Massacres and Paramilitary Land Seizures Behind the Biofuel Revolution
Armed groups in Colombia are driving peasants off their land to make way for plantations of palm oil, a biofuel that is being promoted as an environmentally friendly source of energy…
U.N.: Not so fast with ethanol, other biofuels
Unchecked growth could see new problems offset climate gains, report says. “Unless new policies are enacted to protect threatened lands, secure socially acceptable land use, and steer bioenergy development in a sustainable direction overall, the environmental and social damage could in some cases outweigh the benefits,”
Scientists warn on biofuels as palm oil price jumps
Biofuels are likely to speed up global warming as they are encouraging farmers to burn tropical forests that have absorbed a large portion of greenhouse gases, climate scientists warned. The specialists, who gathered for an international conference in Hong Kong, rang the alarm bell as Malaysian palm oil futures prices hit all-time highs this week, helped by new demand for the vegetable oil from the biodiesel sector. “Some of these alternative energy schemes, such as biofuels, are truly dangerous,” said James Lovelock, an independent scientist known for the Gaia theory.