text:
Peripheral Stem Cell Transplantation Followed By Infusion of White Blood Cells in Treating Patients With AIDS-Related Lymphoma
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00024128
Recruitment Status : Withdrawn (Withdrawn prior to initiation.)
First Posted : October 21, 2003
Last Update Posted : February 3, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
RATIONALE: Donor peripheral stem cell transplantation may be able to replace immune cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Sometimes the transplanted cells are rejected by the body's normal tissues. Treatment with donor white blood cells may prevent this from happening.
PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of donor peripheral stem cell transplantation followed by infusions of donor white blood cells in treating patients who have AIDS-related lymphoma.
|Condition or disease
|Biological: anti-thymocyte globulin Biological: therapeutic allogeneic lymphocytes Drug: cyclophosphamide Drug: cyclosporine Procedure: peripheral blood stem cell transplantation Radiation: radiation therapy
|Phase 2
- Determine the response rate of patients with AIDS-related lymphoma treated with allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation followed by delayed donor leukocyte infusion.
- Determine the complication rate of these patients treated with PBSC transplantation.
- Determine the immune dysfunction and recovery of patients treated with this regimen.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.
Patients receive cyclophosphamide IV over 60 minutes on days -5 to -3. Patients who have not received prior mediastinal radiotherapy receive thymic radiotherapy on day -1. Allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells are infused on day 0. Patients also receive anti-thymocyte globulin IV over 10-12 hours on days -1, 1, 3, and 5 and cyclosporine IV beginning on day -1, switching to oral when possible, and tapering until day 35.
In the absence of active acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and at least 2 weeks after completion of cyclosporine, patients receive an infusion of donor leukocytes on or before day 49. Patients may receive a second donor leukocyte infusion if there is evidence of persistent malignancy and no GVHD.
Patients are followed through day 100, on days 120, 180, 270, and 365, and then every 6 months thereafter.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 12-35 patients will be accrued for this study within 3-4 years.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|0 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Delayed Donor Leukocyte Infusions in Patients Receiving Allogeneic PBSC Following Conditioning With Non-myeloablative Regimen for AIDS-Related Lymphoma (NHL and HD)
|Study Start Date :
|August 2001
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|March 2003
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|March 2003
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|up to 65 Years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Failed to achieve a complete remission with initial therapy OR
- Relapsed after initial therapy
- HIV-1 seropositive by Western Blot
- Measurable or evaluable (e.g., pleural fluid involvement) disease
- No leptomeningeal or parenchymal CNS involvement or active CNS leukemia
- HLA-A, B, or DR antigen matched or 1 antigen mismatched related donor available
- CD4 cell count greater than 100/mm3 (initial 12 patients) OR greater than 50/mm3 (subsequent patients)*
- HIV RNA less than 110,000 copies/mL* NOTE: *Unless not receiving optimal anti-retroviral therapy as defined by current clinical standards
- Physiologic 65 and under
Performance status:
- Karnofsky 70-100%
Life expectancy:
- Estimated disease-free survival less than 1 year
- See Disease Characteristics
- Bilirubin no greater than 2 mg/dL
- Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN)*
- SGOT or SGPT no greater than 3 times ULN*
- Hepatitis B surface antigen negative NOTE: *Unless receiving indinavir
- Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
- Creatinine clearance at least 50 mL/min
- No symptomatic congestive heart failure
- No angina pectoris
- No uncontrolled hypertension
- LVEF at least 45% by radionuclide ventriculography
- No severe chronic obstructive lung disease
- No symptomatic restrictive lung disease
- DLCO greater than 50% predicted
- No active uncontrolled infection
- No history of cytomegalovirus retinitis or pneumonitis, even if treated
- No other disease that would limit life expectancy
- No symptomatic leukoencephalopathy
- No neuropsychiatric abnormalities that would preclude transplantation
- Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV-1) antibody negative
- Not pregnant or nursing
- Negative pregnancy test
- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after study
Biologic therapy:
- Not specified
- At least 1 week since prior chemotherapy
Endocrine therapy:
- Not specified
- Not specified
- Not specified
- No concurrent chronic suppressive therapy
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00024128
|Study Chair:
|David T. Scadden, MD
|Massachusetts General Hospital
|Responsible Party:
|AIDS Malignancy Consortium
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00024128 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
CDR0000068894 ( Other Identifier: NCI )
|First Posted:
|October 21, 2003 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|February 3, 2016
|Last Verified:
|February 2016
Keywords provided by AIDS Malignancy Consortium:
AIDS-related peripheral/systemic lymphoma
HIV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Lymphoma, AIDS-Related
Neoplasms by Histologic Type
Lymphoproliferative Disorders
Lymphatic Diseases
Immunoproliferative Disorders
Immune System Diseases
Lymphoma, B-Cell
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin
Antilymphocyte Serum
Immunosuppressive Agents
Immunologic Factors
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Antirheumatic Agents
Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating
Alkylating Agents
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Antineoplastic Agents
Myeloablative Agonists
Enzyme Inhibitors
Antifungal Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Dermatologic Agents
Calcineurin Inhibitors


text:
Playsinrain wrote:That play kitchen was $699 btw...
I love the sink oven part of these high end wooden kitchens- but I always end up feeling like the refridgeraters look just like a simple cabinet. I feel like if you are going to go for that simple look- why not consider having someone local make one of the cute painted pinteresty type ones- out of an old piece of furniture. (If you spend a lot of time on pinterest looking at kids stuff- you've seen this DIY style.)
I felt the same way about Ollie's kitchen.
I always feel like why not something like this one and its only 150- and IMO- just as nice as the 700.00 one they got.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|2007-08-07, 16:26
|Link #41
I'll keep walking.
Meh, if you guys want to know about bad driving, head down to the north of Brazil, where I came from. Dude, streets in there don't have lanes, it's just a patch of asphalt where you drive on. During rush hour it's really common to see cars all around the road headed god knows where.
That's probably the reason I didn't have much trouble learning to drive safely here in the Stares, though. Traffic here is probably 10 times safer than it was in there, and at least people "use" the lanes. Not to say that there aren't bad drivers - of course there are, especially down here where the police force seems to be really easygoing on people who don't respect some of the traffic laws. And of course, there're a lot of seniors in here who, though I refrain from saying they should be stripped of the right to drive, really cause a lot of trouble in the road. Just today I was driving at around 55 and a few feet ahead, there's this senior couple going at 35 on their Oldsmobile - that's in the right "fast" lane. So I hit the brakes and keep following at 35 since I'll drive right a couple feet away... It's then that I see this massive semi-tractor approaching me at like, 60mph... I'm like "This dude's gonna run over the three of us, gramps". But luckily he managed to slow down... Not without honking his horn on my ass.
But I've always lived in places where public transportation was almost non-existant and where places are really afar from one another, so I grew accustomed to being in a car all the time. But since I got rear-ended at 7 in the morning a couple months ago, I've been more careful when I'm going out. Taking the expressway is also forbidden unless I'm either really late or the trip is over 15 miles, since it's pretty crazy down there.
|2007-08-07, 17:08
|Link #42
Thinking Different Member
I LOVE driving. Nothing better. Even in traffic I keep my head and just enjoy the sensation of driving. That's not to say I don't get ticked off when someone's going 5 under the limit during the morning rush to work/school, but I just calm myself and pass them when possible. Driving is just the ultimate freedom. You have the ability to go anywhere if you so fealt like it. And the experiance of being one with your vehicle, thats exhilirating. I think some people never really experiance this feeling, and that's probably why they don't like driving so much. :P
I haven't had a chance to visit Britian, Japan, New Zealand, etc. yet, but I want to just to experiance the sensation of driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and the "wrong" side of the car.
|2007-08-08, 01:01
|Link #43
horo fan
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: missouri, usa
Age: 33
sometimes i like driving but then sometimes it pisses me off especially when i am behind someone going really slow and people who are tailgating me. i tend to try and go faster when i am being tailgated, not sure why.
|2007-08-08, 02:09
|Link #44
Asuki-tan Kairin ↓
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fürth (GER)
Age: 38
The only concern I'ld have with driving a LHD car in a drive left country is the blind spot. I've seen this on the Autobahn... even in a LHD car and drive right rule this blind spot is bothersome. A couple of times I did not see a car in the mirrors that was overtaking on the left (in a situation where I want to overtake too, and therefore plan to switch to the left lane). Only because I am always looking over my shoulder before changing lanes I could prevent the maybe collisions resulting from not seeing the left side car in my mirrors. And I have my eyes approx. 30% of the times scanning the mirrors so I stay informed about the traffic before me and behind me. Thus being able to identify fast approaching cars and such. Still if it wasn't for the looking over my shoulder in certain situations I'ld possibly be screwed already. And that is why I would feel unpleasent using a LHD car in a drive left country. Because doing this essential look over ones shoulder before switching lanes is further limited due to sitting on the "wrong" side for the traffic.
|2007-08-08, 02:21
|Link #45
I has a Civic
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 30
One major problem I see tryin to drive a RHD vehicle in a drive right nation is passing on a highway. You could never see oncoming traffic around the car in front of you. Of course if I had a JDM RHD vehicle here in the states, it'd probably be an in town/ interstate only car. I woulnd't take it to my granny's place or anywhere that requires me to drive on a 2 lane highway.
I like drivin too up to a point. Sometimes when I'm wore out, or drivin on a big trip, I just friggin tired of it but if it's just me, the Civic, and a night out on back roads, then it's a friggin blast. Touge anyone? My friend touge'd in my Civic one time and it scared the crap outta me though. He's really good and drives ridiculously fast on back roads (cause he knows what he's doin). Man, it was scary enough in my FWD Civic. I'm glad I never rode with him in his RWD 240SX. He drift's too. He goes all Takumi/Bunta Fujiwara and crap in RWD cars and I think i would pass out with how fast he drives. He asked once if I wanted to do a ride along during one of his Knob Creek (our favorite Touge road) touge/drift runs. I said hell no.
|2007-08-08, 18:19
|Link #46
Mew Member
IT Support
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 34
I do not mind driving in my RHD vehicle. Passing is not a simple task, however. You have to be very careful about leaving a lane to get into another. That is why checking your blindspot is important!
|2007-08-08, 19:05
|Link #47
( ಠ_ಠ)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep
Japan has the largest working public transportation system in the world.
