New biofuel questions

the principle of having such advice, which is to separate it from policy. " Politicians on the science committees of both houses of parliament back the belief that the independence of scientific advisers should be built in to ministerial codes of practice. The House of Lords science and technology committee said that ministers must recognise " independent scientific advisory committees, and also the individual members of such committees, and ensure that explicit conventions are agreed on their right to express themselves publicly ". Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on science, said when the draft guidelines were published: " The proposal that neither the government nor the adviser 'should act to undermine mutual trust' presupposes that all potential advisers respect and trust politicians. " To restrict advisers to the subset who trust and respect the home secretary of the day is " tantamount to casting the fishing net into a friendly puddle and ignoring the heaving seas ". " The idea of developing a shared position might blur the boundary between objective scientific advice and policy. It seems to go against what should be the principle of having such advice. " Tracy Brown, of the charity Sense About Science, said that the letter clearly reflected a wider concern in the scientific community. " We have received over 200 items of correspondence expressing frustration that, instead of affirming its commitment to the basic principle of independence, the government has cut out academic freedom and made suggestions that add greater uncertainty to the relationship, " she said. " Despite this, we believe the government still has an opportunity to restore the confidence of the scientific community by agreeing a strong set of principles for scientific advice and incorporating relevant aspects of it into the ministerial code. " Lord Drayson said: " The points of contention are fairly unanimous and I'm keen to address them, but we need to look closely at all responses. " Five years ago the tropical plant jatropha was hailed by investors and scientists as a breakthrough in the effort to find a viable biofuel that would not further impoverish developing countries by diverting resources away from food production. The seeds of the plant produce high levels of non-edible oil that can be blended with diesel and help governments meet their commitments to cut carbon emissions and counter climate change. Jatropha is considered to be resistant to drought and …