How much renewable biomass can the United States produce each year to meet its future bioenergy needs? Enough to displace 30 percent of its current petroleum use by 2030.
NEWS: US Dpt. of Energy Releases Report on U.S. Biomass Supply Potential Read More »
The world’s established forests remove 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon per year from the atmosphere — equivalent to one third of current annual fossil fuel emissions — according to new research published in the journal Science.
NEWS: Forests Absorb One Third of Fossil Fuel Emission, Study Finds Read More »
Sustainable forestry practices that provide timber for the building trades can help mitigate the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a new study found.
One reason is younger trees absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere than mature trees. Another is that cutting trees after their CO2 absorption rates taper provides building materials that can be used instead of steel and concrete, which are created in processes that emit large quantities of CO2.
Can growing trees for fuel actually cut down CO2 emissions? Read More »
“Many people believe that wood energy is a main driver for deforestation, though deforestation and forest degradation at a global level is rather a consequence of conversion of the forests for agricultural purposes such as large scale productions for pasture, oil palms, soy beans, or for subsistence production,” Florian Steierer, forestry officer of wood energy at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
NEWS: Clean cookstoves promote sustainability of local resources Read More »
African countries hoping to cash in on the $100 billion carrot being dangled by climate change negotiators for adaptation and mitigation in the developing world will first have to figure out how to sustainably provide energy to the more than 90% of people in sub-Sahara that depend on wood and charcoal for cooking and heating.
Yo, African countries: Don’t count your billions before they hatch. Read More »
* Experts in Congo for talks on saving big three forests * Poor countries need incentives to save forest By Jonny Hogg GEMENA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 31 (Reuters) “Environmental experts from 35 countries were meeting in the Congo Republic, DRC’s smaller neighbour, on Tuesday for a week-long summit seeking ways to protect
NEWS: Congo’s poor need incentives to save giant forests Read More »
When it comes to “clean cookstoves,” to paraphrase a former US president, “it depends what your definition of the word “clean” is…
Researchers warn that East African plants that could cure malaria could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.
A new book by scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre, “Common Antimalarial Trees and Shrubs of East Africa,” identifies 22 tree and shrub species that traditional healers in East Africa use to fight the disease.
But, the researchers say, they are being cut down for cooking fuel and other uses and could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.
Unsustainable woodfuel consumption and public health Read More »
We’ve focused before on Haiti‘s complete dependence on charcoal as a primary fuel and the impact this has had on the country’s environment.
The UK newspaper The Guardian recently ran a slideshow of powerful photos depicting aspects of the country’s charcoal trade.
The images are a profound reminder of the link between poverty, energy needs, and the environment.
Photo essay: Of Haiti, charcoal, and energy poverty Read More »
From WASHupdate: Combined Household Water Treatment and Indoor Air Pollution Projects in Urban Mambanda, Cameroon and Rural Nyanza, Kenya, 2011– WHO.
The positive experience from these two projects concerning the apparently clear benefits of delivering household water treatment and household energy interventions in an integrated way has important implications for future programs. Specifically, the key strategic question is whether integrated delivery should be the norm, rather than, as at present, the exception and only seen in a few innovative projects.
NEWS: The case for combining water treatment & clean cookstoves Read More »
NEWS: The New York Times. 4/15/2011. “On Friday, the departments of Agriculture and Energy announced that up to $30 million would go toward supporting research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy and “high-value biobased products” over the next three to four years.”
NEWS: U.S. Expands Biomass Research Read More »
NEWS: Indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood and charcoal to either sell or for domestic use is a routine for most locals in Ghana.
At the same time it’s a major contributing factor eating up the forests.
About 69 percent of all urban households use charcoal for cooking and heating and the annual per capita consumption is around 180 kg. The total annual consumption is about 700,000 tons, 30 percent of which is consumed in the capital Accra, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Foreign investment to protect Ghana forest not keeping up w destruction Read More »
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