(i.e. bus and train station nearly everywhere)
I do have license and I do drive, but I absolutely hate driving. Anywhere. Japan or USA.
I'd rather leave it up to a more reliable system like train and bus, with professional training, and very little "random" encounters, and much, much, MUCH safer.
Every country should have a reliable public transportation system like Japan, IMO.
Less traffic accidents, less harmful gas in the air, less gasoline consumption...
Cars should only be necessary outside of major cities.
|2007-08-08, 19:15
|Link #48
Gregory House
IT Support
I dislike the notion of my life depending on my (barely nonexistent) reflexes and coordination. Furthermore, I dislike even more the notion of my life depending on other unqualified people's reflexes and coordination. So, I'll grab a train, subway or bus anytime--the former mediums can't suffer a collision with another vehicle, and the latter is sturdy enough (more sturdy than a car, at any rate) to survive a crash with a drunk car driver.
|2007-08-08, 20:35
|Link #50
I has a Civic
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 30
|2007-08-09, 06:04
|Link #51
Feeling comfy
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 44
I love driving. Unfortunately, with the costs of driving and owning a car being as astronomical as they are in Singapore, I had to scrap by car about a year ago.
As for left-hand vs right-hand, well......it all depends from your point of view doesn't it? As far as I'm concerned, I'm driving on the right side of the car while the rest of the world is cuckoo for driving on the wrong side. Same logic applies for which side of the road you happen to drive on.
Same goes for anticipating other drivers' behaviour while on the road. I can often "tell" in advance which idiot is going to do something stupid, and take defensive action to avoid an accident. Of course, this is by no means full-proof -- reckless driving is something you can never avoid all of the time. If only it were -- so many needless deaths could be prevented as a result.
|2007-08-09, 10:59
|Link #52
Grand Duke of Lolitania
Join Date: Aug 2007
my country is one of those lefty groups. but you may ignorant it cause there are less policeman here. and people didnt pay that much attention to trafic rules. for examples there are no speed restriction inside the city. whenever you like and there are no police noticed you can bust up your vehicle up till 160 kph. yeah I love it. because our mass traffic is bad. I have ever crush a police vehicle. hehehehehe
|2007-08-10, 13:07
|Link #53
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
I used to absolutely *love* driving... in the early 90s I had the last model year of Nissan's 300ZX. But in the years since then, I've watched public driving skills plummet and the joy has been replaced with steady aggravation at tailgaters, reckless lane changing, and people just flat-ass not paying attention because their phones, eyelashes, whatever apparently consumes all their insufficient brainpower, leaving none for driving.
The other day I watched a policeman directing intersection traffic (after an accident) just verbally tear into a woman who was chatting on her phone so vigorously that she completely ignored his repeated commands to drive through. She just sat there oblivious until he walked over and slapped her windshield. So... the whole intersection got to sit there and watch him take her out of the car and loudly lecture her before giving her a ticket. (I assume it was failure to follow directions of law enforcement).
Ahhh, justice. but it doesn't happen enough.
When I was a teen, I had a right-hand steering vehicle (ex-mail jeep) in the States. Of course, it had a wonderful field-of-view and was jeep-small so it never gave me a problem. Once though I was pulled over (cop claimed he thought we were unbelted, but basically he just saw "teens to check out") and the cop walked up to the left side of the vehicle.... my friend said, "sorry officer, but my passenger is driving." in such a serious innocent voice that the cop just stood there for about 20 seconds blinking. Then he just said, "sorry, I thought someone was unbelted. Have a nice day." and then waved us on.
|2007-08-10, 18:49
|Link #54
Mew Member
IT Support
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 34
|2007-08-10, 19:03
|Link #55
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The South of England
Age: 50
It's not just people who drive cars that can be stupid and dangerous. I was on a bus once when we turned round a tight corner to find a cyclist coming straight at us. The driver managed to avoid running her down, whereupon she proceeded to give him a right mouthful. Just because she was in a cycle lane she seemed to think that entitled her to ride on the wrong side of the road!
|2007-08-10, 19:09
|Link #56
Mew Member
IT Support
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 34
|2007-08-10, 19:44
|Link #57
IT Support
Well, in my country it's right side driver, but there's some import cars that uses left side... Even tough i haven't drive left side cars before, i guess it'll be hard to shift with my right hand...
|2007-08-10, 19:57
|Link #58
Seeker of Power
I love driving. I just hate everyone else who drives around me. (pretty much agreeing with everything that Vexx said). I was involved in 2 accidents when I was 17 and 18 that ruined my first 2 cars (neither of which was my fault. First time, an unlicensed 15-yo driver rear-ended me; second time, intersection accident caused by ice, the dude who hit me wasn't too bad).
In any case, since then I've been a very cautious driver. I know my limits and my car's limits because of a couple autocross experiences, so I constantly survey the vehicles around me and drive accordingly.
|2007-09-14, 11:35
|Link #59
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Age: 28
Driving Exam
Well, I just failed my driving exam today. I passed maneuverability but I failed the road part. I'm really annoyed, since I won't be able to retake it for a month or so....I have to wait 7 days to reschedule the test, and then it's ALWAYS booked for like 2-3 weeks....so I'm just flat out annoyed.
How did all of you guys do on your first driving test?
|2007-09-14, 12:21
|Link #60
Mew Member
IT Support
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 34
I passed my first driving exam (and 2nd and 3rd). It is important to remain calm, cool, and try to ensure that you are providing a smooth ride for your examiner.
How long have you been driving? I find it calmed me down when I spoke to the examiner whilst doing the exam.
|Thread Tools


text:
Obama Administration Stalls Treaty To Help The Blind In An Effort To Appease Big Publishers (AKA Campaign Donors)
from the money-first-politics dept
The end result is that, rather than finalizing things at the WIPO gathering, the US's ability to drag the whole process out means that nothing will be decided until after the Presidential election. And that's by design:
This is really kicking the can down the road -- in this case, past Obama's first term in office. After four years, Obama can't overcome opposition from a handful of mostly foreign owned publishers to support a treaty for blind people. In many respects, this is a money in politics story. If blind people were financing his campaign, they would have had a treaty a year ago. The Obama administration wants the decision on the treaty delayed until the election so it will not interfere with its campaign fundraising from publishers, and so it will not suffer bad publicity for opposing the treaty, before the election.The whole thing is pretty shameful, and yet another display of how money corrupts politics... and how copyright helps in that process.


text:
General Information About Ho Chi Minh
Administrative divisions:
- Districts: District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, District 5, District 6, District 7, District 8, District 9, District 10, District 11, District 12, Tan Binh, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc, Go Vap, Binh Tan,Tan Phu.
- Rural districts: Nha Be, Can Gio Hoc Mon, Cu Chi Binh Chanh. Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Hoa, Khmer, Cham...
In the core of the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is second the most important in Viet Nam after Ha Noi. It is not only a commercial center but also a scientific, technological, industrial and tourist center. The city is bathed by many rivers, arroyos and canals, the biggest river being the Saigon River. The Port of Saigon, established in 1862, is accessible to ships weighing up to 30,000 tons, a rare advantage for an inland river port.
Climate:The climate is generally hot and humid. There are two distinctive seasons: the rainy season, from May to November, and the dry season, from December to April. The annual average temperature is 270C. The hottest month is April and the lowest is December. It is warm all year.
Many centuries ago, Saigon was already a busy commercial center. Merchants from China, Japan and many European countries would sail upstream the Saigon River to reach the islet of Pho, a trading center. In the year of 1874, Cho Lon merged with Saigon, forming the largest city in the Indochina. It had been many times celebrated as the Pearl of the Far East. After the reunification of the country, the 6th National Assembly in its meeting of the 2nd of July, 1976, has officially rebaptized Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. The history of city relates closely with the struggle for the independence and freedom of Vietnam.
Today, Ho Chi Minh City is the big tourism center in Vietnam, attracting a large of visitors to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City has various attractions as Ho Chi Minh Museum, formerly known as Dragon House Wharf, Cu Chi Tunnels, system of museums, theatres, cultural houses... Recently, many tourist areas are invested such as Thanh Da, Binh Quoi Village, Dam Sen Park, Saigon Water Park, Suoi Tien, Ky Hoa..., which draw numerous tourists.
Despite its quite recent past, Ho Chi Minh City nevertheless possesses various beautiful buildings, displaying a characteristic combination of Vietnamese, Chinese and European cultures. These include Nha Rong (Dragon House Wharf), Quoc To Temple (National Ancestors Temple), Xa Tay (Municipal Office), Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theatre as well as many pagodas and churches (Vinh Nghiem, Giac Vien, Giac Lam, Phung Son pagodas...). After more than 300 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City presents many ancient architectural constructions, famous vestiges and renowned sights. It is remarkable for its harmonious blending of traditional national values with northern and western cultural features.
Ho Chi Minh City is the main junction for trains, roads, water, and air transportation systems for domestic trips and for foreign destination. - Roads: Ho Chi Minh City is 1,730km from Hanoi, 99km from Tay Ninh, 30km from Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), 70km from My Tho, 125km from Vung Tau, 168km from Can Tho, 308km from Dalat, and 375km from Buon Ma Thuot. The City has National Highway 13 which connects Vietnam with the rest of Indochina. - Train: Thong Nhat express train connects Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, vie many provinces in Vietnam. - Air: Tan Son Nhat International Airport, 7km from center of city, is the biggest airport with many domestic and international routes. There are flights from Hanoi and Danang to Ho Chi Minh City and between the City to many regions as well a lot of countries on over the world.
