Internationaal Nieuws

US Study Sees Threat From Big-Particle Pollutants

goedele — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:58:12 +0200

On days when there is a lot of dust and other large-particle pollutants in the air, slightly more elderly people go to hospital emergency rooms with heart problems, US researchers said on Tuesday.

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Indonesia Adopts Stringent "Green" Palm Oil Standard

goedele — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:22:53 +0200

JAKARTA - Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, plans to take firm measures aimed at ensuring palm oil firms meet stringent standards before labelling their products as eco-friendly, an industry watchdog said on Wednesday.

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Ozone levels last summer lowest in a decade

goedele — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:20:58 +0200

High concentrations of ozone in Europe were lower during the summer of 2007 than any other year in the past decade, according to the latest data unveiled by the European Environment Agency's technical report 'Air pollution by ozone across Europe during summer 2007'. In contrast to the same season in 2006, the threshold of 180 µg/m3 was not exceeded in northern Europe.

The highest one-hour ozone concentration of 479 µg/m3 was observed in Sicily, Italy, followed by 363 µg/m3 in Romania.

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New American air quality standards focus on public health

goedele — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:54:47 +0200

The US Environmental Protection Agency has significantly strengthened its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, the primary component of smog. These changes will improve both public health protection and the protection of sensitive trees and plants. Based on its review of the air quality criteria for ozone (O3) and related photochemical oxidants and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for O3, EPA is making revisions to the primary and secondary NAAQS for O3 to provide requisite protection of public health and welfare, respectively.

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Commission launches consultation to prepare an EU Offshore Wind Energy Action Plan

goedele — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:06:03 +0200

The European Commission is inviting investors, project developers, wind turbine manufacturers, energy companies, government services, environmental NGOs and all other interested stakeholders, including the general public, to help identify the key barriers for the further development of offshore wind energy in Europe and what might be done to overcome them.

On 23 January 2008 the Commission made a far-reaching package of energy and climate change related proposals including a draft directive to promote renewable energy and increase its share to 20% by 2020.

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Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'

goedele — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:17:01 +0200

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco

Scientists in the US have presented one of the most dramatic forecasts yet for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice.

Their latest modelling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years.

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Solarbuzz Reports World Solar Photovoltaic Market Growth of 62% in 2007

goedele — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:46:50 +0200

2007 WORLD PV INDUSTRY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

World solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations reached a record high of 2,826 megawatts (MW) in 2007, representing growth of 62% over the previous year.

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Colourful idea sparks renewable electricity from paint

goedele — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:32:18 +0200

Dr Dave Worsley, a Reader in the Materials Research Centre at the University's School of Engineering, is investigating ways of painting solar cells onto the flexible steel surfaces commonly used for cladding buildings.

"We have been collaborating with the steel industry for decades," explains Dr Worsely, "but have tended to focus our attention on improving the long-term durability and corrosion-resistance of the steel. We haven't really paid much attention to how we can make the outside of the steel capable of doing something other than looking good.

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Airline Industry Aims For 'Carbon Neutral Growth'

goedele — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:54:02 +0200

Aircraft makers, airlines, airports and air traffic controllers pledged on Tuesday to work towards "carbon-neutral growth" and reduce their industry's contribution to global warming.

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Greenhouse gas emission becomes renewable energy production

goedele — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:19:20 +0200

Recent studies indicate that a landfill methane emission reduction in the order of 4 million tonnes of methane per year can largely become available for energy production. A reduction of 81 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year is possible in Europe. This emission reduction can be achieved by applying proven landfill gas control technology and promoting bioreactor technology for landfill of biodegradable waste.

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Six success stories on improving environmental performance of road transport in Europe

goedele — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:21:27 +0200

Europe's road transport has made a clear contribution to economic growth, but its environmental performance is still unacceptable. Traffic congestion, poorer air quality, noise and in particular greenhouse gas emissions are some of the key challenges effectively addressed by six initiatives identified by the European Environment Agency as success stories. Such measures should also be implemented elsewhere, but to reach intermediate and long-term climate change targets, transport demand has to be addressed as well.

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Climate change: Continued momentum needed as formal negotiations on new UN climate agreement get under way

goedele — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:25:54 +0200

The European Union will be pressing for solid progress when formal negotiations to draw up a new United Nations climate change agreement start on 31 March in Bangkok, Thailand. The week-long meeting marks the first negotiating session since the UN climate conference in Bali last December decided to conclude the agreement by the end of 2009. The new agreement is intended to take effect once the Kyoto Protocol's targets for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries have expired in 2012.

