Advanced biofuels have been on the cusp of commercialization for years, but high prices and technological challenges have …
Biofuels
Why the Future of Skincare May Be Algae
[Update: The original title of the post said that the algae used in the Algenist cosmetics line was genetically engineered. That’s not the case—the compounds come from existing microalgae that Solazyme has been able to identify and grow. We’ve fixed the headline—my apologies.]
Trying to make a biofuel startup work is tough. On …
Why Indonesia Still Can’t Say No to Palm Oil
If you’re eating a food that came in a wrapper while reading this, you probably eating palm oil — at least there’s a 50/50 chance you are. About half the packaged food found in a supermarket contains palm oil, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and a lot of that product comes from the lush archipelago of Indonesia.
In 2007, I …
With Nuclear Expansion Off the Table, What Do Japan’s Energy Options Look Like?
After two months of near silence, Japan’s government has seemingly awoken from its slumber and kicked into high damage-control gear. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose administration has come under fire for its slow and opaque response to the ongoing nuclear crisis at Fukushima, made two surprise announcements. First, that he …
Palm Oil Plantations Equal Deforestation
Another day and there’s another study that undermines the case for biofuels as an eco-friendly source of energy. This time it’s the booming palm oil plantations of Southeast Asia, which yield the raw ingredients for biodiesel, used most often in Europe. Activists have been warning for some time that the growth of palm oil is leading …
Energy: Why Biofuels Help Push Up Food Prices
Over on the Time.com mainpage, I have a piece about the connection between biofuels and rising global food prices, which hit a record level in January. The math is pretty simple—with 40% of the country’s corn crop going to ethanol, and palm oil plantations around the world displacing farms for biodiesel production, biofuels do exert an …
Brits Ponder Fuel Rationing
The last time the British government instituted a substantial rationing program was 1940—the Nazis had spread out across Europe and the continent was mobilizing for all-out war. The rationing program, which lasted until 1954, had a profound effect on the collective consciousness of the British public, and is largely remembered not …
The Future of Energy in Europe
I just spent an interesting morning at the European Future Energy Forum in London. The opening panel debate—titled “Movers and Shakers”—included representatives from European governments, industry and NGOs. A full line-up can be found here.
The conversation was fast-paced but seemed to orbit around what will happen if the next …