...Decree-Law No. 737 extended the obligation of mixing 5% of alcohol also to gasoline produced within Brazil. In the 60s, the discovery of vast oil reserves in the Middle East lessened the world’s interest in biofuels. However, with the first world oil crisis in 1973, the search for new energy sources restarted. In 1975, Brazil launched the National Alcohol Program (known as Proálcool) – the largest program for the commercial use of biomass for energy purposes in the world. Two years later, Professor Expedito Parente, of the Ceará Federal University, discovered biodiesel made from cotton oil and, in 1980, he registered the first world wide biodiesel patent, now in the public domain. Throughout the world, with the passing of the years and the intermittent energy crises, associated to a greater demand for fossil fuels, new and strong stimuli emerged for the development of production technologies both for ethanol and biodiesel. These two products are starting to have a leading role in the world’s energy matrix and in the international fuel market. Thanks to its climate, geography, vast areas available for cultivating grain and sugar cane and, also, the high technology developed by Petrobras, in the past few years Brazil has become, in world terms, one of the largest producers of biofuels, with a singular and enviable potential Presentation for growth. Currently, nine out of ten cars sold in Brazil have flex fuel engines, that is, they are...
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...significance, scope and limitation, research design and methodology of the study. 1.1 Background and Rationale of the Study Due to increase in population size, the world today craves for a higher consumption of biodiesel, vegetable oil, health supplements, cosmetics and other food and non – food products that people cannot live without. One main source of these products is African Oil Palm. According to Escobar et al. (2008) the African Oil Palm is the most productive species among oleaginous plants. It is a traditional native crop for the West and Central African communities, occurring between Angola and Gambia. This plays a major part of the culture of Africans and they use it both in the household and in the market. The quest for renewable energy has intensified since the escalating price of crude petroleum in the recent years. Renewable energy such as biodiesel has the potential to replace petroleum – derived transportation fuel in the future. Biodiesel is a renewable and biodegradable diesel fuel extracted from plant oil. It is a natural hydrocarbon with negligible sulfur content which will substantially help in reducing emissions from diesel – fed engines. According to the study conducted in Malaysia, the African Oil Palm has properties and potential for making biodiesel. Due to this discovery, African Palm Oil became the base of a highly profitable agro – industry that attracts the attention of many potential investors nowadays. African oil palm industry is the second largest...
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...Case study of the Economic Problem The basic economic problem Economists distinguish between wants and needs; needs are those things which people require to survive. These comprise food, water and protection from the elements in the form of shelter and clothing. Nestlé products fall into two of these categories (food and water). However they can only be described as wants because it is possible to survive without consuming any Nestlé products at all. All resources are considered scarce because the wants for them (the demand) outstrip the various uses for them (the supply). This means that they have to be shared out (distributed) by a mechanism such as price. There are numerous ways in which a resource may be used, an opportunity cost is therefore created whenever one use is preferred over another. If water is used for industrial production, it is not available for agriculture or domestic consumption. Water is a classic example of the distribution problem of scarce resources. There is actually enough water in the world for everyone's needs, and it is not a resource that is ever 'used up' in the way that other resources can be consumed. The amount of water in the earth's water cycle - evaporating from the sea, then falling as precipitation over land - is constant, the problem is one of distribution - it is not always located where it is needed. Read more: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/nestle/sustainability-and-water/the-basic-economic-problem.html#ixzz1oPYHca55 Case...
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...known as the “golden corp” of Southeast Asia, is the most economic edible oil to produce given its highest yield and lowest cost of production compared to other edible oil. Secondly, with the fast-growing population around the world, and the need to drive economic growth in developing nations such as China and India, the demand for food and fuel is expected to grow significantly, thus the same for palm oil. Thirdly, there are many rising health concerns with trans fat, and many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and consumers are seeking to limit trans fat consumption. Thus palm oil being trans fat free is an inexpensive alternative for this. Lastly, with the growing needs for biodiesel, palm oil will eventually become an important part of the renewable fuels. With the growing importance of palm oil, Asian Agri should attempt to strengthen its position in the industry and to promote the global use of palm oil. Viable strategies for the company include the following....
