In recent years, we have been encouraged to take on more collective responsibility when it comes to the environment. Mankind has damaged the planet in so many ways over the centuries that it's become vitally important that we look to repair the damage we've already done.
It's become common practice to recycle as much of our household and industrial waste as possible, and every month more and more people are joining this quiet, and much-needed, revolution. Renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and wave, are serious alternatives to fossil fuels these days, too.
The rise in the use of biofuel is perhaps not as well-known, but thanks to some intensive research and development, it is set to play a major part in the fight against environmental damage. It's likely to be a significant source of energy in the coming years, and will become something we're all aware of in the very near future.
Basically, biofuels are obtained from renewable resources, which can include plant and animal by-products. They've become more popular - and necessary, for that matter - because of the rise in oil prices and the need to find an alternative to petrol and diesel. They fall into two main categories.
The first, bioethanol, is developed mainly from sugar and starch crops. It's an alcohol, and can be used to propel vehicles. However, it's currently utilised primarily as an additive to gasoline. It helps to lower dangerous emissions, and is set to become more widely used in the more developed countries.
Biodiesel is perhaps more familiar, and will be even more so in the coming years. It's manufactured from animal fats, recycled grease and vegetable oils. Although, like bioethanol, it can be used to power vehicles, at the moment it's added to diesel in order to make it kinder to the environment.
Both biofuels have been developed as a result of major investment, and will become a credible alternative to the more damaging fuel sources we currently use. They will one day play a major role in industry and in the home, as well as on the country's roads.
More and more countries are recognising the need for implementing the use of biofuels, and many have targets to aim for which, it is hoped, will lead to major reductions in the use of fossil fuels over the coming years.
In the European Union, for example, each member state is expecting that biofuel usage will be at least 5.75% of all traffic fuel used by the year 2010. In 2020, that figure is expected to increase to 10%.
The USA offers tax exemptions for companies that develop biofuel technology, and the country has seen a significant change in attitudes over the last decade. American ethanol fuels are obtained from corn, a major crop that has been harvested for many years.
In recent times, a significant number of governments have developed major environmental programmes, reflecting a growing awareness of the need to protect our planet. Developing usable biofuels is just one of the many initiatives that are helping to make our world a greener one.
More and more governments are making major investments in biofuel technology, which in the next few years will become an increasingly important energy source.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Yates
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Biofuel Can Help the Planet Now and in the Future
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Questions About Biofuels’ Environmental Costs Could Alter Europe’s Policies
BRUSSELS — A top European farm official has suggested that yet-to-be-released studies by the European Commission could be used to “kill” heavily promoted and subsidized biofuels by focusing on their total environmental impact.
The biofuel company Choren Industries, based in Freiberg, Germany, makes clean fuel for vehicles and power generation. The suggestion, written in the margins of internal correspondence seen by The International Herald Tribune, could foreshadow a further retreat from the biofuel-friendly policies that the commission once called crucial in the fight against climate change.
The industry has already been dogged by contentions that the main justification for policies supporting biofuels — that they are greener than fossil-based products — is unsound. Many environmental advocates claim that a large number of fuels grown from crops do not merit public subsidies or production incentives.
European governments agreed in December 2008 that only biofuels that reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent compared with fossil fuels should qualify for meeting the trade bloc’s current goal.
But at the time, the governments directed the commission to investigate indirect land use change and, depending on the findings, to decide whether any changes needed to be made about which biofuels counted toward the goal.
The commission’s studies are intended to determine the volume of emissions created when forest or land is cleared to replace food production lost to biofuel crops. Converting land can release large amounts of greenhouse gases when vegetation is cleared. Plowing also exposes carbon stored in the soil to the air. In the lumbering jargon of emissions experts, these effects are known as indirect land use change, or I.L.U.C.
In a memorandum, Jean-Luc Demarty, the top civil servant in the agriculture department at the European Commission, wrote to a colleague in December that “an unguided use of I.L.U.C. would kill biofuels in the E.U.”
