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DrumBeat: February 17, 2009
The Oil Drum — Oil exploration cuts may trigger fuel price surge when economies revive PARIS: The combination of the plunge in oil prices since July and the global credit crunch has dealt a one-two punch to energy investments, setting the stage for tight fuel supplies and a renewed surge in prices when energy demand recovers, industry specialists warn. The investment slowdown "will most definitely" affect supplies because of the time needed to develop new sources, said Brian Puffer, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers who deals with the energy sector. "In two or three years, if the economy comes on strong, you'll have a huge shortage, and that would create a spike in prices," he ...

Sustainability News Headlines - 2/17/2009
Conservation Value Notes — News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today Brought to you by Conservation Value Institute Surprise - Economists Agree on Climate Change! Slate, 2/17 U.S. 'Sea Change' On Climate Talks, Say EU, UN AFP, 2/17 Ford Jumps Back Into Green Car Fray ENN, 2/17 100 Most Sustainable Companies 2009 Environmental Leader, 2/17 UK Secretary Calls for Nation-wide Green Home Makeover The Guardian, 2/17 The 'Holy Grail' of Biofuels Now in Sight CS Monitor, 2/17 As Effects of Warming Accelerate, UN Report is Quickly Dated Yale Environment 360, 2/17 ...

Biofuels & biochar - Feb 19
Energy Bulletin - — Click on the headline (link) for the full text. Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage The ‘holy grail’ of biofuels now in sight Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor Long-promised cellulosic ethanol is in modest production, but hurdles remain. --- With one foot planted in a pile of corn cobs, Mark Stowers explains how agricultural waste, transformed into ethanol, will turbocharge the US economy, boost its energy security, and help save the planet, too. This holy grail of biofuels, called cellulosic ethanol, has been “five years from commercialization” for so long that even Dr. Stowers admits it’s become a joke. But now the research director for ...

Biomess 2009
Grist - the Latest from Grist — ... . And Lester Brown points out that profitable crops grown on marginal land will provide too much temptation; farmers would invariably try to grow them on prime land, thus further displacing food crops. ...