Biomass

EU study: clean energy costs no more in long run

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DON MELVIN
EU study: clean energy costs no more in long run
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BRUSSELS (AP) — A report issued Thursday says the European Union can cut its emissions of greenhouse gases dramatically by 2050 without spending any more money — and even, perhaps, saving a bit.

That estimate is based on an assessment that the new plants and equipment needed to switch to the generation of clean energy would cost more than continued reliance on fossil fuels, but that the clean energy itself would cost less.

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Cars And People Compete For Grain

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Lester R. Brown

At a time when excessive pressures on the earth’s land and water resources are of growing concern, there is a massive new demand emerging for cropland to produce fuel for cars—one that threatens world food security. Although this situation had been developing for a few decades, it was not until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when oil prices jumped above $60 a barrel and U.S. gasoline prices climbed to $3 a gallon, that the situation came into focus. Suddenly investments in U.S.

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U.S. Feeds One Quarter Of Its Grain To Cars While Hunger Is On The Rise

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The 107 million tons of grain that went to U.S. ethanol distilleries in 2009 was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels. More than a quarter of the total U.S. grain crop was turned into ethanol to fuel cars last year. With 200 ethanol distilleries in the country set up to transform food into fuel, the amount of grain processed has tripled since 2004.

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