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New €80 million fund to boost energy efficiency and renewables in the fight against climate change in developing countries.

goedele — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:28:20 +0200

The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF)

As part of its initiatives to fight against climate change, the European Commission has launched a fund, the GEEREF, to mobilise private investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in developing countries and economies in transition. Targeted at small scale projects, the Commission will kick-start the fund with a contribution of up to €80million over the next four years.

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Wind farms and tourism 'compatible'

goedele — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:52:18 +0100

Harnessing Scotland's renewables potential will have minimal impact on the growth of Scotland's tourism industry, according to research published.

Three quarters of tourists surveyed for the study into the Economic Impacts of Wind Farms on Scottish Tourism felt wind farms had a positive or neutral effect on the landscape. 97 per cent of tourists in the sample said wind farms would have no impact on their decision to visit Scotland again.

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European Parliament: Global energy efficiency and renewable energy

goedele — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:54:07 +0100

Parliament adopted a report which welcomes the Commission's proposal for a Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF). The report stresses that the key objectives of the fund should be the promotion of energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable energies, the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases and of other risks, the improvement of access to energy services in the poorest countries and the diversification of energy sources in the developing world.

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EU Environment Committee insists on banning mercury imports and exports by 2010

goedele — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:56:42 +0100

The ban on mercury imports and exports should be brought forward to 1 December 2010, says the Environment Committee. The Council had rejected most of Parliament's first-reading amendments to a draft regulation on the banning of exports and the safe storage of metallic mercury, but at Wednesday's second reading, the committee voted to reinstate most of them and repeated Parliament's call for a mercury import ban and stricter rules on storage.

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Britain and France to take nuclear power to the world

goedele — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:26:54 +0100

Britain and France are to sign a deal to construct a new generation of nuclear power stations and export the technology around the world in an effort to combat climate change.

The pact is to be announced at the "Arsenal summit" next week when prime ministers Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy will meet at the Emirates stadium in north London.

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Envisat makes first ever observation of regionally elevated CO2 from manmade emissions

goedele — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:29:28 +0100

Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard ESA's Envisat environmental satellite, scientists have for the first time detected regionally elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide - the most important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming - originating from manmade emissions.

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Nederlandse gasrotonde loopt gevaar

goedele — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:06:59 +0100

In het maartnummer van het Energiebeurs Bulletin is Cyrill Widdershoven, adviseur van Capgemini Consulting Services, buitengewoon somber over de toekomst van de Nederlandse gassector.

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China's hunger for natural resources is causing more problems at home than abroad

goedele — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:35:17 +0100

Source: The Economist

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Climate Change Will Have a Significant Impact on Transportation Infrastructure and Operations

goedele — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:01:20 +0100

While every mode of transportation in the U.S. will be affected as the climate changes, potentially the greatest impact on transportation systems will be flooding of roads, railways, transit systems, and airport runways in coastal areas because of rising sea levels and surges brought on by more intense storms, says a new report from the National Research Council.

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Australia's Ratification of Kyoto Climate Protocol Formalized

goedele — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:05:04 +0100

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's ratification of the emissions-limiting Kyoto Protocol came into force today, leaving the U.S. as the only major developed country rejecting the accord.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who won office in November with a pledge to ratify the treaty, said Australia now had a ``seat at the table'' on global efforts to tackle climate change.

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The environment at the heart of Europe's concerns

goedele — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:44:25 +0100

Protection of the environment forms an integral part of the renewed Lisbon strategy, which aims to make the European economy the most competitive and dynamic in the world. Updating this strategy will be one of the main subjects of discussion at the European Summit on 13 and 14 March. The Environment Council held on 3 March adopted conclusions on the environment which will be presented as a contribution to the European Council.

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Halting the decline in biodiversity by 2010

goedele — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:45:30 +0100

At its meeting in Brussels on 3 March 2008, the Environment Council adopted conclusions with a view to the ninth ordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held from 19 to 30 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany, preceded by a meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, from 12 to 16 May.

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European research shows that hydrogen energy could reduce oil consumption in road transport by 40% by 2050

goedele — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:02:42 +0100

A scientific project funded by the EU's research programme has found that introducing hydrogen into the energy system would reduce the total oil consumption by the road transport sector by 40% between now and 2050. By taking a leading position in the worldwide market for hydrogen technologies, Europe can open new economic opportunities and strengthen its competitiveness. But the analysis also states that transition won't happen automatically.

