User login

Who's online

There are currently 5 users and 33 guests online.

Online users

  • stevenl
  • Just another voice
  • oldtimeydave
  • Judith
  • Chia

Support OlyBlog

OlyBlog is run by volunteers who care about Olympia. If you like what we're doing, make a donation:

OlyBlog is powered by:

Who's new

  • shadowclad_warrior
  • Lisa P
  • GRuB
  • ktcoxster
  • making a differ...

    Creative Commons License
 
Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 11/22/2005 - 11:11am.
THE drive for "green energy" in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests. From the orang-utan reserves of Borneo to the Brazilian Amazon, virgin forest is being razed to grow palm oil and soybeans to fuel cars and power stations in Europe and North America. And surging prices are likely to accelerate the destruction.

The rush to make energy from vegetable oils is being driven in part by European Union laws requiring conventional fuels to be blended with biofuels, and by subsidies equivalent to 20 pence a litre. Last week, the British government announced a target for biofuels to make up 5 per cent of transport fuels by 2010. The aim is to help meet Kyoto protocol targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Link
»

Interesting article. I think

Interesting article. I think the dynamics are a bit different in the US, as opposed to Europe:
  • Using biodiesel supports American farmers. The two main sources of biodiesel are soybeans and rapeseed. These crops are grown domestically, so that it helps preserve our nation's rural lands.
  • Biodiesel promotes US energy security. Since these crops are domestic, biodiesel reduces our reliance on foreign oil.
Perhaps we will become an exporter to Europe.
»

Being a fuel exporting nation

Being a fuel exporting nation would certainly be a positive.
»

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is devoted to citizen journalism, including hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. If you care about this community and are tired of corporate media, then this is the place for you.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. Once you've established a record of responsible blogging, you can become an autonomous user. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here.

Now playing at:

Get Firefox!


More Flickr photos tagged with "olympia" and "washington"

OlyBlog is a site for news and discussion about Olympia, Washington.
free hit counter