Friends of the Earth believes our energy use should not make us, or the planet, sick. We promote conservation and the use of clean energy, and we fight to end our unhealthy relationship with harmful energy sources that endanger humans, cause pollution and exacerbate the climate crisis.
Follow the links to learn more about our work to promote clean energy and efficiency as well as our effort to fight harmful energy sources including bad biofuels, big oil, dirty coal and other dirty fuels, and risky nuclear reactors.
Read the latest news and updates from our energy campaigns below:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft rules for the Renewable Fuels Standard. Included in this life cycle emission accounting are the emissions from indirect land use change. The biofuels and agribusiness industry lobbied EPA intensely, asking that EPA ignore the law and not include these potent emissions in the life cycle calculations. But, thankfully, EPA did not cave to industry demands. However, EPA also included in the analysis a gimmick, which would allow biofuels that are bad for the climate to squeak through the reduction requirements by averaging the emissions from indirect land use change over the course of 100 years.
Friends of the Earth released a report in May 2009 that examined the extent to which biofuels are subsidized by the tax credits as well as the Renewable Fuels Standard. The report found that biofuels received enormous benefits from these policies, particularly when combined. Between 2008 and 2022, biofuels will have received more than $400 billion in subsidization. This value could more than double, to $1 trillion, should we continue to increase biofuels production, as President Obama promised in his presidential campaign bid. Meanwhile, these subsidies are not driving us to sustainable biofuels, and in fact, they support even the most horrendous biofuels, such as corn ethanol.
As congress currently debates federal climate and energy policy, one policy poses a potential threat to our nation's forests: The Renewable Electricity Standard. While the Renewable Electricity Standard is an important step forward as far as promoting renewable energy such as wind and solar, the inclusion of biomass energy is potentially devastating.
On April 1st, Friends of the Earth and Rainforest Action Network asked our e-activists to vote for the biggest biofool. The votes have been tallied and Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto, won by a landslide.
Grant has been a long-time supporter of biofuels, insisting, despite evidence to the contrary, that biofuels are good for the environment.
On April 20 in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, about 350 people gathered for a highly visible and inspiring march to the headquarters of Duke Energy to protest the company’s plans for a massive new coal-fired plant called Cliffside. Friends of the Earth was a cosponsor of the event, along with organizers such as the Carolinas Clean Air Coalition, NC Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, The Canary Coalition and Greenpeace.
While it may not have exactly been what organizers of the April 15 tax day protests had in mind, Friends of the Earth supporters took a no-taxes-for-nukes message to the “tea party” rally at the South Carolina capitol in Columbia.
Dressed as characters from the tea party in Alice in Wonderland, the activists stood on the steps of the capitol, carying signs which decried giving taxpayer money to the nuclear industry in order to build costly new nuclear reactors.
Today, April 1st 2009, in partnership with Rainforest Action Network, Friends of the Earth held the inaugural Biofools Day. We asked our online activists to vote on who was the biggest “biofool” from a choice of three industry heads and three lawmakers who support biofuels despite compounding evidence that biofuels are neither economically nor ecologically sensible. Take action at: biofoolsday.org.
Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) is at it again, advocating for the removal of critical forest protections in the Renewable Fuels Standard. Making matters worst, she is now joined by Senator Thune (D-SD) and Tester (D-MT), who have introduced a companion bill on the Senate side. Friends of the Earth and others wrote to both the House and the Senate in opposition to this move.
The biofuels lobby is again urging the EPA to ignore emissions from indirect land use change in EPA's accounting of global warming pollution from biofuels. EPA is due to release their calculations of what these emissions would be any day now. Over the past year, scientists and economists have warned that the emission figures from deforestation and habitat destruction that occur as a result of increased biofuel production are significant, potentially causing biofuels to emit twice as much global warming pollution as gasoline. It is critical that EPA follow the law and include these emissions in their analysis of global warming pollution from biofuels.
President Obama’s first budget did away with over $30 billion in giveaways to oil and gas companies. Friends of the Earth has been working for years to end these give aways to multi-national companies that are earning record profits. Congress should follow the President's lead and act immediately to return this money to taxpayers. Click here to join us in sending this message to Congress.
