fossil fuel

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Ammonia + Corn = Energy Independence

(Newser) - Feeding cows parts of corn plants that farmers currently discard could eventually lead to American energy independence, Wired reports. An ammonia treatment applied to corn “stover” could make it palatable to cattle, freeing up more land for the production of ethanol, a Michigan State researcher says. That could, in...

Geothermal Energy Hopes Are Booming
Geothermal Energy Hopes Are Booming
Dec 31, 2008 9:15 PM CST

Geothermal Energy Hopes Are Booming

Subterranean rocks could supply 10% of power by 2050

(Newser) - Hot rocks beneath the Earth's surface hold much promise for the nation's energy needs, but it's going to take big money to make the science work, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With $1 billion investment over the next 15 years, experts say geothermal power could provide 10% of the nation's...

NASA Launching First Satellite to Map CO2

(Newser) - NASA will soon launch a satellite that can measure carbon dioxide concentrations near the surface of the Earth, giving scientists an accurate picture of where the gas is produced and absorbed, the BBC reports. "This is NASA's first spacecraft specifically dedicated to mapping carbon dioxide," said a project...

Slump May Doom Clean Energy Initiatives

Some nations could fall back on fossil fuel

(Newser) - Just as global warming initiatives were gaining serious momentum around the world, the financial crisis looks like it's undermining both the political will and the math that support them, the New York Times reports. With gas prices plummeting, US automakers may be scaling back investment in new technology. In Europe,...

India's Effort to Boost Biofuel Encounters Growing Pains

Country aims to feed boom with hardier crops, though it's a tough sell

(Newser) - Just months after India’s finance minister called converting food crops to biofuels “a crime against humanity,” the government has launched a program that aims to get 20% of India’s diesel from plants by 2017, relying heavily on hardy plants that won’t keep rob needed land....

Drilling Boom Sends Natural Gas Supplies Soaring

Boom raises hope for cheaper prices as reserves expand

(Newser) - The US is ramping up natural gas production in a manner not seen since the post-World War II boom—scoring a nearly 9% increase through the first five months of 2008, reports the New York Times. The drilling boom comes as new technology is able to release gas long believed...

Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency
Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency
OPINION
Jul 24, 2008 4:08 PM CDT

Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency

UN atomic watchdog argues for managed transition from oil

(Newser) - A global agency is needed to deal with the developing energy crisis, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, writes in the Financial Times. Demand for energy is rising fast and alternatives to fossil fuels remain largely hypothetical, and though there are international organizations to deal with everything...

Gore Pounds Pols on Energy Plan

Sees role as facilitator; says 'baby steps no longer responsible'

(Newser) - Al Gore made his first appearance on Meet the Press since he sought the presidency 8 years ago, Politico reports, this time pushing his agenda as the nation's self-appointed energy czar. "My own best role is to try to bring about a sea change in public opinion" on environmental...

Google's Juicy Addiction: Cheap Electric

Not-so-green tech giants show insatiable appetite for power

(Newser) - No industrial smokestacks rise from that cute Google logo, but each click of the search button takes an environmental toll, Harper's reports. Google and its competitors are guzzling electricity to power ever-larger server complexes, and a renewable-energy initiative is more about making amends than benevolence. A new taxpayer-subsidized Google center...

Travel Costs Rise, But for What?
Travel Costs Rise, But for What?
OPINION
Feb 13, 2008 12:30 PM CST

Travel Costs Rise, But for What?

2008 is the 'year of the fee,' but one writer demands more in return

(Newser) - We can't duck travel fees imposed by air carriers, hotels, and Uncle Sam, so let's demand more in return, Christopher Elliott writes on MSNBC. Airlines are adding $25 baggage fees and "probably illegal" fuel surcharges, and the TSA will add a “temporary” bump in security fees—so can't...

