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renewable energy > features
Biofuels 'could benefit poor farmers'
Biofuels have been under attack for taking up land that is needed to grow food and threatening biodiversity, but says a new study, the increase in world agriculture prices caused by the global boom in biofuels could benefit many of the world�s rural poor. ... more
'Peak oil' is coming soon say BP critics
Last month, the oil company BP, reported that there were sufficient oil reserves to meet current demands for another 40 years. It said there was no need to be concerned about global scarcity, despite cutting its estimates for proven reserves for the first time in 16 years. These claims have since been hotly disputed. ... more
Zerocarbonbritain � a new energy strategy
by Richard Hawkins and Arthur Girling
Britain must eliminate all carbon emissions within 20 years by halving energy demand and installing massive renewable energy generation, according to a new report from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT). ... more
Ban the incandescent bulb
by Lester R. Brown
A worldwide shift from incandescents to compact fluorescents could have the effect of closing 270 coal-fired power plants. ... more
Cars are grabbing world's grain supply
by Lester R. Brown
Cars, not people, will claim most of the increase in world grain consumption this year. The US Department of Agriculture projects that world grain use will grow by 20 million tons in 2006. Of this, 14 million tons will be used to produce fuel for cars in the United States, leaving only 6 million tons to satisfy the world's growing food needs. ... more
Meeting the challenge of Peak Oil
Peak oil is described as the point where oil production stops rising and begins its inevitable long-term decline. No one knows when that will be, but many experts believe we have already reached the peak. Others say it will occur within the next few years. But what will happen after Peak Oil? Here, Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, outlines his own vision of the challenge - and the necessary response. ... more
Low-cost lamps could brighten the future
Powered by solar energy, lights using LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), have the potential to light up rural villages and replace costly and polluting kerosene lamps. This report from the Christian Science Monitor tells the story. ... more
Keeping the lights on
by Walt Patterson
Walt Patterson has devoted much of his life to the problems of energy. Now he has put together, in an important new book, his definitive thoughts on sustainable energy in a world threatened by climate change and declining oil supplies. In this exclusive article for Planet 21, he sets out the book's central message: 'energy policy means infrastructure policy.' ... more
Developing a hydrogen economy in the South
Given the right support, there could be 5-10 million fuel cell vehicles globally by 2020. The time horizon for the Hydrogen Economy is long - it is at least 20 years away for developed countries. But long term change requires short term change. ... more
Coconut oil takes off as a biofuel in the Pacific
by Jeremy Hamand
Almost unnoticed, coconut oil is taking off among the Pacific islands as an alternative to imported, costly and polluting, diesel oil. Jeremy Hamand reports here on the spread of this latest biofuel, drawing in part on internet exchanges among islanders linked to the Small Islands Voice website. ... more
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