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by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) A recent review of nearly 100 different peer-reviewed vehicle emission studies, by the independent consulting group Future Fuel Strategies, found that there is no consensus in the literature regarding the health effects of ethanol-blended fuel. Despite the fact that ethanol is a cleaner-burning
Health Concerns/Benefits
January 27, 2019
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(University of Saskatchewan) A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team’s quest to extract protein from more than a billion litres of annually produced wastewater (called thin stillage) at Saskatchewan’s ethanol plants has yielded something far more valuable—a compound used in many countries to slow cognition loss in Alzheimer’s patients. That compound
January 25, 2019
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by Doug Sombke (South Dakota Farmers Union/Tri-State Livestock News) … Well, let’s hope we don’t see the price at the pumps go up. Instead, let’s use more ethanol. What I’m suggesting is oil companies increase the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline – from the mandatory 10 to 30 percent. And,
January 18, 2019
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(U.S. Grains Council) New information about global market development efforts for U.S. ethanol and the benefits of the biofuel to global customers is now available online at www.grains.org. The United States is the world’s low-cost ethanol producer and captured more than 65 percent of global ethanol trade in the 2017/2018
January 18, 2019
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(Renewable Fuels Association) … Ethanol is providing a cleaner, domestically produced, higher-octane fuel, while offering greater consumer choice at the pump. Let’s break it down. Ethanol is providing greater consumer choice. There are more than 24 million vehicles on U.S. roads today than are flex fuel vehicles, capable of running on
January 4, 2019
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by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act, sponsored by outgoing House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee Chair Shimkus (R-IL), would phase out portions of the Renewable Fuel Standard, replacing it with an octane standard by 2022. As lawmakers have grappled with the competing interests of
December 23, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative) Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to reduce mobile source air pollution to the greatest degree possible. But a new research project conducted by the Urban Air Initiative found that not only is mobile source air pollution still a significant problem, but
December 18, 2018
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by Craig Willis (EurActiv/Growth Energy) With every passing year, the pathway to a stable climate gets narrower and more difficult to navigate. Meanwhile, the reports from our planet’s top scientists paint an increasingly grim picture of what to expect if the swing in global temperatures cannot be limited to 1.5 degrees
December 13, 2018
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by Dave VanderGriend (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ICM/Urban Air Initiative) … Today, at 10 percent of the motor fuel pool, ethanol is displacing the most lethal components in gasoline—toxic, carcinogenic aromatics. When lead was phased out of gasoline, refiners replaced it with an equally dangerous mix of toxic chemicals representing the worst part
November 21, 2018
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, researchers for a report published by the Urban Air Initiative contend that “technical data that shows the nation has been exposed to decades of flawed test fuels and flawed driving tests, which in turn means flawed emissions results and mileage claims”. The complete Beyond a
November 13, 2018
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by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) While oil refiners adding a small percentage of renewable feedstock to their operations sounds simple, the political, economic, technical, societal and market consequences are anything but. In 2007, at the height of the biodiesel boom, ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods announced a partnership to coprocess animal fats
November 6, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) … Octane is a necessary component of our fuel, and more of it is needed as car engines become more advanced and efficient. So competition is on the rise for where this octane will come from in order to keep up with new engine designs. There are
October 29, 2018
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(Euclid Infotech Ltd via COMTEX/Futures Trading Charts) At a conference on Propagation and Development of Biofuels held in the morning of September 13 in Ho Chi Minh City, US experts shared valuable information on environmental benefits, energy human and economic use of biofuels. The conference was jointly organized by the Department
September 20, 2018
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The Manhattan Institute looked at “zero emission vehicles” and found: Broad-based adoption of ZEVs will increase overall emissions of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulates, compared with the same number of new internal combustion engines. The simple fact is that, because of stringent emissions standards and low-sulfur gasoline, new
by Ariana Eunjung Cha (Washington Post) … In a paper published Monday in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension, researchers reported that children of mothers who were exposed in their third trimester to higher levels of fine particulate pollution — the tiny airborne matter that causes haze in many cities around the world
May 15, 2018
