A new batch of genetically engineered bacteria may be able to slash the cost of producing ethanol from tough materials like wood chips and switchgrass, pushing the young ethanol industry closer to its goal of creating commercially competitive alternative fuel from the waste products of farming and forestry. Ethanol from cellulose, the kind of sugar in the likes of cornstalks and sawdust, is being promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, with the advantage that it does not use food crops such as corn as raw materials [Reuters].
Ethanol from corn and sugarcane is relatively easy to produce, because yeast convert the readily accessible sugars and starches into ethanol. Cellulose presents a stiffer challenge. Cellulose fibers contain longer polysaccharide chains than those found in starches and surround them with lignin and hemicelluose, which hold the fibers together and provide strength. This makes them tough—tough enough to hold up a tree—but it also makes the sugars within very hard to access [Ars Technica].
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Ask and you shall not receive: The Environmental Protection Agency has refused a request by Texas Gov. Perry to temporarily suspend the rules that require a minimum amount of ethanol to be mixed into U.S. gasoline.
In April, the governor asked the EPA to halve this year’s ethanol requirement for the nation from 9 billion gallons to 4.5 billion. Perry said the waiver was needed because rising U.S. ethanol output is inflating corn prices, wreaking havoc on the state’s massive livestock industry and boosting grocery bills for American families. But on Thursday, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said Perry’s request had not proved the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets ethanol quotas, is causing “severe economic harm,” a requirement needed to justify a waiver [Houston Chronicle].
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Orangutans, which some scientists believe are second only to humans in intelligence, could be the first great ape to go extinct if swift action isn’t taken to conserve their rainforest habitat and protect them from poachers, according to a new survey.
The orange-furred primates live in the wild on only two islands, Sumatra and Borneo. The survey, which was conducted by the Great Ape Trust and will be published this month in the journal Oryx [subscription required], alarmed researchers because it showed that orangutan populations have plummeted in just the last few years. It found that the number of orang-utans on Sumatra island in Indonesia has fallen by 14 per cent since 2004 to only 6,600 animals…. In Malaysia’s Borneo island, the largest home of the species, numbers fell by 10 per cent in the same period to 49,600 apes [Telegraph].
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A European Union panel has incited a new round of sturm und drang as it debates the role that biofuels should play in the continent’s quest for clean energy. Adding to the high-octane dialog, a report leaked to a British newspaper raises the possibility that the demand for biofuels bears the brunt of responsibility for rising food prices around the world.
In a twist that might have seemed unlikely just a couple of years ago, environmentalists and liberal politicians in Europe are turning against the renewable fuel, saying that ethanol derived from corn, sugar cane, and other crops causes more problems than it solves. Previously, the European Union (EU) had proposed deriving 10 percent of road transport fuel from renewable sources such as biofuels by 2020, but the target has been attacked by environmentalists, who say it contributes to rising food prices and deforestation [Reuters].
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The jatropha plant has traditionally been considered a weed, and it sure grows like one–it can thrive in marginal soil, requires very little water, and needs no fertilizers or pesticides. But it’s currently one of the most hyped and desired weeds on the planet, as governments and companies all clamor over its potential as a renewable energy source.
Attention focuses on the shrub’s poisonous seeds, which are about 40 percent oil. New Zealand’s biggest airline became jatropha’s latest champion yesterday when it announced its intention of processing the seed oil into diesel fuel for its jumbo jets.
Air New Zealand is hoping for a test flight in August or September, when it would fill one of the four engines of a 747 with the weed-derived fuel. Eventually, the company wants to get 10 percent of its total fuel from jatropha.
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It looks like we really can’t have everything.
Western nations may have been feeling environmentally optimistic lately because of their embrace of biofuels made from corn or sugarcane — a clean-burning, renewable energy source. But as ethanol producers have snapped up corn reserves, food prices around the world have spiraled up, causing scattered riots from Mexico to Haiti to Somalia.
At a hastily organized summit meeting of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, officials warned that the present unrest could develop into a “global catastrophe.” The statistics tell a serious story: The recent crisis is believed to have pushed 100 million people into hunger worldwide. Poorer countries are faced with a 40% increase in their food imports bill this year, and experts say some countries’ food bills have doubled in the past year [BBC News].
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