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...Oil Alternatives Examine the changing importance of three energy alternatives to oil [20 Marks] 1200 words. Correct citations. Oil has been an important resource for humanity for centuries. It is easily accessible and efficient and over time has been extremely versatile in its uses. Today oil is used for fueling cars, cooking food, cosmetics, lubricants, paintings, organic chemistry, etc. For a long time oil has been the primary and main provider of energy, but due to increasing environmental effects, scarcity, and global inflation, it seems as if it will not last much longer. This essay will highlight the growing importance of three alternatives of oil that may rise to prominence in the future: algae biofuel, nuclear energy, and hydroelectric power. The first alternative that will be discussed is algae biofuel. In essence algae biofuels are the same as normal fuels except that the components of the fuel are organic and biological rather than fossil fuel based. Production is caused through a series of chemical reactions and is nontoxic and renewable. Algae sources can be re-replaced through more farming. The standard production method consists of planting lots of algae pods and letting them interact with the sun and bacteria to create oil. (Howstuffworks) Although this method releases a lot of CO2 it is all taken back again through growing more algae. This is of the many advantages of algae biofuel. Firstly its production yield far surpasses that of other variations...
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...Environment: Nitrous Oxide Trumps e cientists working on behalf of the International Council for Science (ICSU), a Paris-based federation of scientific associations from around the world, have issued a new report that says biofuels do more to create global warming than burning fossil fuels. The reason is that raising the plants to be turned into ethanol and biodiesel releases large volumes of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) as a greenhouse gas. Once again, trying to solve humanity's longterm energy and climate problems by hastily grasping at so called green solutions has resulted in the opposite of what eco-activists have claimed. Biofuels have been promoted as a way of reducing the amount of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Plants such as sugar cane, corn (maize), wheat and oilseed rape absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. In theory, burning fuels made from them should have no net effect on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and, therefore, should not contribute to global warming. In Europe, efforts have concentrated on the use of rape seed oil for biodiesel while America has focused its efforts on corn in the short term with a vague promise of a shift to non-food cellulose (wood) sources sometime in the future. The ICSU report concludes that the production of biofuels has increased rather than reduced global warming. In particular, it supports the controversial findings published in 2007 by Paul Crutzen of...
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...Clean Technology: A greener aspect to development Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka 1 Economics of Geography and Environment (G101) Clean Technology: a greener aspect to development Clean Technology: A greener aspect to development Prepared for: Dr. A. M. M. Amanat Ullah Khan Professor, Department of Geography and Environment University of Dhaka Prepared by: Ahamed Najeeb Rahman ZR-74 Tasnia Azim Choudhury RH-76 M. Samiul Haque ZR-84 Jidny Rubaiyat Shoummo ZR-85 Zahin Azad Moslem ZR-121 BBA 20th Date of Submission: June 15, 2012 Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka 2 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 15 June, 2012. Dr. A. M. M. Amanat Ullah Khan Course Instructor Economics of Geography and Environment University of Dhaka Subject: Letter of transmittal for Economics of Geography and Environment course termpaper. Dear Sir, Here is the report which you asked us to submit for the requirement of our undergraduate course- Economics of Geography and Environment (G101). The title of the report is “Clean technology: a greener aspect to development”, which is a descriptive analysis of how Green Technology works and can help the environment. This report has been prepared under your authorization. Without your permission, no part of this report can or will be revealed. This report never has been, and never will be, reproduced for any other IBA course. We sincerely hope that you we were able to fulfil the course requirement...
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...TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary iii 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Origin of the report 1 1.2 Objectives 1 1.3 Scope 1 1.4 Methodology 2 1.5 Limitations 2 2.0 What is Green Technology 3 3.0 Prominent Examples of green Technology 7 3.1 Solar Energy 7 3.2 Biofuels 15 3.3 Green Building 21 4.0 Conclusion 33 ii Economics of Geography and Environment (G101) Clean Technology: a greener aspect to development SUMMARY In a world of rapid growth, both in terms of economy and population, human beings have sought to influence the environment around them for a better, more efficient and easier life. The resources that we have used up from the environment have often been nonrenewable and in our heedless march to glorious comfort, we have ignored the consequences of the effect that we are having on the world we live in. With the results of our negative impact on nature coming around to haunt us, there have been a rising global awareness and movement to better ourselves. Green technology is a major part of it. Green technology is the application of the environmental science to conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. The main idea behind green technology is to provide sustainable growth. That is, using resources from the Earth in a renewable fashion. The following report outlines some aspects of green technology and discusses three main ideas:...
