This is biggest downside to biofuels yet. Perhaps enough to doom the technology. Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol demand pushes up prices.

The recent 100th birthday of Rachel Carson, (the author of Silent Spring, which is credited for launching the modern environmental movement) has triggered baseless attacks from politicians, and pundits. These attacks, however, are not new, they have been slung at Carson since before the book was published. Carson was violently assailed by threats of lawsuits... Continue Reading →

New Scientist has just published a comprehensive guide debunking 26 most common climate myths and misconceptions with lots of links to primary research and major reports for those who want to follow through to the original sources. Many of these myths and misconceptions have been exploited by industry funded skeptics to cloud the scientific consensus... Continue Reading →

WWF has taken on the fight to stop the Salween river Damn, which I first blogged about while travelling in the region in 2005/20066. A deal signed between Thailand and Myanmar would clear the way for the first large-scale hydropower plant on the Salween River in north-eastern Myanmar. The project could displace and negatively impact... Continue Reading →

While Exxon has acknowledged that climate change is real, it continues to fund groups that use junk science to could the consensus on climate change. According to the report, Exxon provided $2.1 million in 2006 to 41 "think" tanks and associations that actively sow doubt about the realities of climate change. Since 1998, ExxonMobil has... Continue Reading →