The world's biggest palm oil producers and investors have been turning their attention to Africa in recent years, seeking to acquire land to grow oil palms in what some experts have dubbed the "next frontier" of industrial agricultural production.

Wood charcoal is burning up more than what’s for dinner at backyard barbeques. In Brazil- the world’s largest consumer of wood charcoal, almost all of the wood charcoal is used to process pig iron ( a key ingredient for steel). Turning iron ore...