The Irish former rock star, known for his campaigning on poverty relief in Africa, was writing on a blog set up by carmaker Lexus to promote hybrid road vehicles.

A spokesman for the auto industry, which had argued that California's law is unconstitutional, said an appeal is uncertain. "We're still reviewing the decision and a decision on whether or not to appeal hasn't been made yet," said Charles Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A tiny oil-eating bug that lives deep underground may allow the world's oil industry to unlock energy trapped in trillions of barrels of heavy crude, which is costly and dirty to produce using today's methods.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian Parliament was set to overrule the country's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday and order a reactor that makes crucial radioisotopes for cancer tests be restarted immediately.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world on Wednesday to agree to work out a new climate treaty by 2009 but said it might be "too ambitious" to set goals for greenhouse gas cuts in Bali.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will still rely on oil, natural gas and coal for its main energy supplies through 2030, but ethanol and other renewable energy sources will double during the period, the government's top energy forecasting agency said on Wednesday.

The firm hopes to benefit from a near doubling in the price of palm oil in the last year, driven by demand for biofuels and economic growth in China and India. Palm oil is also used for cooking and in products such as soap and ice cream.

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's leftist finance minister said the government was not considering cutting oil production for environmental concerns, although she wanted a debate on how quickly more acreage should be opened up for exploration after 2009.

Earlier on Tuesday, Finance Minister Kristen Halvorsen was quoted by Norwegian tabloid VG as saying that a future climate agreement could push up taxes on oil production or, in the worst case scenario, prohibit production.

The Dutch city said it will distribute more than 600,000 light bulbs and that the expected savings for its citizens -- 26 million euros ($38 million) over six years from lower electricity bills -- will far outweigh the costs of 4 million euros.

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is to fund a project that aims to produce transport fuel from algae, as biofuel production from palm oil and crops are increasingly criticized for causing deforestation and higher food prices.

Oil major Shell said on Tuesday it would build a pilot facility in Hawaii to grow marine algae from which it would extract vegetable oil that would be converted into a form of diesel for use in trucks and cars.