Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel, a breakthrough that will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants.

Renewable energy today is predominantly derived from wood, corn, wind, and water. The majority of these first-generation biofuels are burned, which causes greenhouse gases to be released and adds to carbon emissions. 

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Joint BioEnergy Institute have engineered a bacterium to synthesize pinene, a hydrocarbon produced by trees that could potentially replace high-energy fuels, such as JP-10, in missiles and other aerospace applications. With improvements in process efficiency, the biofuel could supplement limited supplies of petroleum-based JP-10, and might also facilitate development of a new generation of more powerful engines.

New development is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge."

Dr. Shane Snyder, EPA Scientists, Leading Environmental Labs to Present Data on Recycled Water, Hydraulic Fracturing, Trace Contaminants in Water.

Teaching crop plants to concentrate carbon dioxide in their leaves could increase photosynthetic efficiency by 60 percent and yields by as much as 40 percent, researchers report in a new study.

The viability of the bioenergy crops industry could be strengthened by regulatory efforts to address nonpoint source pollution from agricultural sources. That, in turn, means that the industry should be strategic in developing metrics that measure the ability to enact positive changes in agricultural landscapes, particularly through second-generation perennial crops, according to a paper by a University of Illinois expert in bioenergy law.

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have been nearly four years ago, but scientists are still analyzing the after effects of the disaster that threatened the Gulf Coast.

Researchers at Berkeley and Argonne National Labs Discover Highly Promising New Class of Nanocatalyst.

Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for companies and governments globally.

In a recent early online edition of Nature Chemistry, Arizona State University scientists, along with colleagues at Argonne National Laboratory, have reported advances toward perfecting a functional artificial leaf.

In today’s search for renewable energy sources, researchers are turning to the hi-tech, from solar and hydrogen fuel cells, and the very low-tech.