Another problem is that the RSPO has struggled to create any effective action on setting standards for greenhouse-gas emissions associated with palm-oil plantations.
As well as animal welfare concerns over rearing large numbers of farm animals in close proximity, the water use, farmland for animal feed, waste and greenhouse-gas emissions associated with meat production make it one of the most significant environmental problems in the world today.
This study was commissioned by the Obama Administration to look specifically at the economic impacts associated with potentially large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
America needs to reduce its reliance on foreign petroleum, but growing oil production here at home will come hand-in-hand with an even larger glut of associated gas and even lower gas prices.
They show that warming spells very like that of the past 100 years occurred repeatedly, long before the large-scale use of fossil fuels and the associated emissions of carbon dioxide gas were a possible factor.
Perhaps the most formidable competitor is Compact GTL. This UK-based company is focused largely on addressing the problem of what to do with associated gas resulting from oil development that would otherwise be flared or reinjected.