Ho Chi Minh city, also known as Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam with the population nearly 9 millions. The city is called 'Diamond of the Far-East', the same luxury level overriding Hong Kong or Bangkok. Ho Chi Minh city becomes very important city in Vietnam ,creates a metropolitan area with Thu Dau Mot, Di An, Bien Hoa and surrounding towns.
In the early history, the city was a small fishing village name Prey Nokor inhabited by Khmer people. Then it was given to the Vietnamese as a dowry for the marriage of a Vietnamese princess to a Khmer prince in order to stop constant invasions and pillaging of Khmer villages. Under the French colonial , the city had a lot of influence from the Western style , and there still a lot of beautiful buildings in the city which are remained with French style. After 30 April 1975, the city under the control of North Vietnamese government and the name was changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh city.
Recently, Ho Chi Minh city is such a large area with 24 districts, the lifestyle and the architecture is the combination between American and Chinese, but not losing the traits. Beside the dynamic economy and modern life, the city is really developing in tourism , like the central of tourism in the South of Vietnam, and attracts millions of foreign tourists every year. The most prominent sites in the city is Reunification Palace, City Hall, the Municipal theatre also known as the Opera House, City Post Office, State Bank Office , City People's Court and Notre Dame cathedral. All of them are the special structures, which are influent with French architecture.
There are also various museum and entertainment places in the city such as the Ho Chi Minh city museum, Museum of Vietnamese history, the Revolutionary Museum, the Museum of Southeastern Armed Forces, the Museum of Southern Women, the Museum of Fine Art, the Nha Rong Memorial House, and Cu Chi underground Tunnels… The Dam Sen Tourist and Cultural Park, Suoi Tien amusement and culture park, The Saigon zoo and Botanical gardens.
District one is the best experience for a modern city in Vietnam. All streets and boulevard in the district are lined with evergreen trees with local people selling street drinks, some notable sights as Ben Thanh market, city post office and Notre Dame cathedral. The district is a quite good ideal for shopping with several shopping streets.
The nice location at central of the South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city becomes very important center of transportation lead to surrounding provinces , bring opportunities to develop the economy and tourism of Eastern and Western area of the South.


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - My mom Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in My mom Goto page Previous 1, 2 Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Family View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message piro♪Joined: 25 Sep 2006Posts: 15 Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:37 pm Post subject: My mom I love Mother She is very short, and not beautiful but charming I live with only my mother because my father died long time ago. So we are good friends Back to top naoko626Joined: 25 Sep 2006Posts: 17 Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:20 am Post subject: mom I love moyher very much Mother is important person for me!! She and I looked like a sister. We are good friends. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Family All times are GMT - 8 HoursGoto page Previous 1, 2 Page 2 of 2 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


text:
|2012-05-14, 11:45
|Link #28841
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
His thing about Bern can be cut up with this very controversial blue:Bernkastel in Umineko is the same Frederica Bernkastel from Higurashi. The nature of EP7 is the result of a miracle, Bern's domain. The miracle of this Fragment mirrors the miracle of Minagoroshi-hen.
|2012-05-14, 12:17
|Link #28842
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Gnawing away at Rokkenjima
It breaks down when its logical conclusion is applied to real life. When you see an optical illusion, do you think that means you shouldn't bother using your eyes any more because they provide unreliable data? When a person lies to you once, does that mean that you can never trust anything they ever say to you again? And to truly hold your position and take it to a consistent logical conclusion means you should dismiss all of Umineko's Fantasy scenes as completely useless, even for hints.
RK07 is really, really trying to challenge us to think about fiction differently than we are accustomed to. The narrator is subjective and has an agenda, and to understand the story being told, what we really need to do is to unravel that agenda. That's why we look for metaphors and hints in the Fantasy scenes, even though we know they aren't real. Of course there are no absolutely reliable methods that can be applied in this process, but so what? We simply have to make the best judgment we can with the non-absolute information at hand, just like we do to come to conclusions about the real world.
|2012-05-14, 12:25
|Link #28843
Join Date: May 2009
You make a fair point, and I would generally be inclined to say omniscient-form narrative > dialogue in terms of credibility in a narrative, but the problem is that you pretty much run up against a problem any way you slice it. This leads us to conclude one of two things:
|2012-05-15, 04:11
|Link #28844
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Genius Battler also runs into the problem of the scenes of Battler trapped in the logic error which are littered throughout Episode 6 - He had no plan to get himself out of there, to the point that his "heart died", and these scenes even take place before Ange starts reading to Featherine, with the obvious implication being that the narration is reliable. Furthermore, "I don't have a problem losing the smaller fights to set up the big win" fails to take into account just how serious the logic error is. A logic error is not a "smaller fight", it is the end of Battler and everything he fought for and the ultimate desecration of the one thing he had left from Beatrice. That's the exact opposite of a "smaller fight", unless Battler was so desperately in love with Beatrice that he'd commit suicide and desecrate her corpse in an attempt to bring her back to life.
|2012-05-15, 04:42
|Link #28845
Detective, Witch, Pirate.
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Ruins of the Golden Land
Though of course such thing does not apply in reality except in a much too subtle way, Umineko takes it to an extreme. Thus, we are not actually reading the same lines of the manuscript Ange is reading, we are more likely listening to them being read aloud. And since each reader is a completely different individual, their impressions and thoughts on what they read are bound to differ drastically. To give an example, I may absolutely adore Beatrice as a character, whereas someone else may hate her. The impression made on each of us by whatever she says or does are complete opposites based on that fact.
Plus, he bears the genes of a guy who would scream 'OOooOOoh, Beatoriiicheee!!!' while getting drunk...
|2012-05-15, 04:46
|Link #28846
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Germany
After having pondered the topic a bit more, I guess I came to the conclusion that I'm not actually so much against "Yasu having three (four) different personas/personalities", given the background story I think I was pretty okay with that. What might still bother me is the way it's ruining the game boards for me. From the meta perspective and from an emotinal point of view, Yasu "splitting" her feelings up is even kinda understandable - but as soon as it comes to the gameboards - whether they are "kakeras" or probably rather written stories - this concept is ruining them a bit for me. =/
I suppose that's what leaving a bitter taste with me, not so much the fact Yasu developed those personas in the first place.
|2012-05-15, 04:51
|Link #28847
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Also on the topic of contradictions, I have been rewatching Ep 1. Almost everyone agrees that Shkannon is the culprit in the forgeries (prime is more contentious), and that she intended to kill people. I am also aware of people who play the "Her murder mystery was hijacked" card. Putting aside the fact Nanjo is a sucky doctor who should have been quicker on the uptake, and any time Kinzo appeared as first twilight victim Krauss or Natsuhi should have known something was up, there is a problem.
Beatrice's letter states that she will give everything back if the epitaph is solved, however since forgery beatrice intends to kill people she can't. She isn't supposed to break promises...
Also, does anyone actually have any ideas why Eva shot Battler (or at Battler) in ep 3?
|2012-05-15, 05:00
|Link #28848
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Germany
Going from the impression I got from Eva, protecting her "close" family, e.g. Hideyoshi and George, has always top priority for her. I think that theoretically George culprit theories (in whatever form) at least tie in nicely with Eva covering up the whole thing (I'm not so convinced she did it for Ange's sake in the end) and maybe also with her killing Battler in case he had found out George was somehow involved in killing people?
Of course these are only my wild guesses as always. =D George as (some kind of) culprit just sits so fine with me. xD
|2012-05-15, 05:12
|Link #28850
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Germany
|2012-05-15, 05:28
|Link #28851
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2012
The bigger problem for me is that Ryukishi's definition of love seems to be the most twisted thing in the entire series. If I can't lift a set of weights, it isn't "love" if I imagine myself juggling those same weights, or create a persona of myself that can. That's called "being an idiot/weak/unable to handle the truth".
Being without love(And Bernkastel was obviously lying when she said that - just watch any of her conversations with Lambdadelta, especially in Cross) in the Ryukishi sense is actually a positive trait. Erika's boyfriend WAS cheating on her, Yasu was stuck in a twisted and deformed body incapable of love(and deluding herself when trying to have a relationship with George), etc etc. "Love" makes you see things that aren't there - it is a bad thing to be full of that particular brand of love.
|2012-05-15, 08:19
|Link #28853
Join Date: May 2009
But yes, I was waiting for the "but" in the whole discussion about how wonderful and magical self-delusion is, but all you get out of following that conversation thread is Ange turning into a stone-cold mofo. So apparently that's just the moral, deluding yourself is good. Nothing good ever came out of Maria starting to accept the reality of her relationship with her mother and she should've just gone on pretending it was messed up and never actually matured and realized her mother wasn't perfect or monstrous and tried to repair the relationship in any realistic sense. Even though, had she grown up, that's something she simply would have to have accepted and dealt with. The world does not actually permit an eternal retreat into fantasy, nor should it.
|2012-05-15, 09:13
|Link #28855
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Well, it depends on the situation, but I do think Umineko's message about escapism is valid in a lot of cases.
I mean, if you can actually DO something about a negative situation, then that's obviously preferable to just pretending that you aren't in one. But in, say, Ange's case in St Lucia, where there was really nothing she could do about the sad state of her life, wasn't it a good thing that she had Maria and her other imaginary friends to give her a bit of happiness in her otherwise unenviable circumstances?
I don't think you can easily say 'escapism is a good thing' or 'escapism is a bad thing' with certainty. And I do respect Umineko for having the guts to give a controversial message about the benefits of escapism - I find that makes for a much more meaningful and thought-provoking story than Higurashi's more conventional 'power of friendship' message.
|2012-05-15, 09:20
|Link #28856
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: forever lost inside a logic error
What I don't like and I think is absolutely wrong in the mariage sorciere "magic" is the denial of unhappiness.
Escapism is okay as long as it is used as a distraction and not as a way to replace reality. Ange could fantasize about having a lot of friends and so could Maria, but they shouldn't have crossed the line where they would fool themselves into believing they had absolutely no problem and they were happy that way.
