As solutions to global warming go, producing biodiesel from palm oil looks like a pretty poor idea, since it generates ten times the amount of CO2 that conventional fossil diesel does. George Monbiot calls for a moratorium on biofuels before it’s too late.

The Guardian

A group of British eco-enthusiasts have just pulled off the greenest and grubbiest car rally ever, driving from London to Athens in vehicles powered exclusively on waste vegetable oil.

The team motored with unexpected ease across Europe on the proceeds of the grease thrown away by restaurants and cafes along the way. Their hope is that the 2,500-mile feat will help a drive to create a commodity out of cooking oils that otherwise end up in landfills or the sea. Unlike ethanol and other controversial biofuels, recycled cooking fat does not impact on food production.

The expansion of biofuel crops around the world are forcing indigenous people off their lands, the United Nations reports.

Reuters

Climate change could cut South Africa’s maize crop by 20 percent within 15 to 20 years as the west of the country dries out while the east is afflicted with increasingly severe storms, its environment minister said on Sunday.

Globe and Mail

Biofuels are where three of the great challenges for the 21st century overlap — energy, climate change and security of the food supply.

As the extent of the global food crisis has become widely known, biofuels have suddenly become the unwanted guest at the party. Certainly, biofuels made from cereal grains that might otherwise feed hungry people aren’t the best way to cope with dwindling energy supplies or the need to curb greenhouse gases.

But not all biofuels are created equal, so we shouldn’t rush to write them out of our energy repertoire just yet.

BBC News

Tackling climate change is too crucial to be derailed by a temporary economic downturn, the OECD head, Angel Gurria, has said.

Stanford News Service

High food prices have been associated with high petroleum prices. The cost of crop production is up, the value of the dollar is down, and biofuels are an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for transportation.

Africa’s vast arable lands have the potential to rival top agricultural nations like the United States in supplying biofuels to a world seeking cleaner energy sources.

But using land reserved for food production to supply biofuel demand could squeeze food supplies in a region vulnerable to shortages. It could also hurt poor consumers if the biofuel boom continues to push food prices higher.

The debate over the use of biofuels continues. Is it good or bad? A leading British investor voices concerns over the use of biofuels to combat climate change.

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced a $1.5-billion, nine-year plan to make Canada a leader in biofuel production.”

However, a new report in the journal Science states that restoring and protecting forests would have a larger impact on reducing carbon than planting “energy crops.”