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...b). Natural Gas c). Coal 3.2 Renewable Resources a). Hydro power v Current Hydropower stations v Potential Hydropower stations 3.3 Alternative Energy Sources a). Wind b). Solar c). Agricultural biomass /biodiesel d). Tidal 3.4 Nuclear 4. Causes of Energy Crisis 4.1 Growing Energy Demand 4.2 Lack of proactive and integrated planning for production of energy 4.3 Imbalanced energy mix 4.4 Non-utilization of enormous indigenous energy resources a). Thar Coal b). Hydal power generation 5. Consequences of Energy Crisis 5.1 Economic Factors 5.2 Agriculture Sector 5.3 Industrial Sector 5.4 Unemployment 5.5 Social Issues 5.6 Poverty 6. Conclusion 7. Recommendation/Solutions of Energy Crisis 7.1 Judicious energy use/saving unnecessary energy usage v electricity saving devices v Awareness campaign for energy saving v Reduction in unnecessary transportations v Installation of effective equipment/energy efficient in industries v Decreasing line/transmission losses 7.2 Developing new energy resources v Tapping indigenous resources v Using renewable resources (water) by constructing new dams and hydro power plants v Import of natural gas v Utilizing alternative energy resources § Wind power § Biodiesel /Biomass § Solar § Tidal 1. Introduction: Energy is considered to be life line of any economy and most vital instrument of socioeconomic development of a country. Energy is pivotal in running machinery in factories...
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...ASSIGNMENT 1 Introduction : Recent years ,Malaysia is keeping on priming of economy,their aim is to determine the Malaysia into a high-income developed nation.so they has been proposed the economic transformation programme ,the programme is a comprehensive effort that will transform Malaysia into a high-income nation ,and change the country's main productivity from the agricultural to the Industrialization by 2020. The Economy transformation programme is follow a quite different way from the past to develop the economy . This programme planning to focus on the core development area : the 12 national key economic areas(NKEAs) ,including oil gas and energy ,palm oil and rubber, financial services,tourism,business service,electrical and electronic,wholesale and retail ,education,healthcare , Communications Content and Infrastructure; Agriculture; and Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley.which are choose from the Malaysia' s advantage industry and the future potential industry.those key economic areas will bring a huge amount of profit contribute to Malaysia 's economy ,and those areas will be acquired the public investment and government support in prior。Besides,those Key economic area will be get policy reforms such as the remove the economic competition barriers and market liberalization .This program will involve the deliberate choices and trade-offs. Prioritize investment in key economic sectors means less investment in other areas. To bring about meaningful change for...
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...SECTION I: Introduction/Executive Summary Tesla Motors, Inc. is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. Named after the scientist Nikola Tesla, Tesla Motors ($TSLA) was founded in 2003. Exactly who founded Tesla Motors can be discussed, but it was probably by a group of intrepid Silicon Valley engineers Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, and Ian Wright. Their goal was to build an electric vehicle with the same performance as a Porsche and more environmental friendly than a Toyota Prius. The problem was that the founders didn't have the money needed to realize their idea, so they contacted Elon Musk, who decided to invest in the company. Elon Musk had earlier founded the companies Zip2, PayPal, and SpaceX. The difference between Elon Musk and the founders was that Elon Musk wanted Tesla Motors to become an improved General Motors with several car models, while the original founders wanted to design only a sports car. Elon Musk became interested in electric cars because he is well aware of peak oil. The idea behind peak oil is that oil is a finite resource we will run out of. Elon Musk believes the production of oil will begin to decrease after year 2020. As the production of oil decreases, the price of oil will increase and more people will buy electric cars SECTION II: Current Situation Tesla Motors headquarters is in Palo Alto, California. Its goal is to speed up this transition from gasoline cars to...