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(Manhattan Institute) Many claim that “zero-emissions vehicles” (ZEVs), especially battery-powered electric vehicles, should replace most, if not all, cars and trucks powered by gasoline-burning internal combustion engines. The primary rationale is to reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To effect this change, governments are spending billions of dollars to
May 15, 2018
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by Mike Carr (New Energy America/The Hill) Recently, Chet Thompson of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) testified before Congress and proposed a “fuel neutral” octane standard as a “potential replacement” for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Octane is a fuel characteristic that allows engines to run more efficiently and without “knock.” Refiners use
May 9, 2018
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by Jieyi Lu (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Today, about three billion people still cook and heat their homes with traditional stoves and solid fuels worldwide. These fuels and stoves are major contributors to household air pollution in the developing world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), household air pollution
(Globe Newswire/ Renewable Industries Canada (RICanada) and Advanced Biofuels Canada (ABFC)) Canada’s two largest biofuels stakeholders – Renewable Industries Canada (RICanada) and Advanced Biofuels Canada (ABFC), together representing almost 50 member companies – today released the results of a new study on the economic impact of Canada’s upcoming Clean Fuel Standard
April 30, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative) Ethanol blends reduce toxic tailpipe emissions by up to 50%, significantly improving air quality and protecting public health according to two new studies. The separate studies were conducted by the North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of California Riverside(UCR). The Urban Air Initiative (UAI) commissioned both independent studies to
April 11, 2018
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(Urban Air Initiative) In an effort to rebut erroneous assumptions about ethanol’s health effects in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club, the Urban Air Initiative submitted an amicus brief describing the health benefits of blending ethanol into gasoline. The Sierra Club sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to
April 6, 2018
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by Steve Roe (Des Moines Register/Little Sioux Corn Processors) … A significant amount of these emissions are coming from our vehicles. For example, toxic aromatic compounds, which include known carcinogens like benzene, are added to gasoline to boost octane. The aromatics escape from tailpipes as tiny particulates that are as dangerous as
March 7, 2018
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by Patrick J. Kiger (HowStuffWorks) … But in recent years, scientists have found increasing evidence of health risks from a part of air pollution that we don’t see, and that isn’t yet regulated under federal air quality standards. In addition to visible emissions, the burning of fossil fuels and other types of
In an Ethanol Producer Magazine article, Urban Air Initiative’s David Hallberg explains how, with proper adherence to Clean Air Act regulations, ethanol can substitute for carcinogens in our fuel. “(I)t is increasingly clear that gasoline exhaust is the primary carrier of the most lethal aromatics that lead to ground-level ozone
January 24, 2018
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by David Hallberg (Ethanol Producer Magazine) (T)he U.S. Department of Energy’s adherence to laws, and a proposal from the Urban Air Initiative to escape the aromatics dilemma. — … Hopefully Pruitt has established a precedent that will apply to one of the most important, yet ignored provisions of the Clean Air
January 24, 2018
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(4-Traders) New calculations show an estimated $1.2 million in health cost savings for Illinois communities where B20 biodiesel fuel is used routinely in diesel vehicles. The calculations come from data submitted by 15 members of the B20 Club, a partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff program and the American Lung Association in
January 24, 2018
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by Daryl Worthington(Bioenergy Insight) Two major associations for the biomass industry have responded to a study claiming the burning of biomass prematurely kills tens of thousands of people each year. The study was commissioned by FERN, an NGO created in 1995 “to keep track of the European Union’s involvement in forests and coordinate
January 22, 2018
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(United Nations Foundation) Babies born to mothers who cooked with ethanol were born later and heavier — A new study released today by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which is hosted at the United Nations Foundation, has found that replacing traditional cookstoves that burn wood and kerosene with clean-burning ethanol cookstoves can have a
January 5, 2018
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(Associated Press) WATCH VIDEO Here
January 3, 2018
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In a special to the Biofuels Digest, South Dakota Farmers Union president, Doug Sombke, pointed out that “Section 202(l) provision (of the Clean Air Act) requires EPA to regulate and reduce toxics in gasoline to the “greatest degree achievable”. In a review of air toxics in 2007 the agency acknowledged that other
January 3, 2018
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by Doug Sombke (South Dakota Farmers Union/Biofuels Digest) … I am referring to the mandatory requirements in the Clean Air Act that EPA enforce section 202 (l), the “clean octane” provision designed to reduce the use of toxic aromatic compounds in gasoline. These Mobile Source Air Toxics are derived from a family