Maria wasn't happy, no matter how you look at it, there is overwhelming evidence that she was sad and she wished continously for Rosa to be a better mother. And yet when Ange inquired, Maria was adamant in stating that she was happy.
This kind of delusions can lead to a whole lot of psychological problems. You should never deny your feelings.
|2012-05-15, 09:29
|Link #28857
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Germany
If we talk about a "realistical" approach to love, I think Umineko kinda missed it in my view. I won't talk about how you shouldn't misinterprete funny remarks like "I'll come and get you a white horse, kihihi" because we can easily wiggle our way out of here with "Yasu had such a hard life, she wanted to escape, Battler told her he would help her" etc etc
(Plus, they never even confessed their love for each other or even took any further steps, so it's not farfetched to at least PONDER whether the other person was even feeling as strongly as you do yourself)
But I think "love" is especially also about the bad things and events, horrible experiences (so to say two sides of the same coin) and coming to terms with that stuff even if it's hard to deal with - if you can't do that without using other people to fill "the hole", developing countless personas or going on a muderous rampage, then you probably aren't really up to it.
Last edited by Saorin; 2012-05-24 at 02:52.
|2012-05-15, 09:43
|Link #28858
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: forever lost inside a logic error
Well said Saorin and I might add that love is also about understanding others.
The impression that Yasu left me with was that of a person that was overly concerned about her own tragedy to empathize with other people's situations.
Battler's "sin" could be well forgiven by anyone with just a basic understanding of what that 12 years old kid went through. To think that someone who was supposed to love him couldn't and was still resentful after 6 years... Good grief... I can understand that she suffered that much, but how could she not think "it's not his fault", "he must have suffered a lot". If she really loved him she'd be more concerned about him than herself.
|2012-05-15, 09:56
|Link #28859
Join Date: May 2009
The problem is Ryukishi already had a great and well-written example of true love that accounts for the realities that can pop up and accepts that some things aren't perfect: The parents. For all the things they do wrong, their love for each other was surprisingly strong. Krauss/Natsuhi, Eva/Hideyoshi, even Kyrie/Rudolf, they were all quite strong both romantically and realistically. And in Kyrie's case, you're talking about the man who dumped her for another woman, kept cheating on said other woman with her, messed with their children, and only just recently came crawling back!
Yasu's had a hard life and all, but romantically compared to Kyrie, she ain't dealt with nothin'. Oh boo-hoo, your first crush hasn't talked to you in a while. Try living 18 years not knowing another woman raised your son while the man you love won't acknowledge you in public for 12 of those.
And Natsuhi? Well, sure, she digs her own grave with her committment to her family honor and all, but it's worth noting that it isn't even her birth family and she's doing it for her husband and father-in-law, people who often don't treat her very well, because she loves Krauss that much. Krauss himself gets suicidal, not because he's selfish and wants to get out of his problems, but in the hopes that his death would shield Natsuhi and Jessica from his shame.
And not much needs to be said about Eva, really. Being willing to be thought of as a murderer to protect your niece, while probably the wrong decision, takes a hell of a lot of love and a willingness to stick your neck out.
You want to talk about sacrifice, and dealing with reality, and making an effort for love? There's already characters in the story who do that, but apparently they're not that important in the end.
|Thread Tools


text:
Indirect land use impacts of biofuels
From BioenergyWiki
Bioenergy > Issues > Greenhouse gas emissions > Indirect land use impacts of biofuels
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels > RSB Current Debate on Land Use
|The BioenergyWiki is no longer being actively updated.
Note: See also the ILUC Portal page.
- RSB announces Public Consultation on the issue of Indirect Impacts (PDF file), 13 April 2012 by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB): "During the past three years, the RSB Secretariat, based at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), has collected a considerable volume of information, data and knowledge about indirect impacts of biofuel production, thanks in part to the contribution of the RSB indirect impacts expert group (IIEG). It is now time for the RSB constituencies to decide on a way forward regarding a possible inclusion of indirect impacts in the RSB Standard.
- "In May-June 2012, RSB members will discuss the issue of indirect impacts in a series of RSB Chamber calls and during the June in-person Steering Board meeting. But before these discussions take place at the membership level, the RSB Secretariat is launching Public Consultation on the subject, in which all members of the general public are invited to provide us with feedback on this issue."
- "For this purpose, the RSB Secretariat has drafted the attached Background Paper (PDF file) ("Indirect Impacts of biofuel production and the RSB Standard") that is meant to be a neutral and objective representation of indirect impacts, state of knowledge, potential options to address the issue in the Standard (including the option not to address it), and an evaluation of such options. This paper will form the basis for the public consultation and also for the discussion at the Chamber and Steering Board level."
- Summary timeline for this consultation:
- Public consultation (1 month): April 13 – May 15
- RSB Chambers consultation: 2nd half of May
- Steering Board Meeting and decision on way forward: June 12-13
- To submit feedback, send an email or a marked-up pdf document to: victoria.junquera[at]epfl.ch or use the Feedback Form available at http://rsb.epfl.ch/page-78422-en.html before May 15, 2012.
- 'This must be the most researched subject in the EU's history!', 19 March 2012 by Nusa Urbancic for European Federation for Transport and Environment: "Two new reports are expected to put more pressure on the Commission over its biofuels policy. Both add to the growing bank of evidence that under current policies, changes in land use caused by growing biofuels crops will wipe out the climate benefits of using certain biofuels, especially in the case of biodiesel."
- "One report on the cost-effectiveness of policies to decarbonise transport, due to be published by a group of consultancies later this month, says most models show that indirect land-use change (Iluc) will mean 'a net increase of greenhouse gases' for biodiesel. The other report, also still to be published, says that if biofuels' lifecycle emissions, rather than just direct emissions, from Iluc are taken into account, the EU would achieve little more than half its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050." [1]
- Location key to calculating biofuel carbon footprint, 4 February 2012 by SciGuru.com: "The US government has set a target for producing cellulosic ethanol of nearly 40 billion litres each year by 2020. The perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus is one potential source… But the climate impact of using the grass to make cellulosic ethanol depends on how and where it's grown, processed and transported. With that in mind, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, have assessed the optimum conditions for producing the fuel, using six different scenarios."
- "The team found that, provided indirect land-use change (ILUC) was successfully minimized or mitigated, the major factors affecting the greenhouse-gas emissions of cellulosic ethanol production were the amount of soil carbon emitted or stored during growth of the grass, and greenhouse-gas offset credits for electricity exported to the grid by biorefineries."
- "What also became increasingly clear to us is the importance of location; where the biomass is grown, where the biorefineries are located, and by what mode and how far both the biomass and ethanol product must be transported are all key to assessing the environmental impacts," said Scown. "These are all unknowns for an industry such as cellulosic ethanol production that has yet to develop on a commercial scale."[2]
- Read the article, Lifecycle greenhouse gas implications of US national scenarios for cellulosic ethanol production, published in Environmental Research Letters (ERL).
- IUCN Report Highlights Biofuel Production's Threats to Food Security, 6 October 2011 by IISD: "A new report commissioned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and others, titled "Biofuels and indirect land use change," highlights findings that expanding biofuel production could displace agricultural production activities onto land with high natural carbon stocks, including grasslands and forests, with significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity loss and threats to food security."
- "The report looks at the mitigation options considered by the European Commission for dealing with indirect land use change arising from the use of biofuels under the Renewable Energy Directive."[3]
- Download the report, Biofuels and indirect land use change: The case for mitigation (PDF file).
- Biofuels may meet development needs of Sub-Saharan Africa, 3 October 2011 by Center for International Forestry Research blog: "Biofuel expansion has enormous potential to stimulate rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa, but ensuring local community benefits and adequate protections for food production and forests will require strategic policy interventions and close collaboration among stakeholders, according to a new study by the Center for International Forestry Research."
- "Biofuels have been touted as a 'green' alternative to fossil fuels, however critics of biofuel production argue that the expansion of biofuel development can often contribute to deforestation."
- "Moreover, increasing land acquisition for biofuel expansion rather than food production in Africa could undermine food security and exacerbate a number of underlying social issues."
- "The study urges for increased collaboration between government and the biofuel industry which will ensure that biofuel development can enhance livelihoods by bringing in urgently needed investment in the agricultural sector that would result in improved infrastructure and increased cash income in impoverished rural areas."[4]
- European biofuels given reprieve, report suggests, 12 September 2011 by Farmers Guardian: "THE European Union's top climate and energy officials have agreed to delay rules which would penalise individual biofuels for their indirect climate impacts, Reuters news agency is reporting."
- "The political compromise is designed to protect EU farmers' incomes and existing investments in the biofuel sector, while discouraging new investments in biofuels which do nothing to fight climate change."
- "At issue is indirect land use change (ILUC), which states if you divert food crops to biofuel production, someone, somewhere, will go hungry unless those missing metric tons of grain are grown elsewhere."
- "If the crops to make up the shortfall are grown on new farmland created by cutting down rainforests or draining peat land, this can release enough climate-warming emissions to cancel out any theoretical emission savings from biofuels."
- "The July agreement would delay crop-specific rules on ILUC in favor of an indirect approach that penalises all biofuels equally.This involves raising the carbon-savings threshold that all biofuels must meet compared with conventional fossil fuel to count toward the EU's target, which aims to raise the share of biofuel in road transport fuels to about 10 percent in 2020."[5]
- EU to delay action on biofuels' indirect impact, 8 September 2011 by Reuters: "The European Union's top climate and energy officials have agreed to delay by up to seven years rules that would penalize individual biofuels for their indirect climate impacts, details of the deal showed."
- "The political compromise is designed to protect EU farmers' incomes and existing investments in the bloc's 17 billion euro-a-year ($24 billion) biofuel sector, while discouraging new investments in biofuels that do nothing to fight climate change."
