October 2009

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This page includes information on news and events in October 2009. (News and events are archived here at the end of the month.)

Events

News

  • Scientists Identify Enzyme That Could Help Grow Biofuel Crops In Harsh Environments, 19 October 2009 by ScienceDaily: "Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a novel enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin — the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork....Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels."
    • "For example, if certain breeds can be created that are more adept at absorbing and storing water and nutrients, the crops could be farmed in much drier climates — maybe even the desert."
    • "These approaches to biofuel agriculture would leave more-fertile land open for food crops, helping to strike a much-needed balance between the nutrition and energy needs of the world."[1]
  • DOE Secretary Chu breaks with Obama over energy policy; aviation turns to China for biofuels capacity development, 13 September 2009 by Biofuels Digest: United States Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu "broke with Obama administration renewable energy policy, telling stunned alternative energy developers at a recent meeting on alternative fuels that 'if it were up to me, I would put every cent into electric cars'".
    • "Meanwhile, the global aviation industry, which has set a target of 3 billion gallons of aviation biofuels by 2020, has begun an historic shift in focus to Chinese leadership in biofuels capacity development".
    • "In related news, Boeing confirmed that it has commenced talks with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 'several Chinese universities' about a potential development of low-carbon aviation biofuels. CCTV is reporting that near-term opportunities for collaboration between Boeing and China’s alternative energy industry could focus on jatropha development in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. According to Xinhua News Agency, China is projecting '13 million hectares of biofuel plantations by 2020,' primarily to meet increased internal energy needs."[4]
  • African Jatropha Boom Raises Concerns, 8 October 2009 by The New York Times Green Inc. blog: "Once the darling of biofuel enthusiasts, jatropha is raising concerns."
    • "In a report leaked to The East African newspaper last week, Envirocare, an environmental and human rights organization, highlighted the impact of the jatropha trade in Tanzania — including concerns over the displacement of farmers, water consumption, and the substitution of food crops for biofuels."
    • "Indeed, of 13 potential bioenergy crops analyzed...in a study...in the American Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, rapeseed and jatropha were found to be the least water-efficient biofuels."
    • "Mr. Ruud Van Eck, the chief executive of Diligent Energy Systems, a Dutch jatropha developer working in Tanzania, is among business executives who have contested the findings on the water footprint of jatropha."[5]
  • Redd in Africa: 'how we can earn money from air by harvesting carbon', 5 October 2009 by guardian.co.uk: "Kenyan ranch shows how UN scheme could protect forests that absorb CO2 and earn billions of dollars for their owners."
    • "The carbon saved would be traded on the growing voluntary carbon market and after 2012 when the next round of the Kyoto treaty becomes affective, Rukinga could qualify as an official Kenyan government Redd scheme, attracting public money from Britain and other rich countries seeking to offset emissions they have legally committed to cut."
    • "Hans Brattskar, director of Norway's Forest and Climate Programme whose country is funding the UN-Redd programme, said he envisaged some difficulties could be overcome by sophisticated hi-tech surveillance mixed with on-the-spot monitoring by indigenous peoples. 'We know that Redd will needs new laws, land reform and new institutions. But if countries do not perform they will not be paid. This is payment for services. The consequences if we fail are enormous.'"
  • The Other Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis in Global Land Use, 5 October 2009 by Yale Environment 360: "Our use of land, particularly for agriculture, is absolutely essential to the success of the human race. We depend on agriculture to supply us with food, feed, fiber, and, increasingly, biofuels. Without a highly efficient, productive, and resilient agricultural system, our society would collapse almost overnight."
    • "[L]and use is also one of the biggest contributors to global warming. Of the three most important man-made greenhouse gasses — carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — land use and agricultural practices, including tropical deforestation, emit 30 percent of the total. That’s more than the emissions from all the world’s passenger cars, trucks, trains and planes, or the emissions from all electricity generation or manufacturing. Compared to any other human activity, land use and agriculture are the greatest emitters of greenhouse gasses. The vast majority comes from deforestation, methane emissions from animals and rice fields, and nitrous oxide emissions from heavily fertilized fields. Yet, for some reason, agriculture has been largely able to avoid the attention of emissions reductions policies."[6]
  • Unilever starts tea origin certification program in Brazil, 01 October 2009 by FoodBizDaily: "World demand for tea is growing at a faster pace than its supply this year. But consumers, particularly in Europe, United States and Japan want to make sure that by drinking their cup of tea they are not helping to destroy the environment or encouraging the use of slave labor. This situation has led Unilever, world’s largest tea company, to certify the origin and production of its tea in countries such as Kenya and Argentina. It is a process that begins to be deployed in Brazil."
    • "Teramoto states that if Brazilian producers adopt Imaflora recommendations - a package that even includes the commitment to preserve an area of the original forest - certifications may be granted in the first quarter of 2010. With the Sustainable Agriculture Certification seal in hand, producers, which export 90% to the United States, Canada, England and Chile, may charge a higher price of Unilever, which accounts for 80% of Brazilian black tea exports."



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