the…
In an interview with the Bruno Manser Fond, the new leader of the Malaysian state Sarawak's People's Justice Party (PKR), Baru Bian, spoke out against the state government's plans for…
British motorists are unwittingly big consumers of palm oil produced on rainforest lands in southeast Asia, reports The Times. A dozen oil companies provided 123 million liters of palm oil…
Sustainable biofuels can be a reality but only in combination with reductions in fuel demand and increased productivity on existing agricultural lands, argue researchers writing in the journal Science. Five…
30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil is located north of the Arctic Circle, offering a potential bonanza for Russia, report researchers writing…
Prairie grass ethanol will kill fewer people and foul the environment less than corn ethanol
US government: $28 carbon price would raise gas prices by 25 cents US government: $28 carbon price would raise gas prices by 25 cents mongabay.com October 9, 2008 Congressional Budget…
Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 mongabay.com September 12, 2008 The European Union significantly…
Expensive gas translates to fewer driving deaths $4 gas could translate to 12,000 fewer driving deaths per year mongabay.com July 11, 2008 Slower and reduced driving could save 1,000 lives…
Biofuel production on abandoned lands could meet 20% of global oil demand Biofuel production on abandoned lands could meet 20% of global oil demand mongabay.com June 23, 2008 Using abandoned…
