Jatropha Not A Miracle Crop

Jatropha, often hailed as a rich source of biodiesel that flourishes in semiarid areas of Africa, is hard to grow and often fails if farmers lack expertise, an executive of a company developing the crop said. Vincent Volckaert, the Africa regional director for biofuels technology firm D1 Oils, dismissed the idea jatropha can produce a

EU Slaps Duties On U. S. Biodiesel Imports

Akey European Union trade panel approved on March 3 temporary anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel from the United States, sources with knowledge of the decision said. “It went through with no problem,” one source told Reuters on condition of anonymity after a meeting of the EU’s anti-dumping committee of 27 national trade


EU Eyes Dumping Duty On U. S. Biodiesel Sources

The European Commission plans to propose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel from the United States, sources familiar with the proposal said last month. In a separate move that is also likely to agitate sensitive transatlantic trade relations, a probe by the EU executive into a U. S. clampdown on European online gambling

Effort Underway To Save Endangered Seeds

Farmers and plant breeders around the globe are planting thousands of endangered seeds as part of a bid to save 100,000 varieties of food crops from extinction. In many cases, only a handful of seeds remain from rare varieties of barley, rice and wheat whose history can be traced back to the Neolithic era, said


Biodiesel back on the radar

“Now that the bubble has burst, they’re getting more serious about it again.” – DUSTIN WILLIAMS With canola prices yanked back down to earth from last spring’s stratospheric highs, talk about crushing the oilseed into an environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum-based diesel has been revived. “Is it coming back into fashion? The answer is probably

U. S. bill to wipe out “splash and dash”

The lucrative “splash and dash” practice of collecting U. S. tax credits on imported biodiesel fuel that is sent to Europe would end under the financial rescue bill sent to the White House Oct. 3. President George W. Bush was expected to sign the bill, which also extends the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit through 2009