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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

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has teamed up with Discovery and the Siemens Foundation to launch a new initiative called the "Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge." The initiative calls on K-12 students to develop green solutions for their schools, homes, and communities. The initiative comprises several components, including introducing students to concepts in sustainability, educating students on environmental issues, building up STEM skills, and, eventually, connecting students with scientists to tackle environmental challenges through real-world projects.

"CarbonCulture is a new initiative started by More Associates for organisations that want to get really good at saving energy and carbon. Structured as a social enterprise, CarbonCulture exists to help all its members find the best 'moves' they can make to save energy and carbon. CarbonCulture will spread that knowledge amongst the membership so we can all get better at saving as quickly and as cheaply as possible. We've been working for some time with pioneers DECC and Defra to design strategies to achieve initial savings." http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/decc http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/dcms http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/cabinet-office http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/defra http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/fco http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/hmrc http://www.carbonculture.net/orgs/hm-treasury

New policies include: adjusting the federal production tax credit (PTC) to make it more effective in the midst of the current economic downturn and extending it for a longer term (it expires at the end of 2009); establishing a national renewable electricity standard (RES) with a target of generating at least 25% of the nation's electricity from renewables by 2025, and a near-term target of 10% by 2012 (a Washington Post poll in early December found that 84% of Americans support such a standard); legislation and initiatives to develop a high-voltage interstate transmission "highway" for renewable energy; and strong national climate change legislation.

They put a positive spin on this finding, suggesting that there's more thermal energy for home and residential heat-pump systems to tap, and that this energy will displace the use of fossil fuels. Hardly something to cheer about, however, given the initial causes of the warming.

Six page article from 2003 provides an in depth discussion on existing and Future Nuclear Systems:  "In Response to the difficulties in achieving sustainability, a sufficiently high degree of safety and a competitive economic basis for nuclear power, the U.S. Department of Energy initiated the Generation IV program in 1999. Generation IV refers to the broad division of nuclear designs into four categories: early prototype reactors (Generation I), the large central station nuclear power plants of today (Generation II), the advanced lightwater reactors and other systems with inherent safety features that have been designed in recent years (Generation III), and the next-generation systems to be designed and built two decades from now (Generation IV) [see box on opposite page]. By 2000 international interest in the Generation IV project had resulted in a nine-country coalition that includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S. Participating states are mapping out and collaborating on the research and development of future nuclear energy systems."

By 2020, algae-based biofuels may be 'a commercial reality', but not to the extent to make a difference within this timeframe.

A major new research, development and demonstration initiative called the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) aims to cut the cost of offshore wind energy by 10% or more through a combination of wind farm cost reductions and performance improvements. It will focus on the short to medium-term, covering key topics related to wind farm design, construction and operation

I spend most of my day meeting and talking to companies in the cleantech sector. And those of you who know me know I have opinions on who is doing it right, and who is doing it wrong. So I thought it was about time to initiate the Cleantech Blog Power 10 Ranking of cleantech companies doing it right. Eligibility for inclusion in the ranking requires meeting a 6 point test.

BERKELEY, CA - The Energy Biosciences Institute, the world's largest public/private consortium dedicated to the application of biosciences to the energy sector, has announced an initial set of 49 research projects for funding during the first year of EBI's 10-year program

KEMA, in partnership with the civil engineering firm Bureau Lievense and technology illustrators Rudolph and Robert Das, has developed an "Energy Island" concept to store power generated from an offshore wind farm. The concept design is the initial result of an on-going feasibility study being conducted for Dutch energy companies.

"The big barrier here, as with any new technology, is that electric utilities are very conservative...Now we're overcoming that obstacle with initial installations, which are relatively short runs but this superconductor pipeline is much grander in scale," he said. In practice, the cables would be placed underground, as gas pipelines are, and have nitrogen cooling stations every seven or eight miles. Fredette said the technology is feasible but would likely need some sort of loan guarantee from U.S. government to test the system in the field.

A new state energy plan released Tuesday calls for more conservation, more use of renewable sources such as solar and wind power, a tougher New York building code and a disclosure requirement for a building's utility usage when it's sold. Gov. David Paterson said the plan he accepted from the State Energy Planning Board provides the blueprint for a continuing transition to a clean energy economy over the next decade. Initiatives for 2010 include the building sale disclosure and removing loopholes that have limited the effectiveness of the state's energy code. Both require legislative action. Others include procuring 100 megawatts more of solar energy statewide and requesting bids for an offshore Long Island wind project.

A new state energy plan released Tuesday calls for more conservation, more use of renewable sources such as solar and wind power, a tougher New York building code and a disclosure requirement for a building's utility usage when it's sold. Gov. David Paterson said the plan he accepted from the State Energy Planning Board provides the blueprint for a continuing transition to a clean energy economy over the next decade. Initiatives for 2010 include the building sale disclosure and removing loopholes that have limited the effectiveness of the state's energy code. Both require legislative action. Others include procuring 100 megawatts more of solar energy statewide and requesting bids for an offshore Long Island wind project.

"Mexican government's Special 2010-2012 Climate Change Program. * Quintana Roo Governor Félix González Canto has announced plans to install 25,507 high-efficiency GE LED street lights in the town of Othón P. Blanco * The pioneering initiative represents the largest LED street lighting installation in Latin America, saving the town 51% on energy "

Fourteen California counties and 126 cities launched the nation's largest PACE program, an innovative financing tool to help commercial property owners reduce their buildings' energy and water use, under the auspices of California's largest state...