Last month, when BP (formerly British Petroleum) announced a $500 million partnership with UC Berkeley for biofuels research, the company was hailed as a leader in pushing the oil industry toward cleaner energy. University officials were jubilant over the deal, which would establish Cal – and the Bay Area, where venture capitalists are funding energy startups at a level unseen since the early Web days – as a world center of alternative-energy research and development.

The economic viability of alternative energy looks more promising than ever. According to a new report by Clean Edge—a research and consulting firm specializing in clean technology—annual revenues for solar, wind, biofuels, and fuel cell technology increased by 39 percent in 2006. The industry value of these four markets totaled $55.4 billion in 2006, with industry growth expected to quadruple in the next ten years.

Providing parking facilities and addressing traffic congestion imposes significant costs to universities across the United States. That’s why many campuses have implemented Transportation Demand Management programs to discourage the use of single-occupant personal vehicles.

American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Exxon-funded think tank, is now offering scientists $10,000 to cast doubts on a report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). According to The Guardian, the report is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science.

Today North Jersey's The Record highlights some salient observations illuminating the reality behind Bush's ethanol proposal. Eric DeGesero, executive VP of the New Jersey Fuel Merchants Association, wants to remind us that putting more corn into fuel production could raise the cost of America’s corn-intensive diet (though something tells me Mr. DeGesero should visit a nutritionist).

The House has taken a strong step toward cleaner energy by passing the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act. The CLEAN Act will shift nearly $14 billion in tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies to renewable fuels and energy efficiency programs.

A report by the World Rainforest Movement details the violence villagers in eastern Uganda are subjected to just for trying to access their own land which is “protected” by armed park rangers guarding a carbon offset project for a Dutch company. Villagers have been beaten and shot at “in defense of” FACE Foundation’s project, the credits of which are sold to Amnesty International, the Body Shop, and others.

EPA's new system for measuring fuel efficiency should bring cars’ advertised MPG closer to their actual gas mileage. At present, fuel efficiency testing is not done under real world driving conditions, so the sticker numbers represent inflated fuel mileage.

There is so much which can and must be accomplished when we know what is happening to our environment, and its direct impact on each of our lives. No one person, group or organization can bring about complete awareness and comprehensive change alone. The faith community must become a far-reaching, consistent voice, from pulpits, to exhort the masses to understand, get involved, speak out, and be converted to “SAVE OUR WORLD… FROM US!!”"