biofuel news stories on Newser

Scientists Make Seaweed-Fuel Breakthrough

Matt Cantor — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:23:05 CST

Algae-based fuel is a step closer to reality. Scientists in California have genetically modified a microbe so that it can convert seaweed into biofuel, the Guardian reports. "Natural seaweed species grow very fast—10 times faster than normal plants—and are full of sugars, but it has been very difficult...

Alaska Airlines Begins Biofuel Flights

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:25:05 CST

Alaska Airlines’ first biofuel-powered flights took off yesterday, kicking off an expensive trial program designed to improve the airline’s environmental footprint. Passengers on the first two flights—which were to DC and Portland, respectively—received a “Welcome to Greener Skies” flier explaining the program, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The...

Biotech Firm Says It Can Grow Diesel

Rob Quinn — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 07:18:05 CST

A Massachusetts biotech company says it has created an organism capable of radically transforming the energy business—and the world. Joule Unlimited claims its genetically-engineered organism can create diesel fuel or ethanol using only the same ingredients grass needs to grow: sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Skeptics, however, doubt whether...

Al Gore: I Was Wrong About Corn-Based Ethanol

Kevin Spak — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:50:36 CST

Al Gore regrets supporting subsidies for corn-based ethanol when he was in office, he revealed during a speech in Athens yesterday, confessing that he’d done it more to bolster his presidential ambitions than to help the planet. “First generation ethanol I think was a mistake,” Gore said, according to Reuters...

Scots Invent Boozy Biofuel

Emily Rauhala — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:49:49 CDT

Scottish researchers have found a way to turn whisky waste into fuel. A team from Edinburgh Napier University combined two common whisky by-products—'pot ale' and 'draff'—to create a clean fuel that yields 30% more output power than ethanol, reports the BBC . The group hopes, eventually, to make the...

Biofuel Laws Make No Sense: Scientists

Kevin Spak — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:18:51 CDT

Biofuel laws around the world actually encourage harming the environment, prominent scientists argue in the latest issue of Science . Under the Kyoto Treaty, in laws throughout Europe, and in the bill that passed the US House, biofuels count as carbon-neutral, on the theory that the plants the fuel is made...

Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas

Drew Nelles — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:49:02 CDT

Once considered a win-win for the environment and energy independence, America’s biofuel industry is sputtering to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thanks to the recession, lower oil prices, and government delays, two-thirds of American biodiesel refineries—dozens of plants—are idle, and companies across the country are shutting...

Exxon to Invest $600M in Algae-Based Fuel

Matt Cantor — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:37:00 CDT

Exxon Mobil, the biggest oil company in the world, will invest $600 million in turning algae into fuel, the New York Times reports. Known for blowing off concerns about global warming and dismissing biofuels—its CEO famously called ethanol “moonshine”—Exxon Mobil has in fact been researching alternative fuels for...

EPA Eyes Crackdown on Not-So-Green Biofuels

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:24:54 CDT

Plants consume carbon dioxide, so growing corn to produce ethanol should be at worst a zero-sum game, emissions-wise, right? Wrong, says the EPA. There's another factor involved: Turning food crops into fuel drives up their prices, which raises demand for farmland worldwide. In places like Brazil, that means chopping down...