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agriculture

Feeding 10 Billion in 2050′s Sauna (Part III)

December 23, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 374 views
1

What future for agriculture on a hotter planet? Guest Post by Geoff Russell. Geoff is a mathematician and computer programmer and is a member of Animal Liberation SA. His recently published book is CSIRO Perfidy. His previous article on BNC was: Feeding the billions on a hotter planet (Part II) —————— Welcome to... [read more]

Saving Chocolate from Global Warming

October 17, 2011 by Katherine Friedrich
with 163 views
0

I wrote this post in honor of chocolate. The chocolate harvest is now endangered by global warming. I’d like to see a chocolate bar replace a polar bear as the symbol of global warming’s devastation. One cost of global warming is emotional safety. People equate chocolate with reassurance, romance, affection and many other... [read more]

Taking Care of Topsoil

June 7, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 376 views
12

Following my inclusion in the Top 10 list of ethanol enemies, I sought to Set the Ethanol Record Straight on my actual views on ethanol. I set out three broad tenets that shape my views. They are: Tenet One: We must transition from fossil fuels with a sense of urgency. Tenet Two: We need to develop systems and services with a much lower... [read more]

How CO2 Fertilization Threatens Koalas, And Agriculture

April 27, 2011 by Michael Tobis
with 195 views
0

Regarding encouraging plant growth, that is a direct CO2 effect. Interestingly, I just learned that it is killing koalas. You see, CO2 fertilized plants put more of their energy into structure. Eucalyptus leaves become harder for present day koalas to digest because they are more fibrous.The person I heard this from (a world renowned... [read more]

Startup gets $42m to predict extreme weather for farmers

March 2, 2011 by Todd Woody
with 981 views
0

In The New York Times on Monday, I write about WeatherBill, a San Francisco startup that announced a $42 million round of financing from Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures: Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures have led a $42 million financing round in WeatherBill, a San Francisco start-up that insures farmers against extreme weather... [read more]

EPA Delays Decision On E15 Until Fall

June 18, 2010 by Mike Gregory
with 572 views
4

The Associated Press is reporting that the Environmental Protection Agency says it will wait until this fall to decide whether car engines can handle higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline. The agency had been expected to decide by this month whether to increase the maximum blend from 10 to 15 percent. The EPA said Thursday that... [read more]

Setting the Ethanol Record Straight

June 17, 2010 by Robert Rapier
with 382 views
0

Based on my Site Meter, it appears that a lot of new readers are stopping by because of my recent inclusion in the Top 10 list of ethanol enemies. Because the article presents a highly inaccurate view of my position, I issued a quick and concise rebuttal to the baseless claims. But perhaps this is a good time to review my paradigm,... [read more]

Five Challenges of Next-Generation Biofuels

June 7, 2010 by Robert Rapier
with 488 views
1

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just issued a report detailing the outlook and challenges of next generation biofuels. I provided some input during the drafting of the report, which hopefully was of some use. Here I select five pessimistic projections from the report. In the next essay I will select five optimistic... [read more]

Green VS. Green, Part 1

May 27, 2010 by Breakthrough Institute
with 446 views
1

By Breakthrough Senior Fellow Siddartha Shome Denmark Dispute Greens tout Denmark as a renewable mecca, but Sweden -- powered largely by hydro and nuclear -- has a far less carbon intense energy mix. Here's a pop quiz. A, B, C, and D are four rich industrialized countries in Western Europe with similar living standards. Country A's... [read more]

It's The End of the World (As We Know It)

May 15, 2010 by Craig Severance
with 834 views
3

  Oil Production Peak Much Sooner Than Expected  May 14, 2010 by Craig Severance A storm is quickly approaching, and the world is not ready for it. The permanent end of the era of cheap oil is coming as soon as next year, according to a raft of official reports that have made their way into energy... [read more]

A call for scientists to call on citizens

May 13, 2010 by Eric Smalley
with 303 views
2

A research paper in tomorrow’s Science shows that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide inhibit plants’ ability to take up nitrogen from the soil. This counteracts much of the boost plants get from breathing more carbon dioxide, and it could pose a threat to agriculture. What flashed in my mind when I saw the paper was that I’d... [read more]

Assessing Biofuel Crop Invasiveness: A Case Study

May 9, 2010 by PaulB
with 181 views
1

There is widespread interest in biofuel crops as a solution to the world’s energy needs, particularly in light of concerns over greenhouse-gas emissions. Despite reservations about their adverse environmental impacts, no attempt has been made to quantify actual, relative or potential invasiveness of terrestrial biofuel crops at an... [read more]

Bees, food, and you

May 2, 2010 by Lou Grinzo
with 156 views
0

Our energy and environmental situation is fiendishly interconnected, far more than many self-described energy geeks or greenies realize.[1] As I like to say, everything is a function of everything else. You could hardly find a better example of this than the rolling disaster involving honeybees: Disturbing evidence that honeybees... [read more]

Poet Biofuels: Charting the Future of Ethanol?

March 29, 2010 by Jesse Jenkins
with 494 views
0

From its start on the family farm with a single farm-scale ethanol facility to dozens of multi-million gallon per year biorefineries dotting the Midwest countryside, POET LLC of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is now the world's largest biofuels producer. Today in this theEnergyCollective.com podcast, I'm joined by Nathan Schock, director... [read more]

Gasoline from Sugar

March 26, 2010 by Geoffrey Styles
with 397 views
2

It's ironic that with all the current hoopla about various alternative fuels and the electrification of personal cars--hybrids and several kinds of plug-in electric vehicles--it turns out that some of the most promising advanced energy technologies under development are designed to produce more of the same fuels that have powered cars,... [read more]