China, India Are Rich in 'Crystal Gas'

Frozen methane stash could feed growing energy appetites

(Newser) - The discovery of a massive store of frozen methane on the seabed off the coast of China may help the world's fastest growing nation keep up with its accelerating energy needs. Methane hydrate, also known as crystal gas, is frozen and yet flammable, and it could mean a breakthrough for...

Green Cars Race for Funding
Green Cars Race for Funding
Dec 9, 2007 3:12 PM CST

Green Cars Race for Funding

Hydrogen and hybrid electrics are competing to replace gas

(Newser) - Makers of two green technologies—hydrogen fuel cells and plug-in electric hybrids—are racing to become the alternative energy of choice for buyers thinking beyond gasoline. They are competing for public attention, space on manufacturer’s production lines, and federal support, reports the Los Angeles Times. Electric cars,like Toyota’...

China to Top US in Energy Use, Pollution

Demand will double in 20 years, says new report

(Newser) - China will bypass the US to become the world’s top energy consumer by 2010, a new study says. Spurred by increased demand for natural resources, the country’s energy consumption will double in just 20 years to satisfy its booming economy, the BBC reports. To quench its thirst for...

83% Back Sacrifice to Fight Warming

But global survey mixed on higher fuel taxes

(Newser) - Four out of five people worldwide indicated they're ready to make personal lifestyle changes to combat global warming—even those from the worst carbon dioxide spewers, China and the US, according to a BBC poll of 22,000 people. Support was mixed, however, on increasing taxes on coal and oil,...

Sarko: France to Go Green
Sarko: France to Go Green
Oct 25, 2007 7:10 PM CDT

Sarko: France to Go Green

French leader is optimistic about a cleaner future

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy called for a greener France today, including higher taxes on polluters, a 50% reduction of pesticide use, and the eradication of genetically modified crops. The French president spoke at the close of a national environment summit that counted Al Gore in attendance. But the conference failed to generate...

Ethanol Glut Sinking Farmers' Hopes
Ethanol Glut Sinking Farmers' Hopes
Sep 30, 2007 4:46 AM CDT

Ethanol Glut Sinking Farmers' Hopes

'Gold rush' fades as biofuel prices plummet

(Newser) - A glut of ethanol has sent prices plumetting, staggering the hopes of farmers and businesses who once counted on a biofuel gold rush, reports the New York Times. Companies and farm cooperatives built so many ethanol distilleries that production has far outpaced demand, in part because distribution hasn't kept up.

Do Carbon 'Offsets' Really Offset Anything?

Inconvenient Truth director says offsets have 'symbolic quality'

(Newser) - Everyone from Al Gore to Coldplay has jumped on the carbon offset bandwagon, but the Los Angeles Times reports that their payments don’t actually make the air any cleaner. Here's how they work: "Offset” companies invest in existing clean energy and win the right to sell “reductions”...

Iowa-Minded Candidates Learn to Love Ethanol

Doubts take back seat to politics

(Newser) - To a presidential candidate who has an eye on Iowa—and who among them can afford not to?—ethanol is a political home run. The Hawkeye State hosts 28 refineries, and every one of the ’08 hopefuls has duly supported some form of ethanol subsidies. This despite the fact...

China's CO2 Output Passes US
China's CO2 Output Passes US
Jun 20, 2007 5:25 AM CDT

China's CO2 Output Passes US

Building two power stations a week

(Newser) - China has overtaken the US as the world's biggest CO2 emitter. A Dutch study says China is coughing up 9% more fossil fuel into the air than last year, compared with a 1.4% increase from the superpower across the Pacific. And the trend is up: China's industry is growing...

UN's Take On Climate Change Grows Sunnier

Some measures may enhance global GDP

(Newser) - Policy and behavior changes can help limit greenhouse-gas emissions and slow climate change, say experts at a UN conference in Bangkok—and at a reasonable price. Some curbs on emissions may even enhance global GDP, but time is short. Within 10 to 20 years, global emissions should begin dropping to...

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