- "At issue is an emerging concept known as indirect land use change (ILUC), which states that if you divert food crops to biofuel production, someone, somewhere, will go hungry unless those missing metric tons of grain are grown elsewhere."
- "If the crops to make up the shortfall are grown on new farmland created by cutting down rainforests or draining peat land, this can release enough climate-warming emissions to cancel out any theoretical emission savings from biofuels."
- "The July agreement would delay crop-specific rules on ILUC in favor of an indirect approach that penalizes all biofuels equally."
- "This involves raising the carbon-savings threshold that all biofuels must meet compared with conventional fossil fuel to count toward the EU's target, which aims to raise the share of biofuel in road transport fuels to about 10 percent in 2020."
- "By sending a clear message that ILUC factors will be introduced in the future, the Commission said its approach would help to 'phase out the worst performing biofuels and to prevent further investments in unsustainable biofuels.'"
- "The Commission is expected to present formally its ILUC proposals in the coming months, after which EU governments and the European Parliament will have a limited time in which to raise any objections."[6]
- Sugar Cane-to-Jet Fuel Pathway Analyzed for Sustainability, 8 August 2011 by Environment News Service: "Two publicly traded aircraft manufacturers and the Inter-American Development Bank will jointly fund a sustainability analysis of renewable jet fuel sourced from Brazilian sugar cane."
- "Shouldering the funding with the bank are The Boeing Company and Embraer S.A., the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jets up to 120 seats."
- "For the first time, the study will evaluate environmental and market conditions associated with the use of renewable jet fuel produced by Amyris Brasil S.A., a majority-owned Brazilian company, a subsidiary of California-based Amyris."
- "The global conservation organization World Wildlife Fund will serve as an independent reviewer and advisor for the analysis."
- "Scheduled for completion in early 2012, the study will include a complete life cycle analysis of the emissions associated with Amyris's renewable jet fuel, including indirect land use change and effects."[7]
- EU gets tough on dirty biofuel, pledges more action, 19 July 2011 by Reuters: "Europe's energy chief announced seven green certification schemes for biofuels on Tuesday and promised in future to tackle the unwanted side-effects of turning food into fuel."
- "Guenther Oettinger said biofuels' indirect impacts were dangerous for the planet's carbon balance and food supply."
- "The European Union agreed three years ago to get 10 percent of its road fuels from biofuels -- at a time when such fuels were widely regarded as good for the environment -- but since then controversy has raged in Europe over the target."
- "Oettinger took a first step toward limiting biofuels' impact on the environment on Tuesday, launching a green standard to prevent companies from clearing forest, peatlands or grassland to grow biofuels for the European market."
- "Critics say the EU's biofuel target creates an incentive for farmers to hack directly into forests to create space to grow fuel crops -- known as direct land use change."
- "But they also charge that even biofuel crops planted in Europe can send shock waves through global food markets and indirectly promote deforestation -- indirect land use change."
- "Recent research shows that when more food is needed, the majority of new farmland, possibly as much as 80 percent, comes from burning down forests."[8]
- New Study Shows No Bond Between Land Use Changes and Biofuels, 16 May 2011 by Hoosier Ag Today: "Researchers at Michigan State University used historical data on U.S. croplands, commodity grain exports and land use trends to see if there was a link between indirect land use change (ILUC) and biofuels expansion through 2007. They concluded that U.S. biofuel production has not provoked ILUC, saying crop intensification may have absorbed the effects of expanding biofuels production or the effects of production expansion may be negligible within the accuracy of the data. This conclusion is similar to that of a recent conclusion made by the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which says ILUC as a result of corn ethanol expansion during the past 10 years has been minimal to zero."[9]
- Access the paper, Indirect land use change for biofuels: Testing predictions and improving analytical methodologies , in the journal Biomass and Bioenergy.
- Analysis: Bioethanol may win in crunch time for EU biofuels, 13 May 2011 by Reuters: "After a two-year investigation, the European Commission has decided that the complex issue of 'indirect land use change' (ILUC) can lessen carbon savings from biofuels."
- "The battle over ILUC has poured doubt on the security of any new investments, but that could be ended this summer when the Commission announces moves to curb the least sustainable."
- "EU sources involved in the debate say a ranking is starting to emerge, giving the cleanest credentials to advanced bioethanol from farming residues such as straw. Next comes bioethanol from sugar beet and sugar cane, followed by the most efficient bioethanol from wheat."
- "The Commission's new evidence will also create pressure to speed up the adoption of next-generation biofuels from agricultural residues such as straw, which do not compete with food and therefore do not create ILUC."
- "But many industry players say Europe's political incentives are not enough to compensate for the risks and added costs of investing in new technology. 'The technology is available.' said Kare Riis Nielsen of Novozymes. 'Now we are facing a political barrier. The current policies are ineffective. A specific blending target or mandate for next-generation biofuels in all petrol is key.'[10]
- European ethanol, ag sectors unite in criticizing ILUC modeling, 3 May 2011 press release by ePURE in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "At a jointly hosted conference on May 3 in Brussels, the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE) and European farmers body Copa-Cogeca joined forces to criticize European Commission plans to introduce an ILUC factor for biofuels."
- "At the meeting, organized to examine the commission's current thinking on indirect land use change (ILUC), both organizations urged the EC to step back from considering introducing unwarranted and punitive measures on the European ethanol and farming sector. In a December 2010 communication, the commission suggested that it may introduce an ILUC factor in regulations which ePURE and Copa-Cogeca would render the European biofuel industry unviable."
- "The focal point of the Brussels meeting was a set of well-researched presentations by several ILUC experts. These experts all agree that the current modeling is simply not adequate as a basis for good policy-making...."
- "The ethanol industry has the strong impression that it is going to be penalized for something it is not responsible for, such as deforestation. Instead, this industry should be rewarded for bringing idle land in Europe back into productivity and for providing vital coproducts for the food sector."[11]
- Evidence of indirect land-use change is clear, says report, 21 March 2011 by Transport & Environment: "A report by Germany's Öko Institut says there is sufficient scientific knowledge for the EU to include the effects of indirect land use change (Iluc) in its sustainability criteria to determine which biofuels will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report was commissioned by the European Parliament's environment committee, and puts further pressure on the Commission to include ILUC in its assessment of policy options on biofuels due to be published in July."
- "The report was presented to MEPs earlier this month, and criticises December's decision by the Commission to delay incorporating Iluc until it has more evidence about its effects. Iluc is the syndrome by which growing crops for biofuels triggers displacement of existing food or feed production to nature areas, which in many cases leads to higher emissions from biofuels than from the production of conventional fuels."
- "The Öko Institut says the only viable option for assessing the environmental performance of biofuels is to have feedstock-specific Iluc factors. This would directly link the production of biofuels to its effect on food production."[12]
- Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview , March 2011 by ScienceDirect:
- From the abstract: "A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use....Certification has the potential to influence positively direct environmental and social impact of bioenergy production. Key recommendations to ensure sustainability of biofuels/bioenergy through certification include the need of an international approach and further harmonisation, combined with additional measures for global monitoring and control. The effects of biofuels/bioenergy production on indirect land use change (ILUC) is still very uncertain; addressing the unwanted ILUC requires sustainable land use planning and adequate monitoring tools such as remote sensing, regardless of the end-use of the product."[13]
- Midwest senators strike back with pro-biofuels bill, 11 March 2011 by Ethanol Producer Magazine: "Two Midwest senators proposed legislation March 10 favoring the build-out of biofuels infrastructure and continued federal support of ethanol and biodiesel. The Securing America's Future with Energy and Sustainable Technologies Act, introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., would establish incentives for biofuels infrastructure and deployment, develop a 'more cost-effective' tax credit program for ethanol and biodiesel, establish a renewable energy standard and encourage greater production of hybrid, electric and flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs)."
- "The bill immediately received widespread support from renewable fuels and agriculture groups."
- "The 117-page SAFEST Act covers a wide spectrum of renewable fuels interests and contains several important provisions related to the ethanol industry....The legislation also includes text that would prevent the U.S. EPA from considering international indirect land use changes when calculating biofuels' lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and calls for the National Academies of Science to conduct a review of methodologies used to project indirect GHG emissions relating to transportation fuels."[14]
- RFA Supports ARB Adoption of New Purdue ILUC Work, But Cautions that More Improvements are Needed, 17 February 2011 by Renewable Fuels Association: "In comments submitted Wednesday to the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) continued to raise concerns regarding the indirect land use change (ILUC) analysis used for the state's Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS)."
- "The results of Purdue's recent analysis reduce the ILUC penalty for corn ethanol from ARB's current value of 30 grams/megajoule (g/MJ) to approximately 14 g/MJ."
- "In general, the RFA agreed with many of the recommendations provided by the appointed experts on the workgroup to improve ARB's ILUC analysis."[15]
- In face of hunger, corn ethanol industry says blame anyone but us, 14 February 2011 by Switchboard.nrdc.com: "In a Washington Post editorial last week, biofuels expert Tim Searchinger sheds much needed light on the link between two important trends in today's markets for grains: the expansion of global biofuels mandates on the one hand and the frequency and magnitude of food shortages around the world on the other."
- "Where Searchinger lays out how in a complicated and complex market, biofuels make a bad situation worse, the industry cries for the messenger's head and tries to shift the blame to anyone but themselves."
- "This now prominently features attacks on the science of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions accounting for biofuels, including the need to account for the carbon that is emitted when forests and other uncultivated lands are cleared for food production as a result of existing cropland being diverted towards growing grains for fuel."[16]
- Oettinger tells Europe: It's double or quits on renewables, 31 January 2011 by Euractiv.com: "Europe will have to double its spending on renewables if it wants to meet its 2020 energy commitments, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger has said."
- "The data showed that EU member states had largely failed to meet the electricity and transport targets they had set themselves for 2010."
- "But the latest figures show that only seven EU countries – Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal– expect to meet or exceed their 2010 renewables targets, according to their national action plans."