by Angela Matua (QNS.com) A new bill passed in the City Council on Dec. 19, 2017 will require that a two-year study be completed to determine how feasible it would be to use renewable fuels and technology to power the city’s ferries. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) We know ethanol emits fewer carbon emissions like particulate matter (PM) than gasoline. In fact, when it comes to particulate matter, a MIT study concluded PM emissions from gasoline (E0) is three times higher than E10. So what is PM? PM is a particulate pollutant and particulate
December 29, 2017
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by Alan Harman (Wards Auto) “These results reinforce the need for public policies to encourage the use of biofuels, as they clearly show that the public loses in health what they save at the pump when opting for gasoline,” researcher Paulo Artaxo says. — When ethanol prices at the pump rise,
September 11, 2017
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by Doug Durante (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Urban Air Institute) … We need more ethanol in gasoline, and in so doing, we will get less drain on our wallets, less toxic aromatics, less carbon, less sulfur, less particulates and fewer related health problems. What makes this so discouraging for all of us who
August 30, 2017
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(ePURE) Newly released report finds that increasing ethanol in petrol helps improve air quality and reduces oil dependency — A new report published by the European Commission highlights several benefits of higher ethanol blends in petrol, including reducing emissions of dangerous pollutants and boosting car engine performance. The study, conducted by
August 30, 2017
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(Biofuels International) A new report from the European Commission highlights several benefits of higher ethanol blends in petrol, including reduced emissions of dangerous pollutants and improvements in car engine performance. Carried out by the ICF for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate, the study looked at the impact of higher
August 29, 2017
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(Prague Daily Monitor) The quality of groundwater worsened last year as against the previous years as experts found the values exceeding the permitted limits in some of the observed substances in 86.8 percent of the monitored wells and springs, the annual report on the state of Czech water management said.
August 23, 2017
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In California, two cofounders of Sugarlogix went from engineering yeast for cellulose based fuel production and refining biofuel fermentation processes to cultivating prebiotic sugars that could be good for your gut. Their goal is to develop prebiotic sugars that feed the good probiotics in your
July 24, 2017
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by Dave VanderGriend (ICM/Urban Air Initiative/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Plenty of talk circulates around ethanol blends above E10. Clearly, E15 is the next milestone. But as we work to capture ethanol’s octane benefits and its ability to replace some of the most harmful components of gasoline, we know the number should
July 21, 2017
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by Mark Sponsler (Colorado Corn/Journal-Advocate) … Oxygenating gasoline is required under Clean Air Act amendments, and ethanol — with its clean-burning qualities — has long been regarded as the best additive for that. For years, adding 10 percent ethanol to gasoline (or E10) has helped many cities achieve Clean Air requirements
July 20, 2017
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by Daryl Worthington (Biofuels International) New research claims that the concentration of ultrafine particles less than 50 nanometres in diameter, which studies have shown to be harmful to human health, increases in the air when motorists switch from ethanol-to-gasoline. Carried out by Franz M Geiger, a professor of chemistry at
July 20, 2017
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by Timothy Winters (Western New York Energy/Daily Gazette) Ethanol has been used in New York and other Northeastern states for nearly 20 years as the key component in cleaner-burning “reformulated gasoline.” Ethanol-blended gasoline reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, exhaust hydrocarbons that form ozone, particulate emissions (soot) and toxics like benzene that
July 19, 2017
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by Dave VanderGriend (ICM Inc./Wichita Business Journal) I was driving home last week and was surprised to see the price differences on the gas station sign. Regular 87 octane gas was $.40 cheaper than “No Ethanol” 87 octane. Regular 87 has contained 10 percent ethanol in Kansas for almost 10 years
June 12, 2017
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(Deccan Herald) MGRIED shows the way to source raw material from hotels — All Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses running on biodiesel are now grounded. Reason: Fuel procurement problems. But what if a fuel plant comes up right here with tonnes of used, redundant cooking oil supplied by
June 9, 2017
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(Project Gaia) Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals and one of the leading providers globally of cellulosic ethanol production technology, and Project Gaia, a non-profit promoting the use of alcohol fuels (ethanol and methanol) for household energy, announced the donation of approximately 24m3 of cellulosic ethanol from Clariant’s pre-commercial
May 31, 2017
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by Emmanuel Desplechin (Politico/ePURE) Renewable ethanol does more than just decarbonize transport. It also boosts engine efficiency and helps improve air quality. — The European Commission has just told the Belgian government that it needs to do a better job of tackling “serious air pollution problems” from vehicle emissions. That