His words suggest that most of the models in the studies used for calculating emissions would rule out fuels made from crops currently produced in the European Union. That, he added in the handwritten note, “is probably the objective” of those who oppose incentives for some forms of biofuels.
Mr. Demarty declined to comment on Thursday, but other officials did not dispute the authenticity of the note. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that a number of biofuels would still meet emissions limits even after land-use changes resulting from increased biofuel demand.
But in the case of corn-based ethanol, the agency said that manufacturers would need to use “advanced efficient technologies” during production to meet American limits.
In Europe, commission officials are seeking to protect influential agricultural and industrial interests while maintaining a credible climate policy.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission, Marlene Holzner, declined to comment on what she termed internal working documents.
A group of environmental activists and lawyers made the European Commission document available to The International Herald Tribune this week. They contend the studies will support the case for using fewer biofuels and want the commission to release them.
Transport and Environment, a nonprofit group based in Brussels, first requested that the studies be released nearly four months ago.
Ms. Holzner said that the request’s “wide scope” meant it was “not possible to check all the relevant material” within the normal deadline for releasing documents. Under European Union rules, the commission has an obligation to respond to information requests, but may not necessarily grant them. Ms. Holzner, however, said a “first batch” of studies should be made available next week.
European governments agreed in December 2008 that only biofuels that reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent compared with fossil fuels should qualify for meeting the trade bloc’s current target.
But at the time, the governments directed the commission to investigate indirect land use change and, depending on the findings, decide whether any changes needed to be made about which biofuels counted toward the target.
Amandine Lecourt, the spokeswoman for the European Biodiesel Board, said negative effects on emissions from indirect land use change were “still unproved.”
By JAMES KANTER
Saturday, February 6, 2010
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Monday, February 1, 2010
Crude Oil Price Forecast Using Technical Analysis
There can be little question that energy costs have profound effects on all areas of the economy. Leading up to the Market top and subsequent crash in 2008, oil prices rose to unprecedented levels. It could be said that rising energy costs has as profound an impact on the economy as the credit default swap scandal.
That said, it would make sense to track and forecast crude oil prices as part of your high level market analysis process. Fortunately, it is perfect legitimate and effective to apply technical analysis techniques to oil prices, making it possible for traders to determine near term price movements in crude.
Using charting software such as stockcharts.com, traders can analyze chart patterns and apply technical indicators to predict the future direction and degree of movement. I recommend utilizing Monthly charts for determining the overall trend of crude, and weekly charts for examining chart patterns and daily charts for confirming pattern breakouts using technical analysis indicators.
One aspect of forecasting oil prices is that crude oil tends to trend, making it very easy to trade profitably. For instance, crude oil has been in a steady uptrend, creating a positive slopped support trendline at points in July, late September, and early December. This is a valid and strong trendline which suggest that crude will continue to rise.
Crude also tends to trade in channels and triangles. A break above or below these pattern lines suggests a large move is coming in crude. As of the writing of this article, crude oil recently crossed above its' 200 day exponential moving average, as well as broke out of the topside of a symmetrical continuation triangle. With little resistance overhead, it is quite reasonable that crude oil will continue to rise from it's current price of $83 / barrel, to over $96 per barrel.
As a technical trader, I usually don't spend much time talking about market fundamentals. However, there are some underlying forces that can never be ignored when doing market forecasts. Clearly the price of crude oil has had a profound effect on the stock market over the past 5 years.
You can clearly see that $70 crude oil caused the markets to slow down, eventually creating the tell tale double top. Once crude crossed $90 per barrel, the S&P 500 crashed through the 1400 support level, and the previous bull market which lasted nearly 6 years came to a screeching halt. Will it happen again? It's quite possible.
Follow Crude Oil Price Forecasts at the RecordPriceBreakout.com blog provided by Steve Warshaw, The Trade Detective, or follow him on Twitter
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Warshaw
