Two contrasting news pieces regarding Brazilian biofuel production add further confusion as to how sustainable it really is. On one hand, the adjunct secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Laksmi Puri, said on Thursday in São Paulo that the country’s development strategy is a model. “We analyzed the Brazilian [...]

We’ve been writing about algae fuel for over a year here at Energy Refuge, so we were pleased to read this report saying that this fledgling industry has been expanding at a steady pace. The claim is based on the number of participants at the recent Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle (October 23-24), which doubled [...]

I’ve been keeping my thermostat low. 63 degrees low while I am at work and in the evenings. I am getting used to it. But I really haven’t been living at 63 since there has been enough sunlight during the day to keep my house at around 68 - 72. But it is [...]

The Guardian newspaper ran a profile of a fascinating woman living in South London that I thought was well worth clipping. 68-year-old Joan Pick hasn’t flown since 1971, hasn’t driven a car since 1973, she only eats raw vegetarian food, washes her own clothes, walks and jogs everywhere and avoids many other trappings set up [...]

The first of a three-part report produced by researchers at MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research concerning key design issues of proposed ‘cap-and-trade‘ programs that are under consideration in the United States as a way of curbing greenhouse gas emissions found that, based on an examination of the European Union’s system and of [...]

I love lurking around EcoModder.com. It is all about how people modify their cars to increase their miles per gallon. They make cars more aerodynamic, they change how their cruise control works, they even invent cool truck caps. But should it stop there?

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today said that it “looks forward to working with President-elect Barack Obama and Congress on a new energy policy agenda that will encourage continued investment in this affordable, reliable and renewable resource”. The sector has posted its fourth record year in a row, despite the financial crisis.

I just got the latest Costco Household Almanac. Each article in their “Almanac” is an advertisement. The one that got my goat was the one titled “The benefits of bottled water” sponsored by Nestle Waters. There are six different labels on Nestle Waters: Poland Springs, Arrowhead, Ozarka, Deep Park, Ice Mountain and Zephyrills. Here [...]

From the Newsweek teaser on the 2008 presidential race, The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, “I don’t consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, [...]

I was thrilled to follow the American presidential election this week. A huge turnout, the outpour of emotion … it was quite moving to see all citizens swept up by the energy of political renovation. Speaking of energy, what does the new political scenario mean for the renewable energy sector? Enter Renewable Energy World with [...]