May 30, 2017
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by RNG Coalition (Biomass Magazine) A new jobs study reveals that deploying trucks fueled by renewable natural gas could create up to 130,000 new jobs and add $14 billion to California’s economy. The ‘RNG Jobs Report’ examines the economic potential of fueling heavy-duty trucks with renewable natural gas produced in California,
May 4, 2017
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by Tom C. Doran (AgriNews Publications) Renewable fuels have come a long way since the first Earth Day 47 years ago, when gasohol was promoted as a way to reduce petroleum use. As part of this year’s observance, Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association vice president of industry relations, reflected on the
May 2, 2017
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by P.J. Huffstutter and Michael Hirtzer (Reuters/Times of India) Wet harvest, slow grain sales encourage growth of toxins; Scope of problem in U.S. grain supply not yet known — A fungus that causes “vomitoxin” has been found in some U.S. corn harvested last year, forcing poultry and pork farmers to test
April 25, 2017
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(High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal) Increasing concerns about trade relations with Mexico spurred Kansas Corn along with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Commerce to plan a trade mission Mexico to learn about their agricultural industry and build upon the trade relationships formed years ago. Within the
by Monte Shaw (Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Des Moines Register) Growing up on a farm near Shenandoah, using ethanol and biodiesel was a no-brainer. It was simply the right thing to do to support our local economy and environment. … A simple comparison between a traffic circle in Havana, Cuba, (population
April 24, 2017
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by Lizzy Schultz (Energy.AgWired.com) Ethanol has a seat on the ground at one of the largest Earth Day events in the country this weekend – Earth Day Texas, which last year hosted over 130,000 attendees, over 700 exhibitors and more than 250 speakers. Even bigger and better this year, the
April 19, 2017
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(Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Urban Air Initiative is calling the results of a new Coordinating Research Council emissions study “one more example of the biased and flawed testing procedures used to penalize ethanol.” The ethanol advocacy group said Wednesday CRC’s match blending of test fuels fails to recognize how ethanol
March 31, 2017
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(Diesel Technology Forum) With national and international policies moving toward a low-carbon, sustainable future, advanced clean diesel technologies and the emergence of low-emission renewable diesel fuel are leading to the continued growth in diesel’s dominance in the transportation and off-road sectors. In a presentation to the Renewable Diesel Seminar today
March 30, 2017
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(Biofuels Association of Australia) There are early signs that the Biofuels mandate in Queensland is driving interest in biofuels. The industry had been held back by a lack of consumer understanding around the benefits of E10. With more than 400,000 motorists already checking if their car is compatible with E10
March 30, 2017
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(Growth Energy) Growth Energy recently filed comments and exhibits to Canada’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change on the Canadian province of Ontario’s discussion paper, “Developing a Modern Renewable Fuel Standard for Gasoline in Ontario.” The comments focused on the importance of including ethanol in the development of any
March 20, 2017
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by David Tracy (Jalopnik) In 2015, Researchers from MIT, Harvard and Hasselt University (in Belgium) estimated that VW’s 482,000 cheating diesels would lead to an estimated 59 premature deaths in the U.S. Now some of those same researchers have taken a look at the 2.6 million TDIs sold in Germany, and
March 8, 2017
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by Steffen Mueller (University of Illinois at Chicago/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Strategically located ethanol sources cannot be economically replaced. — Carbon dioxide sourced from corn-ethanol plants is not a waste-recovery product but a coproduct that, in many regions, can only be replaced by higher-emitting, less-economical resources. A reduction in U.S. ethanol
February 20, 2017
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by David Hallberg (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Urban Air Initiative) Candid discussions at the Health Effects Institute offer hope ethanol’s positive emissions profile will be taken seriously, writes a UAI advisor and Siouxland Ethanol board member in the Clearing the Air column … … It was an invitation-only workshop sponsored by the
February 14, 2017
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by Roz Pidcock (Carbon Brief) Replacing traditional wood and coal-burning cookstoves with cleaner technology could trim nearly a tenth of a degree from global temperature and save more than 10 million lives by 2050. This is according to a new study that looks at the benefits for climate and human
by Mark Dorenkamp (Brownfield Ag News) The American Lung Association continues to advocate on behalf of the U.S. renewable fuels industry. Association director of communications in Minnesota Robert Moffitt says cleaner burning fuels like ethanol are proven to reduce air pollution. “Ethanol is an oxidizing agent (that) helps gasoline burn cleaner.
