On Wednesday we posted carbon footprint links.  In terms of climate change there are pros and cons to carbon offsets and whether or not there is even a need to do so.  However, in the spirit of keeping readers informed, here are links to carbon emission offsets.

The National Biodiesel Board reported that two thirds of the U.S. biodiesel production capacity remains unused due to the economic recession and the decline of oil prices over the past year.

The plight of prairie chickens is raising concerns for wind energy proponents. Both the Greater and Lesser Prairie Chickens are ground-dwelling birds that inhabit the Great Plains of the United States and are particularly famous for their colorful mating dance .

AltaRock Energy, which received $6.25 million from the US Department of Energy for the first demonstration project of enhanced geothermal energy, is facing major delays according to James Glanz of the New York Times

This is an interesting perspective from Yale Environment 360:
“Indeed, China may soon be simultaneously the greenest and the blackest place on earth. The country is poised to be at once the world’s leader in alternative energy — and its leading emitter of C02. Alternative energy as a percentage of the total energy mix is increasing, but it will complement —
not replace — growth in coal power.
“In fact, in a decade coal is expected to supply about 70 percent of China’s energy. Because of the sheer scale, diversity, and complexity of …

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) filed an objection with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to a proposal by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator that would dramatically increase the cost of wind farms grid connections, according to a report by James Murray in Business Green

Rentech announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with eight airlines at Los Angeles International Airport to provide up to 1.5 millions gallons of synthetic diesel for their ground service equipment. The purchases will be made through Aircraft Service International Group, the entity that provides fueling services to many airlines at LAX.

If your wind turbine conks out and it’s located off the Shetland Islands where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, who are you going to call? That’s one of the questions that nagged Tony Hayward, CEO of BP and guided BP’s decision to abandon the UK and look to the wide open spaces of America.

Investment in biobutanol is growing. BP and DuPont have entered into a joint venture to produce biobutanol from patented microbe technology. In early July, the EU approved the BP/Dupont takeover of a failing American biobutanol maker in the U.K.

Some of us talk about reducing our carbon footprint and others actually do it. Here is a house that’s tiny as a closet, but livable.