Policy Solutions: Fact Sheets

All Fact Sheets Tagged biofuels

Building a sustainable biomass industry in California without sacrificing our unique natural heritage
Sustainable biofuels can be a boon to our economy and our environment

Fact Sheet

Renewable energy such as biofuels—specifically biomass that is sustainably harvested—can be a boon for our economy and our environment. But biofuels done wrong can actually destroy ecosystems and increase global warming pollution, so it is critically important that all biofuels production include necessary environmental safeguards. California is in a position to get biofuels right with the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which would require oil companies to reduce the global warming pollution footprint of the vehicle fuels they sell. A groundbreaking new study commissioned by NRDC shows that California can ramp up biofuels production to meet the goals of the LCFS without sacrificing our most sensitive lands. Get document in pdf.

The Billion Gallon Challenge
How America Can Produce One Billion Gallons of the Best Biofuels By 2014

Fact Sheet

To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to make low-carbon biofuels work. But the best biofuels have yet to make the jump from the lab to the pump. As a first step, policy makers should stop spending tax dollars on the dirty biofuels of yesterday and start paying for performance, while maintaining our existing safeguards and standards. But that’s not enough. We need to jumpstart the best biofuels and make them work for our economy and our environment. We need a Billion Gallon Challenge. Get document in pdf.

Putting Biofuels on the Right Track
Renewable Fuels Standard Safeguards Protect Wildlife and the Environment

Fact Sheet

RFS safeguards can ensure that biofuels are done right, and don't just become another dirty fuel Get document in pdf.

Getting Biofuels Right
Eight steps for reaping real environmental benefits from biofuels

Fact Sheet

America's transportation sector is the key link between our ever-growing dependence on oil and global warming pollution. The oil that powers our cars and trucks accounts for two-thirds of our total oil use and generates one-third of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. Energy efficiency is the cleanest, cheapest, and fastest way to cut oil demand, but it is only a part of the package. NRDC research shows that liquid motor vehicle fuels made from plant matter, such as ethanol, butanol, and biodiesel, can be a large and important tool for ending our dependence on oil and stopping global warming—but only if we get them right. Get document in pdf.

Costa Rica: Setting the Pace for Reducing Global Warming Pollution and Phasing Out Oil

Fact Sheet

Already a world leader in renewable energy use and tropical forest conservation, Costa Rica has declared the goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral country. To achieve this goal, Costa Rica must reduce its dependence on oil and increase investment in domestic renewable energy production and demand reduction strategies. Get document in pdf.

Strip Mining for Oil in Endangered Forests

Fact Sheet

Big oil interests are scraping away hundreds of thousands of acres in North America’s Boreal forest to produce tar sands oil, and in the process consuming large amounts of natural gas and generating three times as much global warming pollution as conventional crude oil production. Greater efficiency and renewable fuels are far better, cleaner ways to meet our energy needs. Get document in pdf.