Fuels

Writing in The Plant Cell, the journal of the American Society of Plant Biologists, researchers report that they have engineered a plant to produce oil in its leaves. They hope to increase biofuel production and create more nutritious animal feed.

The shift from coal to natural gas for power generation has led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the air. But natural gas has its own problems, including that one of they key elements is methane. When methane leaks, from pipes and storage containers, it’s another heat-trapping gas released in the atmosphere.

Federal officials are considering a plan to open up federal lands to coal mining, with the idea that the coal would be exported, likely to Asia. But two governors, in Washington and in Oregon, are urging federal officials to look closely at the proposals and consider whether its in the national best interest.

A United Nations group set out to clean up a Port-au-Prince neighborhood by converting trash to cooking fuel. It was a project with many goals, that ultimately wasn’t sustainable financially. It seems many programs in Haiti suffer under their own weight.

As coal demand around the globe increases, at the same time it moderates in the United States, coal companies are looking abroad to sell their commodity. But that means new facilities need to be built to get them abroad — and they’re looking to the Pacific Northwest.