It may well be that both types of approaches are needed to grapple with the climate crisis that is upon us. Read more >
Biofuel
When developed from the right sources, biofuels provide a clean-burning alternative to oil. Our experts explore the complexities of biofuels and their role in the future of fuel.
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Latest Biofuel Posts
Can Trees, Oceans and Giant Carbon Sucking Machines Save Us from Climate Catastrophe?
Angela Anderson, Director, Climate & Energy
July 8, 2019 9:37 AM EDT
Photo: Alaska Airlines
Washington State Tackles Transportation Emissions
Jeremy Martin, Senior scientist
March 7, 2019 11:00 AM EDT
The climate crisis demands an immediate response on multiple fronts, and while in Washington DC the Trump administration is attempting to reverse the progress of the last administration, in Washington state legislators are tackling the challenge head on.
Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt dramatically scaled back federal biofuels policy by exempting many refineries from their compliance obligations. Photo: WClarke/Wikimedia Commons
Unwinding the Perverse Arithmetic of Scott Pruitt’s Small Refinery Exemptions to the RFS
Jeremy Martin, Senior scientist
July 25, 2018 10:12 AM EDT
Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is gone, but the messes he created will be with us for a long time. His approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) took an already complicated policy and turned it upside down. Here, we untangle the opaque way Pruitt rigged the system for his fossil fuel friends and what this means for the ongoing RFS rulemaking.
Cyanobacteria-Based Biofuel: an Innovative Platform for Clean Energy Production
Viji Sitther, Behnam Tabatabai, Somayeh Gharaie Fathabad, UCS Science Network, UCS
January 30, 2018 4:46 PM EDT
Burning fossil fuels is a major driver of climate change with more than two billion tons of carbon dioxide released annually, leading to increased frequency of natural disasters and health concerns. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources is a key strategy to mitigate this harm.
Molecular biologist Z. Lewis Liu (foreground) and technician Scott Weber add a new yeast strain to a corncob mix to test the yeast’s effectiveness in fermenting ethanol from plant sugars. Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) CC-BY-2.0 (Flickr)
Pruitt Steps Up His Attack on Biofuel Policies
Jeremy Martin, Senior scientist
October 19, 2017 10:48 AM EDT
In late September, the EPA Administrator Pruitt stunned the biofuels world by releasing a rulemaking document (called a Notice of Data Availability or NODA) suggesting he planned to cut more deeply into the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) 2018 targets for advanced biofuels and biodiesel than had been previously indicated. Read more >