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New York City's Black Taxis Going Green

goedele — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:57:14 +0100

New York City unveiled new fuel emissions standards for the city's 10,000 black taxis on Wednesday that will compel the town car owners to switch to hybrid technology within five years.

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47229/story.htm

U.S. tells Europe it's open to binding deal on climate

goedele — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:22:24 +0100

A senior White House official outlined a new tactic to prove to a skeptical Europe that the Bush administration supported reaching a meaningful climate agreement, saying for the first time that the United States could enter into a binding pact that could be tailored to the capabilities of individual countries.

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Renewable Energy Accelerates Meteoric Rise

goedele — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:23:37 +0100

The renewable energy industry is stepping up its meteoric rise into the mainstream of the energy sector, according to the REN21 Renewables 2007 Global Status Report. Renewable energy production capacities are growing rapidly as a result of more countries enacting far-reaching policies.

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Besluit van de Vlaamse Regering tot vaststelling van de voorwaarden als ambtenaar van ruimtelijke ordening

Isabelle — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:36:09 +0100

VLAAMSE OVERHEID

1 FEBRUARI 2008. - Besluit van de Vlaamse Regering tot wijziging van het besluit van de Vlaamse Regering van 19 mei 2000 tot vaststelling van de voorwaarden waaraan personen moeten voldoen om als ambtenaar van ruimtelijke ordening te kunnen worden aangesteld

De Vlaamse Regering,
Gelet op het decreet van 18 mei 1999 houdende de organisatie van de ruimtelijke ordening, inzonderheid op artikel 16;

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Leading soil scientists showcase new Digital Soil Mapping

goedele — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:10:56 +0100

Leading soil scientists today showcased important new techniques for
measuring soil degradation and fertility and called for greater global recognition of the critical role soil plays in determining the health of the planet, affecting a range of the Earth's ‘vital signs' ranging from food production to flood prevention and management.

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China joins search of fusion energy

goedele — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:01:50 +0100

The ITER project is currently the world's most ambitious project to date; it aims to build a fusion device the likes of which has never been seen before. The scale of the project precludes its undertaking by one country alone. Therefore, the European Union along with six other countries have combined their efforts to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. And now China is further cementing its role as a partner in the project by contributing around 10 billion yuan (EUR 955.3 million) to the vision.

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Back from Davos, Esty sees rise of greener free market

goedele — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:16:10 +0100

Global business leaders, who convened last month in Davos, Switzerland, are beginning to see the green in going green.

The free market — for so long the source of environmental damage — has emerged as a promising agent of environmental protection in the 21st century, said Dan Esty, a joint professor of environmental law and policy at the Law School and the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

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Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system

goedele — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:17:40 +0100

Anthropogenic forcing could push the Earth's climate system past critical thresholds, so that important components may "tip" into qualitatively different modes of operation.

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Electricity from a thin film

goedele — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:51:12 +0100

Teams of researchers all over the world are working on the development of organic solar cells.

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Biofuels may threaten environment, U.N. warns

goedele — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:05:14 +0100

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The world's rush to embrace biofuels is causing a spike in the price of corn and other crops and could worsen water shortages and force poor communities off their land, a U.N. official said Wednesday.

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Wind energy leads EU power installations in 2007, but national growth is inconsistent

goedele — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:33:16 +0100

In 2007 wind capacity grew more in Europe than any other power-generating technology*, an increase driven by Spain. Statistics released today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show that the installed capacity of wind power increased by 18% last year to reach a level of 56,535 MW (Megawatts). Despite this, some EU countries did not grow as expected. The total capacity of new wind turbines brought on line across the European Union last year was 8,554 MW, an increase of 935 MW on the 2006 total.

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21st century water management: Calculating with the unknown

goedele — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:40:52 +0100

Climate change is making a central assumption of water management obsolete: Water-resource risk assessment and planning are currently based on the notion that factors such as precipitation and streamflow fluctuate within an unchanging envelope of variability. But anthropogenic change of Earth's climate is altering the means and extremes of these factors so that this paradigm of stationarity no longer applies, researchers report in the latest issue of "Science".

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Dirty London Launches Low Emission Zone for Lorries

goedele — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:09:13 +0100

London will become a 'low emission zone' on Monday, when transport officials launch a campaign to cut traffic pollution and improve the capital's air quality, the worst in Britain and among the poorest in Europe.

