From SCHIPPER at wri.org Thu Feb 1 03:09:20 2007 From: SCHIPPER at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:09:20 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? Message-ID: This should be an important wake up to those whose hopes for biofuels are driving by subsidies and mandates, not a real concern for climate change. If biofuels are to contribute meaningfully to solving oil security and CO2 problems, the first job is to cut the consumption of petroleum products down to size where the biofuels contribution can be meaningful without destroying part of the planet in its own way. In short, the first step is taxing fossil fuels with a tax we believe represents the threats and damages of climate change, and THEN seeing what kinds of low-carbon options appear. Simply promoting biofuels, for example, doesn't fill buses, which would on its own reduce GHG emissions. Promoting biofuels doesn't promote the use of smaller and/or more efficient cars, and some of the US schemes, like credits for selling flex-fuel cars that allow manufacturers to sell gas guzzlers at less penalty than otherwise, may even increase overall oil use and GHG emissions. There is no free lunch, not even one grown in your back yard! >>> carlos.pardo@sutp.org 1/31/2007 9:00:08 AM >>> Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels By Elisabeth Rosenthal Wednesday, January 31, 2007 AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune Original source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by coaxing electricity plants to use some biofuel * in particular, palm oil from Southeast Asia. Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale began to look more like an environmental nightmare. Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the razing of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the overuse of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked after the United States and China, concluded a study released in December by researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for Wetlands, a conservation group. Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener energy, may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and factories. The 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands that all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can end up with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels * or a 20 percent increase." "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and not to "just see what the effects are here in Europe." In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have provoked soul searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The government, environmental groups and some of the "green energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to certify what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it pollute the Netherlands?'" Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed world, including the European Union and the United States, and enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more expensive to produce than conventional fuel. In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe it is mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel fuel. But as many European countries push for more green energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. On the surface, the environmental equation that supports biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their emissions. But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil was advertised as green energy, but there was no research about whether it was really sustainable." Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now say that "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the past two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil is used in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global market for edible oils. Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the government has encouraged its use for electricity. Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last year, a figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch green energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be developed. The company now has replaced the palm oil it used with conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the European Environment Agency, said. Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight years. Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too expensive for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' energy needs with someone else's food resources," said Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands International released their bombshell calculation about the global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 percent water. But when it is drained, those stored gases are released into the atmosphere. To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often burned to clear ground for plantations. In recent years Indonesia has been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they send thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million tons, is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment Wetlands is backing the certification system for palm oil imports, to make sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident there will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last week. It is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in Indonesia for sustainability. "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now clear that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and bioenergy, you will have to prove that you produce it sustainably * that you are producing less, not more CO2." __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Database | Polls | Calendar Check in here via the homepage at http://www.newmobility.org To post message to group: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com Please think twice before posting to the group as a whole (It might be that your note is best sent to one person?) Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Visit Your Group Yahoo! Music Check Who's Next Discover new bands before anyone else Yahoo! Movies What's Hot Now Check out the top rated movies. Yahoo! Mail You're invited! Try the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta . __,_._,___ From ericbruun at earthlink.net Thu Feb 1 09:33:26 2007 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:33:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: [sustran] Re: Histories and Ideas Behind Bogota's BRT Message-ID: <19949716.1170290006441.JavaMail.root@elwamui-huard.atl.sa.earthlink.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070131/92eb42c1/attachment.html From sguttikunda at gmail.com Thu Feb 1 10:16:25 2007 From: sguttikunda at gmail.com (Sarath Guttikunda) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 06:46:25 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <683ba1ca0701311716u28bc81abgf47c37d451bf162d@mail.gmail.com> Also the uncertainty associated with the estimates of CO2 reductions is vast.. Check the attachments. We may or may not get huge reductions by swtiching to biofuels at the risk of food security and biodiversity loss, but how much is still a question. Only certain move for reduction is reducing the demand. Sarath On 1/31/07, Lee Schipper wrote: > > This should be an important wake up to those whose hopes for biofuels are > driving by subsidies and mandates, not a real concern for climate change. If > biofuels are to contribute meaningfully to solving oil security and CO2 > problems, the first job is to cut the consumption of petroleum products down > to size where the biofuels contribution can be meaningful without destroying > part of the planet in its own way. > > In short, the first step is taxing fossil fuels with a tax we believe > represents the threats and damages of climate change, and THEN seeing > what kinds of low-carbon options appear. Simply promoting biofuels, for > example, doesn't fill buses, which would on its own reduce GHG emissions. > Promoting biofuels doesn't promote the use of smaller and/or more efficient > cars, and some of the US schemes, like credits for selling flex-fuel cars > that allow manufacturers to sell gas guzzlers at less penalty than > otherwise, may even increase overall oil use and GHG emissions. > > There is no free lunch, not even one grown in your back yard! > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070201/aa69fbc5/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CO2 Emissions Reduction from Biofuels Usage.doc Type: application/msword Size: 56320 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070201/aa69fbc5/CO2EmissionsReductionfromBiofuelsUsage.doc From andrew.crane-droesch at undp.org Fri Feb 2 01:32:15 2007 From: andrew.crane-droesch at undp.org (Andrew Crane-Droesch) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 11:32:15 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> Message-ID: <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, there are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about Jatropha curcas, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid climates and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with food crops. However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it would be relevant to urban transport. Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on biofuel is not much more desirable than a congested city in which the cars are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater quantities of NOx. ----- Original Message ----- From: Carlos F. Pardo SUTP To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport ; Newmobility Cafe Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM Subject: [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels By Elisabeth Rosenthal Wednesday, January 31, 2007 AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune Original source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by coaxing electricity plants to use some biofuel - in particular, palm oil from Southeast Asia. Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale began to look more like an environmental nightmare. Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the razing of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the overuse of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked after the United States and China, concluded a study released in December by researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for Wetlands, a conservation group. Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener energy, may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and factories. The 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands that all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can end up with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels - or a 20 percent increase." "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and not to "just see what the effects are here in Europe." In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have provoked soul searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The government, environmental groups and some of the "green energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to certify what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it pollute the Netherlands?'" Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed world, including the European Union and the United States, and enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more expensive to produce than conventional fuel. In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe it is mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel fuel. But as many European countries push for more green energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. On the surface, the environmental equation that supports biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their emissions. But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil was advertised as green energy, but there was no research about whether it was really sustainable." Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now say that "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the past two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil is used in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global market for edible oils. Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the government has encouraged its use for electricity. Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last year, a figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch green energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be developed. The company now has replaced the palm oil it used with conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the European Environment Agency, said. Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight years. Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too expensive for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' energy needs with someone else's food resources," said Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands International released their bombshell calculation about the global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 percent water. But when it is drained, those stored gases are released into the atmosphere. To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often burned to clear ground for plantations. In recent years Indonesia has been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they send thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million tons, is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment Wetlands is backing the certification system for palm oil imports, to make sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident there will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last week. It is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in Indonesia for sustainability. "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now clear that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and bioenergy, you will have to prove that you produce it sustainably - that you are producing less, not more CO2." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070201/283b1fd3/attachment.html From etts at indigo.ie Fri Feb 2 16:07:01 2007 From: etts at indigo.ie (Brendan Finn) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 07:07:01 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> Message-ID: <003401c74698$bda41950$c801a8c0@finn> Can I just ask two simple questions : 1) Does the article describe an inherent fatal flaw of biofuels, or does it present examples of appalling bad practice? 2) On balance, when we have to use combustible fuel, are we better to use biofuels which go through their full carbon intake and output cycle now, or to use fossil fuels? With best wishes, Brendan. _____________________________________________________________________________________ >From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Crane-Droesch To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:32 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, there are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about Jatropha curcas, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid climates and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with food crops. However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it would be relevant to urban transport. Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on biofuel is not much more desirable than a congested city in which the cars are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater quantities of NOx. ----- Original Message ----- From: Carlos F. Pardo SUTP To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport ; Newmobility Cafe Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM Subject: [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels By Elisabeth Rosenthal Wednesday, January 31, 2007 AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune Original source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by coaxing electricity plants to use some biofuel - in particular, palm oil from Southeast Asia. Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale began to look more like an environmental nightmare. Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the razing of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the overuse of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked after the United States and China, concluded a study released in December by researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for Wetlands, a conservation group. Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener energy, may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and factories. The 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands that all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can end up with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels - or a 20 percent increase." "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and not to "just see what the effects are here in Europe." In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have provoked soul searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The government, environmental groups and some of the "green energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to certify what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it pollute the Netherlands?'" Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed world, including the European Union and the United States, and enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more expensive to produce than conventional fuel. In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe it is mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel fuel. But as many European countries push for more green energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. On the surface, the environmental equation that supports biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their emissions. But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil was advertised as green energy, but there was no research about whether it was really sustainable." Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now say that "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the past two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil is used in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global market for edible oils. Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the government has encouraged its use for electricity. Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last year, a figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch green energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be developed. The company now has replaced the palm oil it used with conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the European Environment Agency, said. Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight years. Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too expensive for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' energy needs with someone else's food resources," said Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands International released their bombshell calculation about the global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 percent water. But when it is drained, those stored gases are released into the atmosphere. To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often burned to clear ground for plantations. In recent years Indonesia has been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they send thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million tons, is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment Wetlands is backing the certification system for palm oil imports, to make sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident there will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last week. It is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in Indonesia for sustainability. "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now clear that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and bioenergy, you will have to prove that you produce it sustainably - that you are producing less, not more CO2." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070202/08eb86dd/attachment.html From sguttikunda at gmail.com Fri Feb 2 16:11:19 2007 From: sguttikunda at gmail.com (Sarath Guttikunda) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 12:41:19 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? In-Reply-To: <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> Message-ID: <683ba1ca0702012311g3d851906x224cb42d40771189@mail.gmail.com> Case of Indonesia Palm Oil for Biofuels. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6320285.stm Sarath New Delhi, India On 2/1/07, Andrew Crane-Droesch wrote: > > While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, there are > notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems cited in that > article. I'm thinking specifically about *Jatropha curcas*, which is an > oilseed shrub that can grow in arid climates and degraded soils. It > provides erosion control, has medicinal value, and can be grown in areas > where it will not compete with food crops. > > However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural > sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it would be relevant > to urban transport. > > Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on biofuel is not > much more desirable than a congested city in which the cars are running on > fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given that different types of > biodiesel can emit significantly greater quantities of NOx. > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070202/78e5d075/attachment.html From sguttikunda at gmail.com Fri Feb 2 16:39:11 2007 From: sguttikunda at gmail.com (Sarath Guttikunda) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 13:09:11 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? In-Reply-To: <683ba1ca0702012311g3d851906x224cb42d40771189@mail.gmail.com> References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> <683ba1ca0702012311g3d851906x224cb42d40771189@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <683ba1ca0702012339m58edf251nfca34411bfd905df@mail.gmail.com> Some latest publications and studies in India. Biofuels in India http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ditcted20066_en.pdf UNCTAD site for Biofuels Initiatives http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Search.