- "To achieve the EU's energy goals, Oettinger called for a doubling of capital investments in renewable energies from €35 billion to €70 billion. This would require a substantial use of national support plans, he stated. But he did not set any time frame for implementation."
- "'If member states work together and produce renewable energy where it costs less, companies, consumers and the taxpayer will benefit from this,' he added."
- "'Unfortunately, the Commission is still dragging its feet on the issue of sustainable biofuels,' Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes said."
- "He called for an urgent introduction of rules to take into account the impact of biofuels on indirect land use change (ILUC)."[17]
- Biofuel worse for climate than fossil fuel - study, 7 November 2010 by Reuters: "European plans to promote biofuels will drive farmers to convert 69,000 square km of wild land into fields and plantations, depriving the poor of food and accelerating climate change, a report warned on Monday."
- "As a result, the extra biofuels that Europe will use over the next decade will generate between 81 and 167 percent more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, says the report."
- "Nine environmental groups reached the conclusion after analysing official data on the European Union's goal of getting 10 percent of transport fuel from renewable sources by 2020."
- "But the European Commission's energy team, which originally formulated the goal, countered that the bulk of the land needed would be found by recultivating abandoned farmland in Europe and Asia, minimising the impact."
- "The debate centres on a new concept known as "indirect land-use change."
- "In essence, that means that if you take a field of grain and switch the crop to biofuel, somebody, somewhere, will go hungry unless those missing tonnes of grain are grown elsewhere."
- "The report was compiled by ActionAid, Birdlife International, ClientEarth, European Environment Bureau, FERN, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace, Transport & Environment, Wetlands International."[18]
- Cars and People Compete for Grain, 1 June 2010 by Earth Policy Institute: "Historically the food and energy economies were separate, but now with the massive U.S. capacity to convert grain into ethanol, that is changing....If the fuel value of grain exceeds its food value, the market will simply move the commodity into the energy economy."
- "For every additional acre planted to corn to produce fuel, an acre of land must be cleared for cropping elsewhere. But there is little new land to be brought under the plow unless it comes from clearing tropical rainforests in the Amazon and Congo basins and in Indonesia or from clearing land in the Brazilian cerrado."[19]
- Biofuels cause four times more carbon emissions, 22 April 2010 by the Telegraph (UK): A "new report commissioned in Brussels found some biofuels can lead to four times more carbon dioxide polluting the atmosphere than equivalent fossil fuels."
- "The report for the European Commission, released under Freedom of Information rules, looked into the 'indirect emissions' from biofuels caused by land use change. The worse example is soy beans in America. Because the land that used to grow soy beans for animal feed is now being used for biofuels, it means that more soy beans must be grown in the rainforests of Brazil to make up for the loss in the domestic market."
- "Soybeans grown in America therefore have an indirect carbon footprint of 340kg of CO2 per gigajoule, compared to just 85kg for conventional diesel or gasoline."
- "Biodiesel from European rapeseed has an indirect carbon footprint of 150kg of CO2 per gigajoule, while bioethanol from European sugar beet is calculated at 100kg – both much higher than conventional diesel because of indirect use of land in other countries to replace the food crops that are no longer grown in Europe."
- "By contrast, imports of bioethanol from Latin American sugar cane and palm oil from southeast Asia have relatively low indirect emissions at 82kg and 73kg per gigajoule respectively."[20]
- Read the full report, Quantification of the effects on greenhouse gas emissions of policies and measures (PDF file)
- Weed to Wonder Fuel? Jatropha Draws Biofuel Investors - and Questions, 13 April 2010 by SolveClimate.com: "In the world of biofuels, the pattern is familiar: Concerns grow over one crop's impacts or overhyped potential, and another then appears to take its place with promises of planet-saving prowess."
- "The latest savior is jatropha, a drought-resistant and hardy plant that supposedly can deliver high energy yields on marginal land and eliminate concerns about food competing with fuel for farmland."
- "As of 2008, 242 jatropha biofuel projects covered 2.2 million acres; those numbers are likely much higher now....The Global Exchange for Social Investment predicted in its 2008 report that 32 million acres would be in production by 2015."
- "Achieving [estimated] yields [of 200 gallons of oil per acre per year] on a large scale, though, will most likely require better than 'marginal' lands and better than primitive farming practices."
- "Also, research into jatropha's potential as a greenhouse gas emissions saver has yet to be fully explored. The major sticking point that arose with corn ethanol, sugarcane and other feedstocks is the concept of indirect land use changes and other elements of total lifecycle emissions that reduce the overall benefits".[21]
- IFPRI Publishes Study on the EU Biofuels Mandate, by The International Food Policy Research Institute: "The report is one of four commissioned by the European Commission to assess the impacts of the 10% target for the use of renewable energy in road transport fuels by 2020."
- "The study uses a global general equilibrium model, separately including numerous first generation ethanol and biodiesel feedstocks, co-generated products, farming techniques, as well as direct, and indirect land-use changes (ILUC) resulting from the mandated increase in consumption of biofuels. Additionally, as the model is global, it also considers different multi- and bilateral trade scenarios."
- "The results indicate that there is ILUC associated with the EU mandate, but that the mandate will still result in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings of nearly 13 million tons over 20 years. Additionally, the authors find that the mandate will have only a negligible effect on food prices and, concerning biodiesel, even with ILUC taken into account, imported palm oil remains as efficient as European rapeseed."[22]
- Read the full report here: Global Trade and Environmental Impact Study of the EU Biofuels Mandate (PDF).
- Administration Support for Biofuels is Part of a Bigger Policy Need, 4 February 2010 blog post by 25 x 25 Alliance: "The final rule adopted by EPA this week to implement the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) set in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act correctly recognizes that high-efficiency, first-generation ethanol can, and will continue to, contribute to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."
- "The agency and Administrator Lisa Jackson, a member of the working group, wisely broadened the scope of the research to cover wider spectrum of countries impacted by ILUC (from 40 to 160) and took into account more recent crop yield and land productivity numbers."
- "The latest research also saw an improvement in numbers for soy biodiesel, which now will be able to qualify for the advanced RFS subcategory, biomass-based diesel." [23]
- Lawsuit: LCFS violates US Constitution, 4 January 2010 by Todd J. Guerrero in Ethanol Producer Magazine: "In a case that will be closely watched throughout the country, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association recently filed suit in federal district court alleging that California's low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) violates the federal Constitution."
- "Adopted by the California Air Resources Board in 2009, the LCFS is intended to reduce California greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in California by an average of 10 percent by the year 2020. Carbon intensity is a measure of the direct and indirect GHG emissions associated with each step of a fuel's full life cycle – the 'well-to-wheels' for fossil fuels and 'seed-to-wheels' for biofuels."
- "For corn ethanol, indirect land use changes are a significant source of additional GHG emissions....Given the LCFS' requirement of reduced carbon intensity, it's not difficult to see that corn ethanol will be severely disadvantaged in California."[24]
- Compromise Amendment to Waxman-Markey Bill Prohibits EPA From Using Indirect Land Use Change Metrics on Biofuels for 5 Years While National Academies Research the Issue, 26 June 2009, Green Car Congress.
- Calif. Approves Nation's 1st Low-Carbon Fuel Rule, 24 April 2009, New York Times by the Associated Press: On 23 April 2009, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the specific rules and carbon intensity reference values for the low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) that will go into effect on 1 January 2011. The ruling included the controversial indirect land use impacts of biofuels.
- See also CARB's Press Release about this ruling, and the reactions from the US corn ethanol industry, UNICA's Brazilian sugarcane ethanol industry, Canadian officials regarding their Alberta oil sands, and the US oil representatives.
State of the discussion on GHG emissions from indirect land use changes
The article published in Science in February 2008 brought the topic of indirect land use changes caused by biofuels to widespread attention. The RSB Steering Board asked the GHG Working Group to address this issue. This page provides resources helping stakeholders to be informed and thus to properly follow the discussion.
Please send us any further relevant resources which could enhance the discussion. Thanks. (tourane.corbiere"at"epfl.ch or georgios.sarantakos"at"epfl.ch)
Background resources on indirect land use changes
- Letter to Gov Schwarzenegger from biofuel stakeholders to express their concern about the fact that "ARB staff continues to push a regulation that includes an indirect land use change (iLUC)(...) only being enforced against biofuels in the proposed LCFS." [25]
- Letters to EPA Administrator Johnson:
- From Bruce Dale and other academics asking him to delay inclusion of indirect land use in the rule for biofuels until better models could be constructed. (October 27, 2008) [26]
- From the Clean Air Task Force, Environmental Working Group and Friends of the Earth, responding to the Dale letter.(October 31, 2008) [27]
- From the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), proposing that the EPA reveal its methodology for including indirect land use change so that the proposed rule's comment period could be used for refining the model before any conclusions are drawn about the impacts of specific biofuels (October 23, 2008) [28]
- Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt, Joseph Fargione, Jason Hill, David Tilman, Stephen Polasky, Peter Hawthorne / Scienceexpress (7 February 2008) (PDF file)
- Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change, Timothy Searchinger, Ralph Heimlich, R. A. Houghton, Fengxia Dong, Amani Elobeid, Jacinto Fabiosa, Simla Tokgoz, Dermot Hayes, Tun-Hsiang Yu / Scienceexpress (7 February 2008) [29] (See also the Supporting Materials (PDF file))
- Response of the New Fuels Alliance to the articles of Science. "More Misleading Biofuels Analysis- Searchinger and Tillman Reports Raise Serious Methodological Questions" (February 12, 2008) [30]
- Letter to the Editor of Science, Bruce Dale (February 16, 2008) link (PDF file)
- Letter to the Editor of Science, John Sheehan (February 17, 2008) link (PDF file)
- Ethanol and Land Use Changes, David Morris / Policy Brief, New Rules Project (February, 2008) Link (PDF file)
- Better biofuels before more biofuels, Alexander E. Farrell / San Francisco Chronicle (13 February 2008) [31]
- Response to New Fuels Alliance and DOE Analysts Criticisms of Science Studies of Greenhouse Gases and Biofuels, Timothy D. Searchinger (February 26, 2008) link (PDF file)
- Indirect Land Use Thoughts by Bruce Dale (March 3, 2008) (PDF file)
- Letter to the Editor of Science - Response to Searchinger's answer, Michael Wang (March 14, 2008) link (PDF file)
- E. Gnansounou et al; "Summary of Methodological Approaches to Calculating the Impacts of Indirect Land Use Change"; LASEN-EPFL; March 2008 link (PDF file).
