European scientists cast doubt on whether oil alternatives can ever be sustainably produced in significant quantities.  Scientists at the European commission have cast doubt on whether biofuels could ever be produced sustainably in significant quantities, dealing a blow to the aviation industry, which sees such fuel as a key way to reduce its emissions. The researchers argue that the greenhouse gases emitted in making biofuel may well negate most of...

In energy infrastructure alone, the transformational ambitions the Copenhagen meet is expected to set will cost more than $10 trillion in additional investment.  If negotiators reach an accord at the climate talks in Copenhagen it will entail profound shifts in energy production, dislocations in how and where people live, sweeping changes in agriculture and forestry and the creation of complex new markets in global warming pollution credits. So what is...

It will be 20 per cent of its total land mass At present only 9.5 per cent area is under forest JAIPUR: The desert State of Rajasthan proposes to settle for a modest target of achieving 20 per cent of its total land mass under forests against the 33 per cent envisaged in the National Forest Policy. The figure may appear to be a major climb down but experts here are of...

Even as attention is focused on the upcoming talks at Copenhagen, the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD) notes a “dangerous side of negotiation” that has been taking place along the main talks. These negotiations have concerned a scheme called ‘REDD,’ which could result in a massive land grab across India’s forest and Adivasi belts, one that would make the current conflicts over land acquisition look minor, a CSD statement...

An analysis of Wikipedia entries reveals the world’s knowledge deserts — which may provide a second wave of activity for the online encyclopedia  Are Wikipedia contributors running out of topics to write about? Recently, much has been made of the fact that the growth in the number of new Wikipedia articles has been gradually slowing and the number of volunteers apparently falling. But Wikipedia still has much to do, with...