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&frmSearchStr=Biofuels&frmCategory=all§ion=whole India Planning Commissions report on Potential for Biofuels http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/cmtt_bio.pdf There is a clear demand for these fuels and demand for studies to estimate the benefits. Andrew, Do you have any reports/tables for NOx levels for biodiesel from various feedstocks? with regards, Sarath New Delhi, India Email: sguttikunda@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070202/aee9be71/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Fri Feb 2 17:58:26 2007 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:58:26 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? In-Reply-To: <003401c74698$bda41950$c801a8c0@finn> References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc> <003401c74698$bda41950$c801a8c0@finn> Message-ID: <45C2FD32.1030901@greenidea.info> Destroying rainforests releases huge amounts of carbon, new plantations destroy animal habitat, "un-used" land is home to wildlife, and the biggest driver for "above ground oil-mining" is certainly not public transport, but individual automobile use. So, in a way, when PT advocates push for biofuels, they are just supporting continued automobile use. I think the automobile industry loves it when PT advocates join with them on "common issues", but if you look at their representatives you will see their fingers crossed firmly behind their backs. Here are some more resources: - T Brendan Finn wrote: > Can I just ask two simple questions : > 1) Does the article describe an inherent fatal flaw of biofuels, or > does it present examples of appalling bad practice? > 2) On balance, when we have to use combustible fuel, are we better to > use biofuels which go through their full carbon intake and output > cycle now, or to use fossil fuels? > With best wishes, > Brendan. > _____________________________________________________________________________________ > From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie > tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Andrew Crane-Droesch > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > *Sent:* Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:32 PM > *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? > > While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, there > are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems > cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about /Jatropha > curcas/, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid climates > and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal > value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with > food crops. > However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural > sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it would be > relevant to urban transport. > Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on biofuel > is not much more desirable than a congested city in which the cars > are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given > that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater > quantities of NOx. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Carlos F. Pardo SUTP > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > ; Newmobility Cafe > > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM > *Subject:* [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? > > *Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels* > By Elisabeth Rosenthal > Wednesday, January 31, 2007 > AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune > > *Original source: > *http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php > > Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the > Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid > adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by coaxing > electricity plants to use some biofuel ? in particular, palm > oil from Southeast Asia. > > Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so > enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran > exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than > fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. > > But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm > plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale > began to look more like an environmental nightmare. > > Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the razing > of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the overuse > of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the > expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and > burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon emissions > into the atmosphere. > > Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the > world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that > scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked > after the United States and China, concluded a study released > in December by researchers from Wetlands International and > Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. > > "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we > initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for > Wetlands, a conservation group. > > Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener energy, > may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil > fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. > > As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the > billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately > supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- > friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and factories. The > 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands that all > member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation > fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. > > "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse > emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment > Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types > of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can end up > with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels ? or a 20 > percent increase." > > "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and not to > "just see what the effects are here in Europe." > > In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have provoked soul > searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil > subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in > Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish > which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The > government, environmental groups and some of the "green > energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop > programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to certify > what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. > > Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the > Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the > damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it > pollute the Netherlands?'" > > Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed > world, including the European Union and the United States, and > enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more expensive to > produce than conventional fuel. > > In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, > derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe it is > mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel > fuel. But as many European countries push for more green > energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the > tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. > > On the surface, the environmental equation that supports > biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, > biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it > when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their emissions. > > But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate > research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the > Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil > was advertised as green energy, but there was no research > about whether it was really sustainable." > > Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now say that > "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable > energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more > research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for > the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions > rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as > emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, > providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. > > The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the past > two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more > recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil is used > in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to > toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global market for > edible oils. > > Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per > liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a > substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with > little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the > government has encouraged its use for electricity. > > Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national > subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer > of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last year, a > figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch green > energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it > agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for > certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be developed. The > company now has replaced the palm oil it used with > conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. > > But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. > "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural > products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have > unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the > European Environment Agency, said. > > Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the > deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new > palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted > to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight years. > > Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too expensive > for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' > energy needs with someone else's food resources," said > Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. > > Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil > already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands > International released their bombshell calculation about the > global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. > > Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, > thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 > percent water. But when it is drained, those stored gases are > released into the atmosphere. > > To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often burned > to clear ground for plantations. In recent years Indonesia has > been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they send > thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. > > The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in > Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the > atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional > 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million tons, is > equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused > annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. > > "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were > not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. > "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment Wetlands is > backing the certification system for palm oil imports, to make > sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. > > But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil > cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of > the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because > of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. > > Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully > devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident there > will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. > > Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the > Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last week. It > is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in > Indonesia for sustainability. > > "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," > said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now clear > that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and bioenergy, you > will have to prove that you produce it sustainably ? that you > are producing less, not more CO2." > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages > via YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. > The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there > cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the > yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for > the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a > focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join > the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot > post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site > makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus > on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 ++420 222 517 832 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From etts at indigo.ie Fri Feb 2 18:30:56 2007 From: etts at indigo.ie (Brendan Finn) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 09:30:56 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc><003401c74698$bda41950$c801a8c0@finn> <45C2FD32.1030901@greenidea.info> Message-ID: <006501c746ac$e3a97000$c801a8c0@finn> Todd, I understand those points, but please look again at the questions I raised. Not all biofuels are generated by destroying rainforests (for example in Ireland we grow rape seed in ordinary fields that would otherwise be fallow, without damaging the hedgerows) and the plain fact is that our societies are based on automotive vehicles using combustible fuels. Bus operators can't just park up their existing fleet of buses because there is no ecologically-pure fuel available. Now, for a simple person like myself who is involved at the operational end of things, are biofuels a red herring when looking for cleaner fuels and inherently unsound in themselves; or in a conventional setting, is it better to use them than to use petroleum or gas fuels? BTW, in the event that on balance biofuels are better (or less harm) than petroleum products, I accept the point that responsible companies should do an ecological due diligence on what they are buying. With best wishes, Brendan. _____________________________________________________________________________________ >From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: Todd Edelman To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 8:58 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? Destroying rainforests releases huge amounts of carbon, new plantations destroy animal habitat, "un-used" land is home to wildlife, and the biggest driver for "above ground oil-mining" is certainly not public transport, but individual automobile use. So, in a way, when PT advocates push for biofuels, they are just supporting continued automobile use. I think the automobile industry loves it when PT advocates join with them on "common issues", but if you look at their representatives you will see their fingers crossed firmly behind their backs. Here are some more resources: - T Brendan Finn wrote: > Can I just ask two simple questions : > 1) Does the article describe an inherent fatal flaw of biofuels, or > does it present examples of appalling bad practice? > 2) On balance, when we have to use combustible fuel, are we better to > use biofuels which go through their full carbon intake and output > cycle now, or to use fossil fuels? > With best wishes, > Brendan. > _____________________________________________________________________________________ > From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie > tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Andrew Crane-Droesch > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > *Sent:* Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:32 PM > *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? > > While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, there > are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems > cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about /Jatropha > curcas/, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid climates > and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal > value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with > food crops. > However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural > sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it would be > relevant to urban transport. > Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on biofuel > is not much more desirable than a congested city in which the cars > are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given > that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater > quantities of NOx. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Carlos F. Pardo SUTP > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > ; Newmobility Cafe > > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM > *Subject:* [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? > > *Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels* > By Elisabeth Rosenthal > Wednesday, January 31, 2007 > AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune > > *Original source: > *http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php > > Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the > Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid > adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by coaxing > electricity plants to use some biofuel ? in particular, palm > oil from Southeast Asia. > > Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so > enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran > exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner than > fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. > > But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm > plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale > began to look more like an environmental nightmare. > > Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the razing > of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the overuse > of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the > expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and > burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon emissions > into the atmosphere. > > Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly become the > world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that > scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked > after the United States and China, concluded a study released > in December by researchers from Wetlands International and > Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. > > "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we > initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for > Wetlands, a conservation group. > > Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener energy, > may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil > fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. > > As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the > billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately > supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- > friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and factories. The > 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands that all > member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation > fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. > > "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse > emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment > Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the types > of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can end up > with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels ? or a 20 > percent increase." > > "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and not to > "just see what the effects are here in Europe." > > In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have provoked soul > searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil > subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in > Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish > which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The > government, environmental groups and some of the "green > energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop > programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to certify > what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. > > Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the > Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the > damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it > pollute the Netherlands?'" > > Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed > world, including the European Union and the United States, and > enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more expensive to > produce than conventional fuel. > > In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, > derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe it is > mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel > fuel. But as many European countries push for more green > energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the > tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. > > On the surface, the environmental equation that supports > biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, > biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it > when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their emissions. > > But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate > research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the > Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil > was advertised as green energy, but there was no research > about whether it was really sustainable." > > Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now say that > "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable > energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more > research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for > the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions > rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as > emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, > providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. > > The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the past > two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more > recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil is used > in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to > toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global market for > edible oils. > > Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per > liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a > substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with > little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the > government has encouraged its use for electricity. > > Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national > subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading importer > of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last year, a > figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch green > energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it > agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for > certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be developed. The > company now has replaced the palm oil it used with > conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. > > But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. > "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural > products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have > unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the > European Environment Agency, said. > > Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the > deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new > palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted > to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight years. > > Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too expensive > for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' > energy needs with someone else's food resources," said > Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. > > Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil > already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands > International released their bombshell calculation about the > global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. > > Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, > thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 > percent water. But when it is drained, those stored gases are > released into the atmosphere. > > To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often burned > to clear ground for plantations. In recent years Indonesia has > been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they send > thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. > > The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in > Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the > atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional > 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million tons, is > equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused > annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. > > "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were > not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. > "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment Wetlands is > backing the certification system for palm oil imports, to make > sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. > > But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil > cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of > the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because > of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. > > Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully > devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident there > will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. > > Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the > Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last week. It > is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in > Indonesia for sustainability. > > "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry," > said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now clear > that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and bioenergy, you > will have to prove that you produce it sustainably ? that you > are producing less, not more CO2." > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages > via YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. > The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there > cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the > yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for > the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a > focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join > the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot > post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site > makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus > on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 ++420 222 517 832 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070202/aff4e3d0/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Fri Feb 2 19:02:43 2007 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:02:43 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? In-Reply-To: <006501c746ac$e3a97000$c801a8c0@finn> References: <45C0A0E8.6050102@sutp.org> <006e01c7461e$88e71fc0$373b41a5@universi0qgqrc><003401c74698$bda41950$c801a8c0@finn> <45C2FD32.1030901@greenidea.info> <006501c746ac$e3a97000$c801a8c0@finn> Message-ID: <45C30C43.4010905@greenidea.info> Hi Brendan, Brendan Finn wrote: > Todd, > > I understand those points, but please look again at the questions I > raised. Not all biofuels are generated by destroying rainforests (for > example in Ireland we grow rape seed in ordinary fields that would > otherwise be fallow MY understanding is that fallow lands are useful for wildlife. Look in what I sent you for energy return on growing, harvesting and processing rapeseed. **** > , without damaging the hedgerows) and the plain fact is that our > societies are based on automotive vehicles using combustible fuels. Answer what you want or believe: 1) Yes, and biofuels will ensure we keep it that way, sustainably!, 2}Not for long, 3) Not for long, and if we don't start adjusting things we are screwed, 4}I know, but I hate it, 5) Some of the above. **** > Bus operators can't just park up their existing fleet of buses because > there is no ecologically-pure fuel available. I AM more concerned with the tailpipe emissions of buses, and that they are used efficiently, than what they use for fuel. A full petroleum bus is better than 50 biogas cars. > > Now, for a simple person like myself who is involved at the > operational end of things, are biofuels a red herring when looking for > cleaner fuels and inherently unsound in themselves; or in a > conventional setting, is it better to use them than to use petroleum > or gas fuels? Do you like 1) Dairy products? or 2) Milk for drinking and yoghurt for breakfast, but not cheese, nor milk in your coffee? What I mean is that "biofuels" is a useless term to describe an incredibly wide variety of products with varying degrees of pollution (from manufacturing to tailpipe) and sustainability (is a traffic jam full of cars using 100% local waste methane okay?). Biofuels does not necessarily means carbon-neutral. We cannot only look at the fuel source to see what is "better". > ] > BTW, in the event that on balance biofuels are better (or less harm) > than petroleum products, I accept the point that responsible companies > should do an ecological due diligence on what they are buying. They got to and we got to look at the whole cycle, the whole picture. HERE is something more: T > > With best wishes, > > > Brendan. > _____________________________________________________________________________________ > From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie > tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Todd Edelman > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > *Sent:* Friday, February 02, 2007 8:58 AM > *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold? > > Destroying rainforests releases huge amounts of carbon, new > plantations > destroy animal habitat, "un-used" land is home to wildlife, and the > biggest driver for "above ground oil-mining" is certainly not public > transport, but individual automobile use. So, in a way, when PT > advocates push for biofuels, they are just supporting continued > automobile use. I think the automobile industry loves it when PT > advocates join with them on "common issues", but if you look at their > representatives you will see their fingers crossed firmly behind > their > backs. > > Here are some more resources: > > > > - T > > Brendan Finn wrote: > > Can I just ask two simple questions : > > 1) Does the article describe an inherent fatal flaw of biofuels, or > > does it present examples of appalling bad practice? > > 2) On balance, when we have to use combustible fuel, are we > better to > > use biofuels which go through their full carbon intake and output > > cycle now, or to use fossil fuels? > > With best wishes, > > Brendan. > > > _____________________________________________________________________________________ > > From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie > > > tel : +353.87.2530286 > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > *From:* Andrew Crane-Droesch > > > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > > > *Sent:* Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:32 PM > > *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is > gold? > > > > While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded, > there > > are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems > > cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about /Jatropha > > curcas/, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid > climates > > and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal > > value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with > > food crops. > > However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural > > sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it > would be > > relevant to urban transport. > > Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on > biofuel > > is not much more desirable than a congested city in which > the cars > > are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given > > that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater > > quantities of NOx. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > *From:* Carlos F. Pardo SUTP > > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > ; Newmobility Cafe > > > > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM > > *Subject:* [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is > gold? > > > > *Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels* > > By Elisabeth Rosenthal > > Wednesday, January 31, 2007 > > AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune > > > > *Original source: > > *http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php > > > > Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the > > Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid > > adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by > coaxing > > electricity plants to use some biofuel ? in particular, palm > > oil from Southeast Asia. > > > > Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so > > enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran > > exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner > than > > fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants. > > > > But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm > > plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale > > began to look more like an environmental nightmare. > > > > Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the > razing > > of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the > overuse > > of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the > > expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and > > burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon > emissions > > into the atmosphere. > > > > Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly > become the > > world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that > > scientists believe are responsible for global warming, > ranked > > after the United States and China, concluded a study > released > > in December by researchers from Wetlands International and > > Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands. > > > > "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we > > initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a > spokesman for > > Wetlands, a conservation group. > > > > Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener > energy, > > may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil > > fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding. > > > > As a result, politicians in many countries are > rethinking the > > billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately > > supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco- > > friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and > factories. The > > 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands > that all > > member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation > > fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review. > > > > "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse > > emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment > > Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the > types > > of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can > end up > > with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels ? > or a 20 > > percent increase." > > > > "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and > not to > > "just see what the effects are here in