- DOE Actively Engaged in Investigating the Role of Biofuels in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Indirect Land Use Change, U.S: Department of Energy (May 26, 2008) (PDF file)
- Critique of Searchinger (2008) & related papers assessing indirect effects of biofuels on land-use change by ADAS UK Ltd (A study commissioned by AEA Technology as part of the The Gallagher Biofuels Review for Renewable Fuels Agency Department for Transport) (June 12, 2008) (PDF file)
- The Gallagher Review of the indirect effects of biofuels production, Renewable Fuels Agency (UK), Final Report (July 2008) (PDF file)
- Addendum to The Gallagher Review, Renewable Fuel Agency (UK), July 2008 (PDF file)
- Additonal Material to the Gallagher Review is available on the Renewable Fuels Agency (UK) website [32]
Consideration of the indirect land-use change issue by the California Air Resources Board
The California Air Resources Board (CARB), as part of its activity to put in place a "Low Carbon Fuel Standard", in 2008 addressed the issue of the indirect impacts of biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions. The views of various experts were communicated in a number of important letters in June and July 2008. These included:
- 24 June 2008 (Simmons) letter (PDF file) - Letter of 24 June 2008 from experts at Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories and others to the Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Key excerpts:
- "As researchers and scientists in the field of biomass to biofuel conversion, we are convinced that there simply is not enough hard empirical data to base any sound policy regulation in regards to the indirect impacts of renewable biofuels production."
- "The traditional tools used by researchers, including Searchinger et al., to determine the direct and indirect impacts of renewable biofuel production are life cycle analysis (LCA) coupled with land-use change (LUC) projections....LCA models can be applied to the same problem but produce significantly different, and often contradictory, results. There remain great uncertainties and challenges in combining LUC and LCA models that make their use highly problematic....Thus it is extremely difficult to make a comparison of the direct and indirect impacts between fossil fuels and renewable biofuels.
- "Given that our only options for sustainably powering transportation with a significant reduction in transportation related greenhouse gas emissions are biofuels, batteries, and hydrogen, a presumptive policy implementation based on the current understanding of indirect impacts will have a significant chance to hurt real progress on reducing carbon emissions and decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels."
- 2 July 2008 (Searchinger) letter (PDF file) - Letter of 2 July 2008 from Princeton University Prof. Tim Searchinger to Blake Simmons, Manager of the Energy Systems Department, Sandia National Laboratories (lead author of the 24 June letter). Key excerpts:
- "I write to correct an important inaccuracy in your recent letter to the California Air Resources Board regarding our publication...Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change, Science 319:1238-40 (2008).
- "[I]t is odd that your letter denies the market impacts of biofuels precisely in a year when world crop prices have reached price levels 300% higher for cereals than 2000 and 400% higher for vegetable oil...."
- "Calculating indirect land use change simply recognizes that the same land used to produce biofuels is already taking up carbon from the atmosphere and would continue to provide carbon benefits in the form of storage or food even if not diverted to producing biofuels....But typical lifecycle analyses ignore the fact that land would already be providing carbon benefits, which are sacrificed when the land is diverted to producing biofuels."
- "Accounting for the cost of using land to make biofuels as well as the benefit obviously produces a very different result than just counting the benefit. Making biofuels out of waste products avoids these costs. We may also be able to grow new biofuel grasses and trees productively on otherwise unproductive land, resulting in land use benefits that greatly exceed the costs. But your letter does not encourage these alternatives that avoid or minimize land use costs. Instead, it calls for ignoring the cost of using land altogether."
- "The practical effect of following your advice to count only direct land use effects would be to favor some of the most environmentally harmful biofuels over those that hold promise of true benefits. Biodiesel from palm oil provides a good illustration. It is well known that the drainage of peat lands in Southeast Asia for palm oil plantations triggers enormous soil oxidation and release of carbon dioxide. Palm oil is a valuable and growing vegetable oil, and even absent biofuels, it will continue to grow rapidly....If California counted direct but not indirect land use change, the palm oil industry could sell to California without any change in practice."
- "Lifecycle analysis of biodiesels from palm, soybeans and rapeseed tend to calculate large greenhouse gas benefits if you ignore land use change. Your advice would therefore have California promote one of the world's most destructive agricultural practices. That would undercut biofuels that hold promise by avoiding or minimizing impacts from land use change."
- 3 July 2008 (UC) letter (PDF file) - Letter of 3 July 2008 from researchers from the University of California and other universities to Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Key excerpts:
- "We note with interest the letter dated June 24 from 27 colleagues urging you to implement the Low Carbon Fuel Standard without reference to what they call 'indirect impacts of renewable biofuels production.'"
- "The authors of the 24 June letter recommend, in simplest terms, that the LCFS be implemented for several years as though the global warming effect of iLUC [indirect Land Use Change] were zero, on grounds that 'great uncertainties' exist about its magnitude and about indirect global warming (GW) effects of fossil fuel use. We disagree with this 'free pass' approach on several scientific, economic, and public policy grounds."
- "[W]e strongly advise against the path recommended in the July 24 letter. While the science of iLUC impacts is evolving, zero is most certainly not the most likely or scientifically most soundly supported value, and we see no evidence that it will be in the foreseeable future."
- "It has long been suggested that CO2 emissions released from the conversion of land could dominate the entire lifecycle GHG emissions of biofuels. The evidence that iLUC GW effects are large rests on economic models, including those used to generate the peer-reviewed paper published in January, and widely accepted estimates of the carbon stored in standing biomass in different ecological zones around the world."
- "So far no models, in particular no peer-reviewed models, have been advanced that come up with values for iLUC that are significantly lower than those in the Searchinger et al paper.
- "Our past and ongoing work lend strong support to the path CARB is pursuing: developing the life-cycle assessment methods to assess not only the greenhouse gas impacts, but also the wider sustainability of our energy choices."
- "We know today more than enough to move ahead with a scientifically and socially responsible LCFS. Further work is needed, but this can not be used as an excuse to permit irresponsible ventures to gain a foothold when the science exists today to make more informed choices."
Biochar and carbon-negative land-use systems
The original draft of this section was contributed by BioenergyWiki user Lorenzo
The articles in Science failed to note the existence of new land use techniques based on carbon soil sequestration, better known as biochar, terra preta or agrichar.
In these systems (see illustration at right), the standing biomass that will be cleared is not burned, but instead turned into biochar via pyrolysis and used to generate energy in the process. The nano-porous char is then stored in the soil to form a stable carbon sink. Char amended soils can sequester hundreds of tonnes of inert C per hectare, and can be built up over time. The carbon has a half life of centuries, possibly millennia (research is still trying to find out the exact range, but the terra preta soils show the time scales involved are large enough for the system to play a role in stabilising the climate.)
This results in highly fertile soils that boost crop yields, reduce fertilizer needs and offset the carbon debt from the first operation onwards. Biochar has been shown to increase Ph, which is highly relevant in the vast acidic soils of the tropics; increases cation exchange capacity; improves water retention capacity; stimulates soil microbial activity; reduces N2O emissions significantly.
In later cycles, more biomass can be grown on these artificial, fertile, high-carbon soils. Yield increases of between 200 and 800 percent have been reported for crops grown on char-amended tropical soils.
More and more biomass can thus be converted via pyrolysis. During the pyrolysis, carbon-negative energy is generated (either as electricity from syngas, or as liquid biofuel obtained from pyrolysis oil or from gas-to-liquids processes).
Overall, the system results in carbon-negative bioenergy. That is: systems that actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Negative emissions offset the carbon debt from the start, and after the first cycle, the negative emissions keep accumulating, thus presenting what is probably the most radical tool in reducing emissions. (Renewables like solar, wind or hydropower are all "carbon neutral" at best; biochar based bioenergy and biofuel systems are "carbon-negative".)
The potential for these systems has been estimated: they can reverse climate change if implemented on a global scale in agricultural soils, and if slash-and-burn practises are transformed into slash-and-char.
- Cornell University: Biochar Soil Biogeochemistry. [33]
- International Biochar Initiative. [34]
- Biochar at the UNFCCC (Bali) / UNCCD: Biochar.org [35].
- Lehmann, J.: 2007, 'A handful of carbon', Nature 447, 143-144. [36]
- Amonette, J, et al. "Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration with Biochar: A Preliminary Assessment of its Global Potential", 2007: American Geophysical Union. [37]
- Lehmann J 2007 "Bio-energy in the black". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5, 381-387. [38]
- Lehmann J and Rondon M 2006 Bio-char soil management on highly weathered soils in the humid tropics. In Uphoff N (ed.) Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems. CRC Press, Boca Raton , FL. pp.517-530. [39]
- Lehmann, J., Gaunt, J. and Rondon, M.: 2006, 'Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems – a review', Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 11, 403-427 [40]
Other interesting resources
- Accounting for Indirect Land Use Change in the Life Cycle Assessment of Biofuel Supply Chains by Susan Tarka Sanchez, Jeremy Woods, Mark Akhurst, Matthew Brander, Michael O'Hare, Terence P. Dawson, Robert Edwards, Adam J. Liska and Rick Malpas, March 2012. "We analyse the use of life cycle analysis (LCA) for estimating the carbon intensity of biofuel production from indirect land-use change (ILUC). Two approaches are critiqued: direct, attributional life cycle analysis and consequential life cycle analysis (CLCA)...We conclude that CLCA is applicable for estimating the historic emissions from ILUC, although improvements to the hybrid approach proposed, coupled with regular updating, are required, and uncertainly values must be adequately represented; however, the scope and the depth of the expansion of the system boundaries required for CLCA remain controversial." [41]
- The dilemma of indirect land-use changes in EU biofuel policy – An empirical study of policy-making in the context of scientific uncertainty by Lorenzo Di Lucia, Serina Ahlgren, Karin Ericsson, 2011. "The potential impact of policies promoting transport biofuels on the use of land due to the indirect effects of feedstock cultivation has generated a controversy in the EU. Policy-makers are urged to regulate the matter without conclusive scientific evidence concerning the scale and severity of indirect land-use change (iLUC). By looking at this situation as an instance of policy making in the context of scientific uncertainty, this study analyses ways to deal with iLUC of biofuels policies learning from policy fields where similar dilemmas were confronted in the past. The experience with technologies such as genetically modified organisms, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and radioactive waste, and transport biofuels is instructive for this purpose. Policy approaches identified in the case studies are applied to the case of iLUC."