January 27, 2017
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by Margo T. Oge (Huffington Post) … Businessmen are always looking for a good return on investment. America’s environmental protections are a steal. The public health benefits of a cleaner environment and a healthier workforce are far greater than the costs of achieving them. By 2020, for example, the benefits
December 22, 2016
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by Jim Talent (Washington Examiner) I am old enough to remember the first energy crisis in the early 1970s. That episode was a tremendous shock for two reasons: Gasoline prices spiked, and Americans realized just how vulnerable our nation had become to the whims of oil ministers on the other
December 12, 2016
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(Nebraska Ethanol Board/KOOL Radio) In 2016, Nebraska drivers will save approximately $17 million by using ethanol-blended gasoline. The savings is based on lower prices for ethanol compared to wholesale gasoline and the state’s projected spark-ignition fuel consumption of 900 million gallons. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, ethanol is
December 7, 2016
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(UPM) UPM has successfully tested Finnish wood-based diesel fuel both in laboratory conditions as well as in traffic. The tests clearly demonstrated that UPM’s renewable diesel, UPM BioVerno, works just like the best diesel fuels. The laboratory tests of renewable UPM BioVerno diesel were conducted in the VTT Technical Research
December 1, 2016
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(Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves) Shifting from a cookstove that burns traditional woodfuel to a stove that uses a cleaner-burning fuel such as ethanol may mitigate cardiovascular health risks in pregnant women, according to a new study led by a team from the University of Chicago. The study, which evaluated
November 25, 2016
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by James Ayre (CleanTechnica) While consumer prices for gasoline in the US are currently rather low, these prices don’t account for the health and societal costs associated with gasoline use. A new study from the American Lung Association in California exploring the environmental impact of gasoline use has attempted to
by Peter Whoriskey (The Washington Post) … Smaller and more powerful than their predecessors, lithium batteries power smartphones and laptop computers and appear destined to become even more essential as companies make much larger ones to power electric cars. The companies making those products promote the bright futuristic possibilities of the “clean”
October 3, 2016
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by Jamie Kitman (Automobile Magazine) “It is “a universal assumption that [ethyl] alcohol in some form will be a constituent of the motor fuel of the future.” — So wrote Scientific American. The year was 1920, and the respected journal was not alone in this belief. In October 1921, less than
October 1, 2016
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by Todd C. Frankel (The Washington Post) … This remote landscape in southern Africa lies at the heart of the world’s mad scramble for cheap cobalt, a mineral essential to the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles made by companies such as Apple, Samsung and major
September 30, 2016
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by Doug Berven (POET/Boston Herald) Jonah Goldberg’s column parrots the tired talking points of the oil industry (“Research proves ethanol’s only useful to pols,” Sept. 5). Ethanol is a clean-burning, American-made biofuel that is lowering greenhouse gas emissions while improving engine performance for drivers across the country. According to researchers at
September 23, 2016
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(Growth Energy) A September 9 leak in the Colonial pipeline, which supplies gasoline to many states in the southeast and east coast has resulted not only in gasoline shortages, but also price spikes at the pump. As workers act to fix the leak and remediate the environmental consequences of a
September 22, 2016
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by Pam Miller (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Siouxland Ethanol) Ethanol can replace the toxic compounds used to increase octane in gasoline, which are directly related to the harmful emissions identified in several studies. — I think most of us are familiar with the saying that the definition of insanity is doing the
September 21, 2016
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by David Vandergriend (Sacramento Bee) … But the day-to-day threat facing many communities doesn’t come from carbon. It comes from airborne chemicals with less attention-grabbing names like volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone. As with carbon, the most effective solution is to simply replace more
September 11, 2016
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by Todd Neeley (DTN/The Progressive Farmer) With all of the political fights about the role ethanol and other biofuels have in the transportation sector, there is common ground for the ethanol, oil and automobile industries that could bode well for the long-term health of the agriculture economy. A lower-carbon, cleaner-air
September 9, 2016
