Environmental News

Amazon destruction speeds up
Brazilian government says forest being destroyed at four times the previous rate.

Biofuel boom costs Indonesians dear
Doubling of soya bean prices on the world market makes imports expensive.

Alberta targets emission cuts with carbon capture
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Alberta, Canada's top oil-producing province, will let greenhouse gas emissions rise for more than a decade before emission cuts take hold in a new climate change plan that includes no new restrictions on industrial emitters.

Gore says "changing light bulbs" not enough
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Climate campaigner Al Gore urged world policymakers on Thursday to change laws "not just light bulbs" in tackling global warming, and a UN official said world market turmoil must not be allowed to delay action.

Japan PM hopes to take climate leadership at Davos
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister hopes to make a splash with a speech on the environment this weekend in Davos, but the beleaguered leader faces hurdles convincing the world he can spearhead the fight against climate change.

Chemical Food Additives - Are They Slowly Killing Our Children?
Lauralee reports for NewsTarget.com on chemical food additives: "Risk of toxic additives, in isolation or in combination, is evidently most high among infants and children."

Japan plans to support replacing petrol with wood
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is set to embark on a five-year plan this year to harness a new form of energy using unused wood biomass to produce auto fuels and other industrial products currently made from imported petrol.

Brazil's army to help combat Amazon destruction
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil on Thursday unveiled measures to slow deforestation of the Amazon region including one that calls for the army to help carry out inspections.

Sarkozy seeks civil nuclear deal with India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited India on Friday to cement ties with a booming Asian economic power, trying to boost civil nuclear cooperation and defence deals.

Anti-whaling protest ship running out of fuel
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Greenpeace said on Saturday its anti-whaling ship, which has been harassing Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, had saved an estimated 100 whales but was running low on fuel and would return to port.

Startup Claims to Make $1/Gallon Ethanol
Wired is reporting that an Illinois startup is claiming they can make ethanol from most any organic material for around $1/gallon. Coskata, backed by General Motors and several other investors, uses a process that is bacteria based instead of some of the other available methods. The bacteria processes organic material that is fed into the reactor and secretes ethanol as a waste product.