Europe." > > > > In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have > provoked soul > > searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil > > subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in > > Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish > > which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The > > government, environmental groups and some of the "green > > energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop > > programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to > certify > > what is produced in an eco- friendly manner. > > > > Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the > > Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the > > damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it > > pollute the Netherlands?'" > > > > Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed > > world, including the European Union and the United > States, and > > enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more > expensive to > > produce than conventional fuel. > > > > In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol, > > derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe > it is > > mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel > > fuel. But as many European countries push for more green > > energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the > > tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home. > > > > On the surface, the environmental equation that supports > > biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants, > > biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it > > when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their > emissions. > > > > But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate > > research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the > > Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil > > was advertised as green energy, but there was no research > > about whether it was really sustainable." > > > > Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now > say that > > "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable > > energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more > > research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for > > the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all > emissions > > rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as > > emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, > > providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs. > > > > The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the > past > > two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more > > recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil > is used > > in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from > chocolate to > > toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global > market for > > edible oils. > > > > Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per > > liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a > > substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with > > little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the > > government has encouraged its use for electricity. > > > > Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national > > subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading > importer > > of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last > year, a > > figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch > green > > energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it > > agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for > > certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be > developed. The > > company now has replaced the palm oil it used with > > conventional sources of energy and local biofuels. > > > > But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away. > > "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural > > products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have > > unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the > > European Environment Agency, said. > > > > Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the > > deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused > by new > > palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land > devoted > > to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight > years. > > > > Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too > expensive > > for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands' > > energy needs with someone else's food resources," said > > Creyghton of Friends of the Earth. > > > > Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil > > already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands > > International released their bombshell calculation about the > > global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused. > > > > Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of > carbon, > > thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90 > > percent water. But when it is drained, those stored > gases are > > released into the atmosphere. > > > > To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often > burned > > to clear ground for plantations. In recent years > Indonesia has > > been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they > send > > thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia. > > > > The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in > > Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the > > atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional > > 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million > tons, is > > equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused > > annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. > > > > "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia > were > > not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said. > > "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment > Wetlands is > > backing the certification system for palm oil imports, > to make > > sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner. > > > > But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil > > cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of > > the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because > > of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say. > > > > Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully > > devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident > there > > will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel. > > > > Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the > > Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last > week. It > > is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in > > Indonesia for sustainability. > > > > "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil > industry," > > said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now > clear > > that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and > bioenergy, you > > will have to prove that you produce it sustainably ? > that you > > are producing less, not more CO2." > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages > > via YAHOOGROUPS. > > > > Please go to > > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership > rights. > > The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there > > cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the > > yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for > > the confusing arrangement. > > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a > > focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > > YAHOOGROUPS. > > > > Please go to > > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join > > the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot > > post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site > > makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing > arrangement. > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus > > on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join > the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot > post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site > makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus > on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > > -- > -------------------------------------------- > > Todd Edelman > Director > Green Idea Factory > > Korunn? 72 > CZ-10100 Praha 10 > Czech Republic > > ++420 605 915 970 > ++420 222 517 832 > Skype: toddedelman > > edelman@greenidea.eu > http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain > > Green Idea Factory, > a member of World Carfree Network > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join > the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot > post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site > makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of > people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus > on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 ++420 222 517 832 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From edelman at greenidea.info Fri Feb 2 22:53:07 2007 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:53:07 +0100 Subject: [sustran] How noisy is your city? Message-ID: <45C34243.40303@greenidea.info> Check out the current BBC "Have your say" on noise: You can add your comments or see what people have to say: There seems to be lots of pain, and too often an acceptance that "cities are noisy", plus actually several comments about rural locations which are anything but tranquil. They don't keep these things active for long so add your comments now... and.... shhhhhhh! - T -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 ++420 222 517 832 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From operations at velomondial.net Fri Feb 2 23:00:45 2007 From: operations at velomondial.net (Pascal van den Noort) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 15:00:45 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: [carfree_network] How noisy is your city? In-Reply-To: <45C34243.40303@greenidea.info> Message-ID: <00b101c746d2$8c5cb1b0$9600000a@MPBV> This a noise map for Amsterdam / Schiphol Airport http://www.geluidsnet.nl/ Pascal J.W. van den Noort Executive Director Velo Mondial From edelman at greenidea.info Sat Feb 3 02:11:57 2007 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:11:57 +0100 Subject: [sustran] A little humour related to the biofuel discussion.... Message-ID: <45C370DD.3060500@greenidea.info> http://www.terrorfreeoil.org/images/logo/GS_blue.gif -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 ++420 222 517 832 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Sun Feb 4 02:38:19 2007 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2007 18:38:19 +0100 Subject: [sustran] New Mobility World Conversations (Skypecasts) Message-ID: <001101c747ba$191f7690$6401a8c0@home> Dear Sustran Friends, Those of you who have got to know me over the years are probably well aware that my self-assigned mission in the fight for sustainable development and social justice is to do what I can to create open 'collaborative knowledge networks', including the dozen or so that we have jointly developed in the last two decades under the New Mobility Agenda. Indeed as the title line of the Agenda's web site refers its exact mission is: "The Politics of Transportation: New thinking & world-wide collaborative problem-solving". That says it pretty well. And in this context we have steadily since the mid eighties sought out, developed, tailored, poached, used and supported quite a number of group work tools and techniques to support out collaborative work, of which this forum is one as well as the fairly numerous supporting web sites and other communications tools that you will see at http://newmobility.org. Enough! I personally like these tools a great deal because I believe that they can not only be