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/46748/story.htm

Russia sets rules for carbon credits

goedele — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:44:24 +0100

Russia's government set the rules needed for businesses to start trading carbon credits earned by cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, creating a market that may be worth more than $1.5 billion a year. "The necessary framework is in place as of today,'' Vsevolod Gavrilov, the deputy head of the Economy
Ministry's natural resources department, told reporters in Moscow on Monday.

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Nature conservation can be big business

goedele — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:47:14 +0100

Nature conservation can be big business

By : Jaswinder Kaur

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Top EU ecology expert wants global warming Marshall plan

goedele — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:59:06 +0100

Jacqueline McGlade, the EU's chief environment expert, believes Europe needs a Marshall plan of investment - up to several percentage points of GDP per year - to reduce the vulnerability to climate change.
Europe also must lead by example on global warming, especially in reducing the use of coal and encouraging action in the developing world, the head of the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency (EEA) told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an exclusive interview.

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Scientists warn of rising Mediterranean Sea level

goedele — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:28:47 +0100

If current trends continue, the Mediterranean Sea level could rise by up to half a metre in the next 50 years, with catastrophic consequences for coastal areas, Spanish scientists have warned.The Mediterranean Sea level has been increasing "between 2.5 and 10 millimetres per year since the 1990s and if the trend continues, the level of the Sea will rise between 12.5 centimetres and a half a metre in next the 50 years," argue the authors of a study entitled 'Climate Change in the Spanish Mediterranean', published on 18 January 2008.
The authors reveal that the ra

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Agriculture Ministers reach a Political Agreement on Cross-Compliance

goedele — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:13:28 +0100

At the first meeting of the EU Council under Slovenia's Presidency the agriculture ministers reached a political agreement on changes in cross-compliance. "I am very satisfied with today's meeting since it involved a constructive and intensive debate. At the end, a compromise proposal of the Presidency was adopted and thereby a political agreement on changes in cross-compliance implementation," said Minister Jarc after the meeting.

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The Climate Challenge. Same as it Ever Was?

goedele — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:35:50 +0100

The Climate Challenge. Same as it Ever Was?

By Andrew C. Revkin

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Amazon Deforestation Surging Again - Scientist

goedele — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:46:05 +0100

The rise raises questions over Brazil's assertion that its environmental policies are effectively protecting the world's biggest rain forest, whose destruction is a major source of carbon emissions that drive global warming.
"I think the last four months is a big concern for the government and now they are sending people to do more law enforcement," Carlos Nobre, a scientist with Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, told a seminar in Washington.

"But I can tell you that it (deforestation) is going to be much higher than 2007."

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Norway Says Aims to Go Carbon Neutral by 2030

goedele — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:52:25 +0100

The new target was set when the Labour-led coalition government reached agreement with three opposition parties to bring the goal forward from 2050.
The government said last year that Norway would aim to cut net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to nil by 2050 by reducing emissions at home and investing abroad in environmental projects that will give Norway CO2 reduction credits.

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Air Pollution at Historic Highs in China's Guangdong

goedele — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:41:57 +0100

China's industrial heartland of Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, recorded an average of 75.7 days of haze in 2007, the highest level since the Communists came to power in 1949 and a "marked increase" over normal years, according to a new report released by Guangdong's meteorological bureau, Xinhua said.
The report found the industrial heartland of the Pearl River Delta, whose factories have powered China's export growth, fared the worst.

Provincial blackspots included Enping with 240 hazy days and Dongguan with 213, Xinhua added.

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Antarctica Lost More Ice in Last 10 Years - Study

goedele — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:31:46 +0100

The ice melted from two particular parts of the southern continent, according to Eric Rignot and colleagues, who wrote about the phenomenon in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Using satellites to monitor most of Antarctica's coastline, the scientists estimate that West Antarctica lost 132 billion tonnes of ice in 2006, compared to about 83 billion tonnes in 1996. The Antarctic Peninsula, which stretches toward South America, lost about 60 billion tonnes in 2006.

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New nuclear plants get go-ahead

goedele — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:44:50 +0100

Business Secretary John Hutton told MPs they would give a "safe and affordable" way of securing the UK's future energy supplies while fighting climate change.
He said any plants would be built at or near existing reactors by private firms and said he hoped the first one would be completed "well before 2020".

Critics say new reactors will be expensive, dirty and dangerous.

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Switchgrass Fuel Yields Bountiful Energy: Study

goedele — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:43:04 +0100

Switchgrass, a crop touted by venture capitalists and environmentalists alike as a next-generation ethanol feedstock, yields about five times more energy than it takes to grow it, making the plant a far more efficient fuel source than corn, a new study said.

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