- Soy oil and indirect land use change: Biofuel crops, indirect land use change and emissions (PDF) by Friends of the Earth Europe, August 2010. "Friends of the Earth illustrates the reality of indirect land use change, highlighting how the EU's biofuel policy could in fact be aggravating climate change. This briefing looks at how demand for soy oil is contributing to ILUC through the knock-on effects on the demand for palm oil."
- "Sustainable" palm oil driving deforestation: Biofuel crops, indirect land use change and emissions (PDF) by Friends of the Earth Europe, August 2010. "This briefing looks at how demand for "sustainable" palm oil is contributing to ILUC. This is illustrated using the example of Malaysian palm oil company Sime Darby which is deforesting new land partially in order to meet increase in demand for certified palm oil for biofuel."
- Sugar cane and land use change in Brazil: Biofuel crops, indirect land use change and emissions (PDF) by Friends of the Earth Europe, August 2010. "This briefing looks at how increased demand for sugar cane has led to other agriculture being displaced in Brazil, resulting in deforestation and the loss of important stores of carbon dioxide."
- Biofuels: indirect land use change and climate impact (PDF) by H.J. Croezen, G.C. Bergsma, M.B.J. Otten and M.P.J. van Valkengoed, June 2010. "The objectives of this study are to compile the available recent literature on ILUC emissions, compare these emissions with the assumed gains of biofuels, assess how ILUC changes the carbon balance of using biofuels and formulate policies to avoid these extra emissions associated with ILUC."
- Indirect effects of biofuels: intensification of agricultural production by Stehfest E., Ros J. and Bouwman L. for the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: "Agricultural intensification has the potential to reduce indirect land-use change from biofuels. If such intensification is realised only by applying more fertiliser, this may lead to substantial indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Improvement of fertiliser-use efficiency is essential to prevent these emissions."
- Biofuel stakeholders opposed to the selective enforcement of Indirect Effects in California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (Letter, PDF file), 2 March 2009. About 130 individuals from the corporate, academic and public sectors have signed a letter to California's Gov. Schwarzenegger to express their concern about the fact that Air Resources Board (ARB) "staff continues to push a regulation that includes an indirect land use change (iLUC)(...) only being enforced against biofuels in the proposed LCFS." Continue the debate on the RSB special iLUC page!
- "U.S. biofuels policy drives deforestation in Indonesia, the Amazon", Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay, (January 17, 2008) and "U.S. corn subsidies drive Amazon destruction", Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay, (December 13, 2007).
- Interactions among Amazon land use, forests and climate: prospects for a near-term forest tipping point (PDF file), Daniel C. Nepstad, Claudia M. Stickler, Britaldo Soares-Filho,and Frank Merry, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.0036.
- Climate Geo-engineering with 'Carbon Negative' Bioenergy: Climate saviour or climate endgame?, November 2008 by Biofuelwatch: Critical report on "carbon negative" biofuels and biochar released by biofuelwatch. Concludes that proposals for geo-engineering with biochar "are almost certain to exacerbate biodiversity loss, ecosystem destruction and significantly increase GHG emissions.(Executive Summary (PDF file))
What is bioenergy? | Benefits/Risks | Who is doing what?


text:
The way heating costs are rising these days, you're going to want to do everything you can to save this coming fall and winter. The Z-Wave Alliance, the consortium that touts the Z-Wave wireless technology, celebrated the second anniversary of its Advanced Energy Savings Thermostat Device Class this week by debuting three more Z-Wave-enabled thermostats.
The new devices are the Intermatic CA8900, Wayne Dalton WDTC-20 and RCS TZ43. That brings the total of Z-Wave thermostats to 12, which are fully compliant and play well with more than 300 Z-Wave products.
Especially for your existing home's retrofit project, you can fill your automation needs with the wireless Z-Wave technology — the products include the thermostats, plus lighting controls, appliance and motor controls, door and window controls, window coverings, pool pumps, motion, light and humidity sensors, and A/V controls.
Other Z-Wave thermostats are from ACT, Danfoss, RCS, Horstmann and HAI.
The Alliance did not mention pricing on the three new thermostats, so check back with the individual manufacturers.


text:
Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
'Mighty' Good
Demetrious Johnson is still a cut above the rest at 125 pounds.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's lord of the flyweights put on another one-sided performance at UFC 174, this time styling on Ali Bagautinov in a five-round blowout. Johnson spent much of the 25-minute bout punishing the Dagestani sambo specialist with knees from the Thai clinch. The champ's fast footwork and snappy punches also played a large part, as Johnson poured on a total of 133 significant strikes to Bagautinov's paltry 36.
As with all dominant champions, the trouble now lies in finding suitable challengers for Johnson's gold. While "Mighty Mouse" told reporters after the fight that he is eager to face new opponents -- namely, Brad Pickett and Zach Makovsky -- UFC President Dana White said a rematch against John Dodson "makes the most sense" at the moment.
There was no title on the line in Rory MacDonald's bout, but the 24-year-old Canadian came away from UFC 174 with his stock considerably raised. MacDonald followed his exciting February win over Demian Maia with a one-sided trouncing of fellow contender Tyron Woodley on June 14 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The unanimous decision may not be enough to secure MacDonald a title shot, but it will go a long way toward erasing the criticism leveled against him after lackluster showings against Robbie Lawler and Jake Ellenberger.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Ovince St. Preux replaces the newly retired Chael Sonnen in the list of 205-pound contenders following an arm-snapping submission win over Ryan Jimmo, while Andrei Arlovski joins the ever-thin ranks of heavyweight contenders thanks to his controversial decision win over Brendan Schaub.
Continue Reading » Heavyweight


text:
Woods Continues To Dominate The 2010 Melges 32 European Championship
14 May 2010
Cagliari, Italy; 14 May 2010 - Two more races were in store on the second day of the 2010 Audi Melges 32 European Championship, confirming that undoubtedly Joe Woods on Red and Peter Rogers on Highlife are more determined to succeed than any other.
The fleet initially waited for the breeze to fill in as it has proven more difficult to read than ever be
fore. Right away, Dutch entry Kees Kaan on ROARK, seated last turns the weather mark in race one in first, while overall leader Woods was last. Kaan slowly but surely lost control of the lead to U.S. team John Kilroy on Samba Pa Ti with Stu Bannatyne on tactics. Kilroy won the the race ahead of Italian rivals Lanfranco Cirillo on Fantastica and Luca Lalli on B.LinSailing.com. Rogers suffered with an eighth place finish while Woods accepted a thirteenth.
There were more signs of tension and nervousness for the start of race two. After the third attempt at a start, Woods, with Paul Goodison on tactics (an Olympic Gold Medallist in the Laser class) and Edoardo Pavesio on Fra Martina with Charles Fracassoli on tactics, were among those that proved to have enough boat speed to build a substantial lead for the duration of the race. The wind diminished leaving Ferdinando Battistella's Cuervo Y Sobrinoswith Sandro Montefusco as tactician in third. For Cirillo, he won a ninth place finish, and Lalli's lackluster results were their worst yet. Rogers was satisfied with a nice seventh place, also his worst result thus far.
The overall top five positions remain unchanged but the standings have closed the gap.
Full Entry List (After 5 races)
1.) Joe Woods/Paul Goodison, Red; 1-6-1-13-1= 22
2.) Peter Rogers/Ruaridh Scott, Highlife; 2-1-5-5-7 = 23
3.) Lanfranco Cirillo/Michele Paoletti, Fantastica; 4-2-6-2-9 = 23
4.) Luca Lalli/Lorenzo Bressani, BLinSailing.com; 3-5-3-3-10 = 24
5.) John Kilroy/Stu Bannatyne, Samba Pa Ti; 8-9-4-1-5 = 27
6.) Jean-Francois Cruette/Christian Ponthieu, Teasing Machine; 7-4-9-12-6 = 41
7.) Filippo Pacinotti/Freddy Loof, Brontolo; 13-7-2-16-12 = 49
8.) Andrea Cecchetti/Vasco Vascotto, Bagua; 10-11-7-6-16 = 50
9.) Wolfgang Stolz/Sten Mohr, Opus One; 9-12-8-7-11 = 50
10.) Mauro Mocchegiani/Matteo Ivaldi, Rush Diletta; 13-14-13-8-4 = 52
Full Results
Full Crew List
View Photo Gallery by Zerogradnord.it
View Audi Melges 32 European Championship Photo Gallery
Full race reports, interviews and photo galleries will be posted online each day after racing at the official website of the International Melges 32 Class Association (IM32CA). If you are unable to attend 2010 Melges 32 Audi European Championship, stay in touch by subscribing to the IM32CA RSS Feed, or visiting the Official Melges 32 Blog. Friend the fleet on Facebook, follow it on Twitter and subscribe to the Official Melges 32 You Tube Channel.