efficient and effective for our purposes, but also that when we get them right they can permit us to be honest practitioners in our own work and lives - i.e., in this way avoid excessive air travel and all the environmental loads that it places on the planet and its future. This is not to condemn either physical meetings or even getting on a plane when we really need to, but it does give us some real options once we learn how to work with them. And it not only helps to save our environment but also our own health and gives us more time with our families and those we love. Who could ask for anything more? Now on to the new tool that I want you all to know about today and maybe put to work with us: 1. Summary: You are invited next Friday at 15:00 Paris time to pop in and check out the first of what we hope will become a regular weekly series of public conversations on key issues and strategies to support to the huge CO2 reduction target set by the Clinton Climate Initiative and the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group - with specific reference to how we can help people to get around better in all respects in our cities. This is of course the stuff of the New Mobility Agenda, complete with its dogged insistence on the importance of our concentrating on the 2-4 year period directly ahead. (We leave the rest to the others more competent in these longer range matters.) This takes the form of a Skypecast, and which if these first trials work we intend possibly to organize on a regular weekly basis and specific topics of concern. They cost nothing and if we get together to put our collective brains on this, we should get some very useful results. Read on if this strikes a spark: 2. What is it? a. Skypecast: A new group communications tool just announced by Skype which I think we can put to work for our good cause. Read all about it at http://www.skype.com/help/guides/skypecasts.html . b. Here in their words is the rundown: "Skypecasts are large, hosted calls on Skype. Let your opinion be heard on subjects close to your heart in groups of up to 100 people participating from anywhere in the world." c. We rough trialed it yesterday and found it a platform which we think we all can build on and put to work to advance our joint concerns. You will see some comments on our first round trial run yesterday just below. d. If this gives satisfaction we propose to organize an open weekly group conversation in which we can not only get together to air the issues and our ideas for how to do better. Our focus in this first cycle of meetings will be our eventual contributions to the in support of Clinton Climate Initiative and Large Cities Climate Leadership Group and their important efforts to curb greenhouse gases by very significant amounts and in the near term future (i.e., the next few years). e. The next New Mobility Agenda conference is slated for Friday, 9 February at 15:00 (Paris time, GMT +1) You can see all about it at https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?message= talk_updated&id_talk=351748 ) f. Here in a nutshell is how you can put it to work. 3. Participation Guidelines: a. Sign in to get a Skype account -- takes less than five minutes at www.skype.com, costs nothing and is secure and easy to use. But you will need broadband to be comfortable. And make sure you get the latest version, 3.0, which is necessary for the conference. b. When you sign in, please be so kind as to indicate in your "Profile" your name, city, country, and if possible put in a small photo (you will see what this is important once we start to meet together on this.) (I also tend to put in my regular phone numbers in my profile just in case I am not on line with Skype so that you can call me directly if useful.) c. Once you have it installed and have checked it out, you can then call me via ericbritton (newmobility also works just fine) and we can test and tune your link. d. You will then automatically the periodic notices announcing future New Mobility World Conversations - and the time and topic interests you, sign in and participate. e. Make sure that you check the guidelines for participation, just to be sure that it is a comfortable experience for you and the others. f. Language: For these first sessions, we will be using English, but this des not stop us from organizing World Conversations in other languages. But a caution here for English language mother tongue speakers. Many of our colleagues have English as a second, third or more language, and it is important that we show our respect for them by: speaking slowly, articulating clearly, avoiding the use of jargon, and yes please! we really need to avoid that might appear to native speakers as humor or even irony. What may be funny to your culture may be incomprehensible or even offensive to others. And as to politics, we do not address specific political personalities in these conversation and certainly not in a derogatory manner. So if you wan to blow off steam about Bush, Chirac or your other least favorite leader of the day, please to it elsewhere. g. In the early sessions, I would ask you to be patient and cheerfully experimental in your attitude. There will be glitches and occasional strangeness, of that we can be sure. But with your good attitude and support we really should be able to do something useful with all this - even from the very beginning. So call it up on your computer, go make yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, get comfortable, lean back and join the action. Don't be shy when you have something to add, just ask for the mike and for sure I will hand it to you. (That said succinctness is a great courtesy, as always in meetings of any kind). h. Have an idea for a session or would you like to make a presentation in one of the Conversations (five minute max please)? - get in touch via email and we can work it out together. i. And always, please do not hesitate to let me know what needs to be fixed or somehow adjusted to make this a better and more creative experience all around. Thanks in advance for that. 4. First trial run to check it out - Post mortem of yesterday's session: a. In the spirit of being willing to try anything which might possibly permit us to build knowledge and competence if possible without getting on to one more airplane and thereby encouraging it to do what it does so well to our assaulted atmosphere, I thought I would give it a first whack with a little trial run. b. So we did just that this afternoon under the heading "New Mobility support for Clinton/Large Cities Climate Initiative " . You can see the opening page I hastily hammered together to guide the session at https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk= 350711. You will also see there the link to our experimental site in support of the Clinton/Large Cities Climate Initiative which you can visit at http://co2.newmobility.org c. I spent an hour or so educating myself as best I could on this new tool, then set up the test site and contacted a dozen or so of the people on my Skype network who participate in our group here, to tell them that at 16:00 yesterday at Paris time I was ready to go "on the air" and invited them to check in if their time permitted. (Eventually since it was so last minute we only had Carlos Pardo drop in, but he was very useful to the discussion and in helping me fine tune the whole thing. Thanks Carlos.) d. What happened? Well, in many ways it was a real rough ride but certainly not without its interest. i. Something like 50/60 people eventually showed up, from around twenty identified countries, and if there were a fair number of people there from Eastern Europe and Russia, well you have to consider that it was their evening and they just happened to be on line. But we also heard from people from Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, China, India, Israel, Morocco, Colombia, Panama. ii. There were something close to ten useful exchanges in all that. There would have been a lot more of course if the whole thing had been properly prepared. iii. Since it is the net and 2007 we had the usual occasional useless visitors, but I think this can happen at any kind of public event so there is not use losing time to whine about that. iv. Initially I had an open mike, but the confusion level proved quickly impossible as people started to roll in (from many different kinds of places and with very different ideas as to what this was all about). So, I put everyone on hold, and then took five minutes or so to introduce the meeting and provide some kind of background and some suggested ground rules. v. I then tried giving the floor to anyone who asked for it, but after a few you can imagine whats, I tightened things up and bit and required that each person who wishes to speak should send a chat message asking for the floor, also identifying themselves by name, city, country. Along with a reminder about the topic of the meeting. This worked pretty well for us. e. What I learned was that this works more or less like a good conference crossed with a call-in radio program. i. It requires an alert host/moderator, and some kind of agenda if it is to work. It seems like an hour is just about right if we have all the planning in shape, but I will organize the first in this new series for up to 2 hours, just for those people who might wish to hang around and keep talking on some favorite points. ii. In our case we shall need to take care with getting the agenda right, and giving people a chance to review and comment in advance. iii. It also provides a fine forum for up to five minute presentations of ideas and positions, and these too will do well to advance organize. iv. It goes without saying that such group get-togethers can be organized by people other than myself. Or we can handle it collaboratively as you wish. That's where this stands today. So now you know and I do hope that many of you will respond to this with your ideas and suggestions, and of course to get involved in the next sessions. If we put our heads together I am confident we can do something useful with this. Eric Britton PS. Wanted from Skype: (FYI) They are off to a fine start, but we shall try to draw their attention to the following - Ability for host to send chat messages to entire group with one click - And to likewise share documents and references - Participants photos should appear next to their addresses on the list of attendees. - Would like to be able to record Skypecasts and then hold available for later consultation (In this case participants will need to be notified that they will be recorded, of course. And it would also be great if we could easily edit them.) