In The News

As oil prices increase and the world’s demand for alternative fuel sources grow, Colombian farmers struggle to control their own land. Collaborating with some palm-oil corporate interests, right-wing paramilitary groups drive farmers from their homes at gunpoint and take over the land for plantations. Palm oil, used for biofuel production, is a lucrative business, and unlike another source of...

Potential in the biofuel industry depends on three factors: feedstock costs and availability, government regulations, and conversion technology. With feedstock responsible for at least 50 percent of biofuel production costs, the price has a huge impact on the profits a company can make. However, growing demand for feedstock poses consequences: Rising demand for ethanol increases US corn prices;...

China is poised to become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, surpassing the US. Yet, at this point, while rhetoric from both governments shows growing recognition that climate change could wreak havoc with the global economy, both nations decline to set a mandatory cap on carbon emissions. Instead they claim to rely on improving industrial efficiency to reduce greenhouse emissions....