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...

Think environmentalists are stooges? You’re the unwitting recruit of a hugely powerful oil lobby.  The evidence of man-made global warming is unequivocal People behind climate denial campaigns know that their claims are untrue When you survey the trail of wreckage left by the climate emails crisis, three things become clear. The first is the tendency of those who claim to be the champions of climate science to minimise their importance. Those who...

With the frequency and severity of droughts likely to increase due to climate change, more than 60 scientists from all the world’s regions are meeting at a United Nations-backed conference in the United States this week to draw up guidelines for early warning systems that could save countless lives. “Early warning systems for drought allow individuals and communities to act in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of loss of...

As agriculture universities transform local varieties into genetically modified Bt brinjal, questions of ownership arise. Indians call it the brinjal. Other countries know it as the eggplant or aubergine. It is widely used the world over and every cuisine from the Chinese to the African has an encyclopaedia of recipes that establishes its popularity as a vegetable of daily use. And no vegetable has hogged the headlines as much as the...

The prime minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is now calling for a “political declaration” at the Copenhagen climate change conference, instead of the promised “ambitious” and “binding” outcome. In other words, brave words will take the place of bold deeds at Copenhagen. India and other developing countries are reluctant to accept this lowering of sights and are still hoping for substantive results. The Danish announcement is disappointing but not unexpected....