Blog
Bioenergy in the Draft American Power Act
Bioenergy has long been presented as the sustainable alternative to crude oil and natural gas. Though science suggests that bioenergy is unsustainable and has the potential to cause severe ecological damage, Congress has promoted bioenergy as the best alternative to our current dependence on foreign oil. The draft American Power Act (APA) is no different. It encourages unsustainable bioenergy production while also weakening current law that prevents deforestation. The draft American Power Act, if enacted, would result in global warming pollution and biodiversity loss. Read More
Resources for Journalists: Our Growing Addiction to Dirty Oil from Canada’s Tar Sands
In the wake of the drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, public support for more drilling is sinking and politicians are looking for alternatives to offshore oil. The resources linked to below are designed to assist journalists in covering one dangerous energy alternative that oil industry giants like BP are promoting: Canada’s tar sands. Read More
Friends of the Earth Sues, Petitions EPA on Failure to Regulate Biofuels
The Clean Air Task Force and Friends of the Earth filed both a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals and a petition to EPA to reconsider elements of its recently released regulations on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 amended the RFS, increasing the biofuels mandate to 36 billion gallons to be used by 2022. Read More
Venter’s “living” organism a wake-up call to regulate synthetic biology
On May 20, 2010, the J. Craig Venter Institute announced the creation of the first living organism with an entirely synthetic genome. Venter's lab inserted computer-created synthetic DNA based on the organism's natural DNA into the organism. This organism is now able to self-replicate. Much of the hype around this announcement proclaims that life has been made from scratch, but Venter only created a copy of what nature has created over billions of years. Read More
Dr. Ricardo Navarro discusses impacts of biofuel production and policies on global south
Dr. Ricardo Navarro, president of Friends of the Earth El Salvador (CESTA), stopped by Friends of the Earth U.S. to discuss some of the impacts of biofuel production and policies on the global south. Watch the video below. Read More
Genetic Modification, Pollution and Corn Ethanol
The most popular herbicide in the U.S.is glysophate, which is marketed through several different agribusinesses. Glysophate is called RoundUp by Monsanto. Monsanto is among many agri-giants that have actually genetically engineered corn to be resistant to various herbicides and pests. Monsanto’s product, called RoundUp Ready Corn, can be blanketed in the herbicide but survive, allowing farmers to spray over the entire field, rather than having to make t Read More
How Does Ethanol Contribute to Global Warming?
How does ethanol contribute to global warming? The yellow dots on this map are ethanol plants. They are sources of CO2 emissions, a major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Corn ethanol contributes to global warming through several pathways: Read More
Guide to Biofuels: Glossary
Glossary:Agrofuels another term for biofuels. Fuels made from plants.Biodiesel a blend of diesel and a fuel made from plants.Biofuels – see agrofuels.Biomass – the material used to make biofuels… in the US, the dominant biomass used is corn and in Brazil, it is sugar cane. Other materials can be used, such as switchgrass, beets, sorghum, etc. Read More
Just Say “No” to Offsets
After months of tedious negotiations, Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman last week introduced a draft of their cap-and-trade bill, the American Power Act. The bill pampers the country's worst industrial polluters while eliminating key components of the Clean Air Act. Read More