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070203/bae136b1/attachment.html From sparakh at wri.org Mon Feb 5 10:19:52 2007 From: sparakh at wri.org (Seema Parakh) Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:19:52 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Job Description Posting in Sustrans Listserve and website Message-ID: Hi, Please can you post the message below in sustran listserve and website. Please can you confirm ones posted. Thanks, Seema *---------------------------------------------- EMBARQ, WRI Center for Sustainable Transport has openings for two senior management positions - Deputy Director (http://www.wri.org/joblist/job.cfm?jid=224) and Asia Director (http://www.wri.org/joblist/job.cfm?jid=220), also see job description below. Qualified applicants only. Candidates please send cover letter and curriculum vitae/resume to: World Resources Institute Attn: Seema Parakh 10 G Street, NE (Suite 800) Washington, DC 20002 fax: 202-729-7775 email: sparakh@wri.org Please, no phone calls. Regards, Seema Deputy Director, EMBARQ, The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport World Resources Institute Employment period: Full-time appointment starting immediately. Position summary EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute?s Center for Sustainable Transport is seeking a Deputy Director whose principal responsibilities would be to lead the development of new products and projects that support EMBARQ?s strategic objectives and strengthen its long term financial sustainability. This will serve as a senior management position within EMBARQ and the successful candidate will thus have demonstrated leadership capacity in an international environment, as well as strong technical and managerial experience. Major responsibilities The Deputy Director?s principal objective is to lead the development of new products and projects that can help solve urban transport problems better, cheaper or faster and to identify and develop the opportunities for their deployment throughout EMBARQ?s network. The Deputy Director will have the experience and access to develop and sustain new partnerships with pubic and private sector leaders in cities of interest to EMBARQ. The Deputy Director will be the second in charge at EMBARQ, representing the direct at staff meetings, in the EMBARQ Network, in WRI Management Team meetings, quarterly financial review sessions and related interactions with WRI senior management, as needed. The Deputy Director structures and supervises the environmental engineering, science and health experts as well as the transport and traffic engineers as they prospect and mature new products to ensure strategic with EMBARQ long term plan. The successful candidate will have at least 10 years of experience in integrated urban land use and transportation planning, municipal finance, infrastructure finance, transport engineering, business administration or public administration in urban context. This position relates directly with all EMBARQ?s core team members, with directors of Centers for Sustainable Transport throughout the world, with government and private sector partners in developing countries, donors, and the academic sector. Qualifications The individual selected will meet most of the following qualifications: * Ten years experience in integrated land use and transport planning * An advanced degree in engineering, planning, public administration, business administration or finance * Experience in business development in the private sector * Demonstrated ability to manage programs (greater than five million USD) * Excellent spoken and written English and fluency of at least one other EMBARQ language (Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Turkish, Hindi) * Ability to direct multifunctional teams and wield influence without having power; ability to manage conflict among diverse stakeholders * Commitment to global climate protection and air quality improvement * Commitment to improved quality and cost-effectiveness of transport and improved quality of public space * International working experience at senior level Location Washington, DC. Frequent overseas travel required. Salary and benefits Depending on qualifications and experience, plus full WRI benefits. About WRI World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the planet and improve people's lives. Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment for current and future generations. * People and ecosystems. Reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services. * Climate change. Protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions of greenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change. * Markets and Enterprise. Harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect the environment. * Access. Guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment. * Institutional excellence. Support and enhance WRI's ability to achieve results. In all of its policy research and work with institutions, WRI tries to build bridges between ideas and action, meshing the insights of scientific research, economic and institutional analyses, and practical experience with the need for open and participatory decision-making. WRI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is WRI's policy to recruit, hire, and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, sexual preference, parental status, or disability. WRI only accepts resumes for current vacancies. Qualified applicants only. Candidates please send cover letter and curriculum vitae/resume to: World Resources Institute Attn: Seema Parakh 10 G Street, NE (Suite 800) Washington, DC 20002 fax: 202-729-7775 email: sparakh@wri.org Please, no phone calls. *-------------------------------------- Director Asia Region, EMBARQ, The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport World Resources Institute Employment period: Full-time appointment starting immediately. Position summary EMBARQ is seeking an experienced director for its growing presence in Asia. The Asia program includes India, Turkey, Vietnam and China, however, India and Turkey will be the region?s primary focus for the 2007 to 2011 time frame. The Asia programs director must have both the technical skills identified below, as well the experience and access to develop and sustain partnerships with public and private sector leaders in the region who will be critical to the adoption of sustainable urban transport strategies. Major responsibilities The Asia Programs Director will be EMBARQ?s lead in Asia on urban transport planning and engineering. S/he will have following responsibilities: * Develop and deliver the EMBARQ Asia strategy * Develop a broad network of experts in the region who can be relied on to help deliver results in EMBARQ?s city projects. * Lead set up of new Center for Sustainable Transport - India, through which EMBARQ will work on a day-to-day basis with its partner cities in that country. * Identify, develop and maintain strategic alliances with regional institutions with which EMBARQ and the Center for Sustainable Transport - India will work. * Provide strategic direction to CST-India and CST-Turkey and guide their integration with EMBARQ and the existing EMBARQ Network of Centers for Sustainable Transport (Mexico, Brazil). This position is part of the senior management team within the EMBARQ Network and will have the responsibility of keeping the Asian programs (and CST-India and CST-Turkey) aligned and integrated with the EMBARQ strategy, business model and management structures. The Director will also identify synergy opportunities with other regions and ensure these are realized. As a senior member of the EMBARQ team, the director will bring new experience, ideas, innovation and creativity that will strengthen the whole EMBARQ Network. Qualifications The individual selected must have the following key competencies: * Ten years experience working in urban transport planning or engineering and/or transit system management, as well as a broad understanding of environment, finance, and urban development issues from an economic and institutional perspective. * At least 2 years professional activities while resident in E or S Asia or at least 5 years full engagement (including frequent visits) in E or S Asia. * An advanced degree in engineering, planning, public administration, business administration or finance. * Demonstrated ability in program and project planning, management and implementation (greater than one-half million USD, longer than 1 year in duration and/or involving complex stakeholder management). * Excellent written and oral English communication skills. * Ability to manage conflict between the stakeholders, able to direct multifunctional teams and to influence without having power * Committment to sustainable transport and to deliver GHG reduction, improved air quality and public health, improved safety, accessibility and personal security in cities public spaces * Commitment to improved quality and cost-effectiveness of transport and improved quality of public space * Demonstrable access to decision makers in Asian cities with ability to bring about sustainable transport solutions In addition, the successful candidate will be a highly motivated self-starter with strong organizational skills; capable of working independently; as well as have good interpersonal skills and the ability to work in team situations. S/he will have a mastery of MS Office, ability to use databases in a variety of contexts. S/he will work collaboratively with other WRI staff, the EMBARQ Network of Centers for Sustainable Transport and Asian partners. The Asian Program Director will report to EMBARQ?s Director. Location Home location either Washington, DC, with frequent travel to Asia or India (Mumbai or Bangalore) with frequent travel to other cities in Asia and to Washington, DC. Salary and benefits Competitive based on applicant?s experience. About WRI World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the planet and improve people's lives. Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment for current and future generations. * People and ecosystems. Reverse rapid degradation of ecosystems and assure their capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services. * Climate change. Protect the global climate system from further harm due to emissions of greenhouse gases and help humanity and the natural world adapt to unavoidable climate change. * Markets and Enterprise. Harness markets and enterprise to expand economic opportunity and protect the environment. * Access. Guarantee public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment. * Institutional excellence. Support and enhance WRI's ability to achieve results. In all of its policy research and work with institutions, WRI tries to build bridges between ideas and action, meshing the insights of scientific research, economic and institutional analyses, and practical experience with the need for open and participatory decision-making. WRI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is WRI's policy to recruit, hire, and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, sexual preference, parental status, or disability. WRI only accepts resumes for current vacancies. Qualified applicants only. Candidates please send cover letter and curriculum vitae/resume to: World Resources Institute Attn: Seema Parakh 10 G Street, NE (Suite 800) Washington, DC 20002 fax: 202-729-7683 email: sparakh@wri.org Please, no phone calls. From anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com Wed Feb 7 16:15:44 2007 From: anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com (anirudh singh bais) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 12:45:44 +0530 Subject: [sustran] hi Message-ID: <549e2f6c0702062315x63b357atfae49013997625e@mail.gmail.com> hi all can somebody send me the soft copy of HCM2000 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070207/ee62589a/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Feb 7 19:55:24 2007 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 11:55:24 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Sustran Skypecast conference (trial run on Monday) Message-ID: <035801c74aa6$79164e40$6401a8c0@home> Dear Sustran Colleagues, I have heard from several of you that the timing of the Friday session (see below) does not work for you, so I have scheduled a session specifically forma Sustran perspective for next Monday, the at 09:00 GMT, hoping that will be convenient. You can see the proposed work plan for the discussions at https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?message= talk_updated&id_talk=377833. It describes itself as follows: "A first open group conversation (a) to trial and comment on the potential of Skypecast audio conferences for our network collaboration and exchanges here at Sustran; and (b) to discuss in particular if and how the New Mobility STEP - Sustainable Transport Emergency Program - initiative might be put to work in cities in the Global South." For those how have yet to sign in to Skype for this, I attach last weeks' note with all the gory details. Hope this will work for at least some of us, and that once it is over we will be able to report to the rest on its potential for our collaboration and exchanges in the future. And it is just about as C