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...Genting Bhd Company Profile Publication Date: 22 May 2007 www.datamonitor.com Datamonitor USA 245 5th Avenue 4th Floor New York, NY 10016 USA Datamonitor Europe Charles House 108-110 Finchley Road London NW3 5JJ United Kingdom Datamonitor Germany Kastor & Pollux Platz der Einheit 1 60327 Frankfurt Deutschland Datamonitor Hong Kong 2802-2803 Admiralty Centre Tower 1 18 Harcourt Road Hong Kong t:+1 212 686 7400 f:+1 212 686 2626 e:usinfo@datamonitor.com t:+44 20 7675 7000 f:+44 20 7675 7500 e:eurinfo@datamonitor.com t:+49 69 9754 4517 f:+49 69 9754 4900 e:deinfo@datamonitor.com t:+852 2520 1177 f:+852 2520 1165 e:hkinfo@datamonitor.com Genting Bhd ABOUT DATAMONITOR Datamonitor is a leading business information company specializing in industry analysis. Through its proprietary databases and wealth of expertise, Datamonitor provides clients with unbiased expert analysis and in depth forecasts for six industry sectors: Healthcare, Technology, Automotive, Energy, Consumer Markets, and Financial Services. The company also advises clients on the impact that new technology and eCommerce will have on their businesses. Datamonitor maintains its headquarters in London, and regional offices in New York, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong. The company serves the world's largest 5000 companies. Datamonitor's premium reports are based on primary research with industry panels and consumers. We gather information on market segmentation...
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...for alternative sources of energy. After a century of unprecedented growth in science, technology, and the economy, we now face tremendous challenges to our ability to fuel the future: a fluctuating oil price, a changing climate, and continued dependence on unreliable energy sources. These problems are increasingly personal, and the demand for solutions becomes increasingly urgent. The ultimate solutions will only come from fundamental innovations in science and technology. Liquid fuels will for some applications be necessary for an indefinite period of time. Therefore, defining relevant feedstocks, producing fuels from these feedstocks and the properties of these fuels are critical issues. The utilization of biomass resources assumes importance due to the soaring crude price and depleting reserves of fossil fuels coupled with the rising environmental concern. Ethanol derived from renewable ligno-cellulosic biomass of non-edible variety has been identified globally as the future solution for meeting the energy demand. Apart from fuel and energy, biomass can also be the source of large number of derivatives. Biomass can be used for fuels, power production, and products that would otherwise be made from fossil fuels. In such scenarios, biomass can provide an array of benefits. * Biofuels — Converting biomass into liquid fuels for transportation * Biopower — Burning biomass directly, or converting it into gaseous or liquid fuels that burn more efficiently, to generate electricity ...
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...Multilateral Trading System and Climate Change The Climate change has always been a big concern regarding to WTO multilateral trading system and climate change. Climate change is the biggest sustainable development challenge the international community has had to tackle to date. Measures to address climate change need to be fully compatible with the international community's wider ambitions for economic growth and human advancement. It is a challenge that transcends borders and requires solutions not only at national levels but at the international level as well. The WTO is one part of the architecture of multilateral cooperation. It provides a framework of disciplines to facilitate global trade and serves as a forum to negotiate further trade openness. Freer trade is not an end in itself; it is tied to crucially important human values and welfare goals captured in the WTO's founding charter, the Marrakesh Agreement. Among these goals are raising standards of living, optimal use of the world's resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, and protection and preservation of the environment. The issue of climate change is not part of the WTO's ongoing work program and there are no WTO rules specific to climate change. However, the WTO is relevant because climate change measures and policies intersect with international trade in a number of different ways. First, trade openness can help efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, for example by promoting...
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...REVIEW D. Ryan Georgianna1 & Stephen P Mayfield1 . doi:10.1038/nature11479 Exploiting diversity and synthetic biology for the production of algal biofuels Modern life is intimately linked to the availability of fossil fuels, which continue to meet the world’s growing energy needs even though their use drives climate change, exhausts finite reserves and contributes to global political strife. Biofuels made from renewable resources could be a more sustainable alternative, particularly if sourced from organisms, such as algae, that can be farmed without using valuable arable land. Strain development and process engineering are needed to make algal biofuels practical and economically viable. D espite limited supply and increasing demand, fossil fuels remain among the world’s cheapest commodities. Prices will inevitably rise once demand starts to outstrip supply, but short- to medium-term replacement of fossil fuels by renewable and more environmentally benign alternatives will occur only if the substitutes can compete economically. One of these alternatives is based on the oils extracted from algae, and commercial-scale pilot facilities to test these are in operation. However, significant improvements are still needed to make algal biofuels economically viable. In this Review, we outline the advantages of algae as a biofuel producer, discuss the different cultivation methods, consider the options for achieving optimal algal biomass and lipid production, and the process engineering...
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