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by James Cogan (Biofuels Digest/Pannonia Ethanol) … Together with their smaller peers they produce about 6 million tonnes of the fuel commodity annually, with combined revenues of around 4 billion euro. The product gets blended into petrol accounting for 4% of the energy needs of petrol vehicle owners. … Bioethanol is
September 6, 2016
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by Jeremy Halgerson (POET/Argus Leader) The oil industry has been busy sending columns to papers around the country attacking biofuels like ethanol. Their arguments against ethanol always omit a key point: Cutting our biofuel use means more devastating impacts from oil. Growing our biofuels use is something worth doing. It’s worth
September 1, 2016
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) On Aug. 18, the U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General published a report finding the EPA’s Office of Research and Development has not complied with a statutory requirements to provide a report to Congress every three years on the impact of biofuels. A report
August 22, 2016
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by Nathan Vander Griend (ERI Solutions, Inc./Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) mission is to protect human health and the environment. They are charged with delivering on that mission by using the best scientific information available. We can all agree that is an important mission,
August 5, 2016
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by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … “Let’s encourage an earnest conversation with consumers about how ethanol makes life a little better and why they can feel good about their decisions at the pump,” (Growth Energy CEO Emily) Skor suggests. “When my family drives to the lake for the weekend,
August 5, 2016
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(Growth Energy) Recently, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge, Argonne, and National Renewable Energy Laboratories released their “Summary of High Octane, Mid-Level Ethanol Blends Study.” This scientific analysis showed the numerous benefits of using high octane mid-level ethanol blends in future optimized engines. Some of these benefits include: increased vehicle
August 4, 2016
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by John Beltz Snyder (AutoBlog) … General Wesley Clark argued in support of ethanol at the Democratic National Convention. While some gas stations advertise the fact that their product contains no ethanol, General Clark – a retired US Army General and former presidential candidate who now works for ethanol group Growth
August 1, 2016
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by Melissa Chan (Time Magazine) Air pollution contributes to about 6.5 million deaths each year, the International Energy Agency warned in a report released Monday, with casualties expected to drastically rise in coming decades unless the energy industry curbs emissions. The agency’s first air pollution study found that premature deaths connected
by Marina Lemle (AllAfrica) Unlike conventional diesel, fuel made from soybeans does not directly damage lung cells, a lab study has shown. “Some of the soybean biodiesel presently being used in Brazil does not exhibit direct adverse effects on human lung cells nor [does it] induce inflammatory response,” says the
July 1, 2016
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by Zahra Hirji (Inside Climate News) Two activist groups used government data to show 12.4 million people in the U.S. live within a half-mile of an oil and gas facility—and its pollution. — Environmentalists have launched a new mapping tool that allows people in the U.S. to see whether they
June 22, 2016
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by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It’s up to everyone in the ethanol industry to herald the many environmental, social and health benefits of the product they produce, said Emily Skor, Growth Energy’s new CEO. Every single day ethanol is decreasing greenhouse gases, reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and
(Portland Press Herald) The governor tells the DEP and CDC to cooperate on a study of the health impacts of the gasoline additive. — Gov. Paul R. LePage has issued an executive order for state agencies to study the health effects of emissions produced by the combustion of gasoline that
June 21, 2016
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by Dave VanderGriend (ICM, Inc./Urban Air Institute/Ethanol Producer Magazine) In the world of ethanol, we need to get people smarter and “coach up” the public, media and policymakers as to the real story about our product. — … In our world of ethanol, that certainly is the case as we need
June 17, 2016
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(Coming Clean) When the Wind Blows: Tracking Toxic Chemicals in Gas Fields and Impacted Communities is a report documenting Coming Clean’s collaborative, community-based research project to monitor toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gas fields in rural Pavillion, Wyoming and to see what same VOCs are present in the bodies
June 16, 2016
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(Coalition for Clean Air) Like many iconic figures, Muhammad Ali touched the lives of people large and small. His bravado, charisma and sense of purpose inspired people in and out of the ring. In this video, South Coast AQMD Chairman Bill Burke shares how one particular trip to visit a
June 14, 2016
