The Oil Drum

I spent a week in Malaysia back in June, loafing about in the sun on the island of Langkawi. While I mostly tried to ignore the news flow, I did read the local paper each day and there seemed to be plenty of energy related stories on the boil. These ranged from prominent exposure of the global "energy and food crises" to more locally focused issues, which I'll take a look at in this post.

In an effort to broaden our coverage at The Oil Drum, this Southeast Asia report focuses on the tragic consequences of cultivating palm oil (mongabay.com) to produce biodiesel fuel.

Palm Oil plantation in Indonesia. Fires in background.
Source: rainforestweb.org

It is a sad story in which the cure is sometimes worse than the disease. When you see the magic, please pay close attention.