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"The objective of this study is to:  compile the available recent literature on ILUC emissions;  compare these emissions with the assumed gains of biofuels;  assess how ILUC changes the carbon balance of using biofuels;  formulate policies to avoid these extra emissions associated with ILUC. Trends in land use, with and without biofuels All the studies on global agricultural markets reviewed predict that new arable land will be required to meet future global demand for food and feed. Although there will be increased productivity on current arable land (intensification), food and feed demand will probably grow faster, which means that mobilization of new land is likely to occur. Biofuels produced from crops (the current mainstream practice) will add extra demand for crops like wheat, rice, maize, rapeseed and palm oil. This will increase prices for these crops (as well as for land) and lead to two impacts: intensification of agricultural production and conversion of forests and grasslands to arable land. In this report we consider the issue of indirect land use change initiated by EU biofuels policy and seek to answer the following questions:  What is the probability of biofuels policies initiating land use changes?  What greenhouse gas emissions may result from indirect land use change, expressed as a factor in the mathematical relation given above?  What technical measures can be applied and what policy measures adopted to limit or entirely mitigate indirect land use change and the associated greenhouse gas emissions? We first (Chapter 2) broadly discuss the mechanism of indirect land use change. We next discuss why there is a perception among stakeholders that there is a serious risk that EU biofuels policy will initiate indirect land use change (Chapter 3) and consider the figures cited by other studies as an indication of the magnitude the associated greenhouse gas emissions  (Chapter 4). We then broadly consid

"It is wrong to burn the food of the poor to drive the cars of the rich."

global threats NEW! Investigating Food-Borne Illness an interview with Robert Tauxe Airborne Disease Control by Wladyslaw Jan Kowalski The Spread of Dengue Fever an interview with Duane J. Gubler The Evolution of Emerging Viruses an interview with Eddie Holmes Biomedical and Biodefense Uses for Ricin an interview with Ellen Vitetta Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: A Global Problem an interview with Stephen S. Morse Plant Genebanks: Food Security by Geoffrey C. Hawtin and Jeremy Cherfas Agricultural Bioterrorism by Radford G. Davis Microbes: What They Do & How Antibiotics Change Them by Maura Meade-Callahan

Early comprehensive life cycle assessments (LCA's) that compared biofuels with fossil fuels already appeared in the beginning of the eighties. Since then the public, scientific and political interest in biofuels has continuously grown and the number of biofuels and assessed parameters has increased.At the same time, the methodology for this type of assessment has improved with certain aspects of the approach having come up by and by a process which still continues today. Several issues related to the land use currently stand in the centre of expert discussions. Keywords: Environmental assessment; Biofuels; Transport; Land use assessment; Fossil fuels Article Outline 1. Objective, scope and background 2. Procedure 3. Results: comparison of biofuels and fossil fuels 3.1. Biofuels from agriculture compared to fossil fuels and against each other 3.2. Biofuels from residues compared to fossil fuels and against each other 4. Results: land use aspects 5. Conclusions and outlook 5.1. Competing land use 5.2. Competing biomass usages

Earth Eats is a weekly radio program and podcast exploring local food and sustainable agriculture with recipes you can make at home.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Agriculture and Energy held a press conference yesterday about the Obama administration's proposal to increase research on biofuels and stimulate their commercialization. The Energy and Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 mandates that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels be produced by 2022.

"Fueling local economies and soil regeneration: Biofuels and biochar production for energy self-sufficiency and agricultural sustainability Our project combines engineering, social science, and environmental science to advance knowledge in producing biofuels and biochar from local biomass, and analyze its feasability and impact in a rural African context. "

The BioEnergy Center will generate eight million gallons of third-generation bioethanol each year from renewable biomass including yard, wood, agricultural and vegetative wastes. The Center will also generate six megawatts of renewable electricity. The facility will be the first to use INEOS Bio's advanced BioEnergy technology, the world's leading feedstock flexible technology for advanced biofuels. The technology breaks the link between food crops and ethanol production. At the heart of the INEOS Bio technology is a patented anaerobic fermentation step, through which naturally occurring bacteria convert gases derived directly from biomass into bioethanol.

Driving south out of the agricultural town of Ainsworth, you can't miss its newest crop: wind turbines, three dozen of them, with steel stalks 230 feet high and petal-like blades 131 feet long, sprouting improbably from the sand hills of north-central Nebraska, beside ruminating cattle. Though painted gray, the turbines stand out against the evening backdrop of battleship-colored thunderclouds and bear an almost celestial whiteness when day's light is right. Airplane pilots can spot them from far away, and rarely does a bird make their unfortunate acquaintance. The sound of 8.5-ton blades, three to a turbine, turning and turning, only enhances their almost supernatural presence. Standing at the base of a turbine's stalk, you hear a whistling whoosh - whuh ... whuh ... whuh - as steady summer winds come like the breath of gods to toy with pinwheel amusements.

Scientists at the Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University in Maharashtra, India, say solar-powered water heating systems are the most efficient use of solar energy, providing a payback of two years and a lifespan of 20.

Researchers working with sensors for trees and grape vineyards reveal promise for improving efficiency and reducing resource costs in agriculture.

M-Farm service helps small-scale farmers get price information that will help them know where to get the best deal for their products through their mobile phones