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(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) Between June 6 and 10, the Department of Energy (DOE) held its Annual Merit Review (AMR) in Washington D.C. At the meeting, over 350 national lab activities were evaluated within the Vehicle and Fuel Cell Technologies Offices of the DOE. The array of projects was
June 10, 2016
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by Pallab Ghosh (BBC) The ban on GM crops by European countries should be reassessed, the president of UK science body the Royal Society says. — Prof Venki Ramakrishnan said the science of genetic modification had been misunderstood by the public and it was time to set the record straight. He
by Keith Alverson (Argus Leader) As a sixth-generation corn farmer in South Dakota, and one who is deeply involved in sustainability programs in U.S. agriculture, I have learned first-hand how biofuels such as ethanol are good for our health and environment, our security and our economy – and for S.D. We
May 19, 2016
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by John M. Urbanchuk (The Intelligencer) I am writing in response to Andrew Mikula’s May 13 letter (“With oil now plentiful, why the need for ethanol in gasoline?“). Several points come to mind. Ethanol has several characteristics that make it an ideal additive to petroleum-based gasoline. First, ethanol increases octane in
May 19, 2016
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by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post) But a study by the U.S. Geological Survey appears to have answered a critical question about the millions of gallons of chemical-laced water that are injected into the wells to fracture rocks and release trapped gas. Is there any cause for concern when that water
May 12, 2016
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(Development Diaries) Acumen, the nonprofit social venture fund, announces its new investment in Green Energy & BioFuels (GEB), a Nigerian company creating cleaner, more cost-effective cooking solutions for West Africa’s low-income households. In Nigeria, more than 40 percent of urban households and a staggering 92 percent of rural households still
April 29, 2016
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(Diesel Technology Forum) Minnesota can breathe a little easier with its fleet of clean diesel vehicles powered on blends of biodiesel fuel. — In case you missed it, the Minnesota chapter of the American Lung Association (ALA) estimates that the air is cleaner thanks to the use of higher volumes of biodiesel fuel.
April 15, 2016
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(The Fifth Estate) Coconut oil might be about to step off the beaches and out of the kitchen and into the tanks of Australian trucks and cars, with research released today showing that as a component of biodiesel, it may reduce the impact of vehicle emissions on human lungs. The
April 12, 2016
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(Urban Air Initiative) Urban Air Initiative joined the Energy Future Coalition and the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition (GBC) in calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize an overwhelming body of new evidence showing fuel ethanol can reduce carbon emissions. The EPA’s assessment of information on ethanol’s lifecycle emissions
April 11, 2016
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(Growth Energy) This week, Jim Miller, Vice President and Chief Economist of Growth Energy will travel with Steve Bleyl, Executive Vice President of Green Plains Inc., and Doug Berven, Vice President of Corporate Affairs of POET to Chinese Taipei to present papers on the benefits of ethanol as part of
April 11, 2016
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(The American Lung Association in Minnesota/Biodiesel Magazine) Minnesota’s commitment to biodiesel use has paid off with an important impact on air quality, according to an analysis of the cleaner-burning fuel by the American Lung Association in Minnesota. “I think the amount of air pollution we are preventing right now by
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) A cornerstone of U.S. environmental policy has been the reduction of harmful tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. Thanks to EPA regulations of mobile sources, air pollutants have been reduced by millions of tons in the urban environment. Several EPA fuel regulations
April 7, 2016
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by Meagan Phelan (AAAS.org) The first quantitative estimates of the Aliso Canyon well blowout reveal that it released more than 100,000 tons of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. A new study provides one of the first quantitative estimates of the methane leak rate from the blowout of a natural gas well
February 26, 2016
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by Orrie Swayze (AgWeek) The idea that shale makes us crude oil independent is an oil industry fantasy that enables us to deny we willfully sacrifice our troops to fight endless Middle East conflicts to support the U.S. addiction to imported oil. … South Dakota VFW had an ongoing statewide “Foreign
February 23, 2016
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by Drew T. Shindell, Yunha Lee & Greg Faluvegi (Nature Climate Change) An emissions trajectory for the US consistent with 2 °C warming would require marked societal changes, making it crucial to understand the associated benefits. Previous studies have examined technological potentials and implementation costs1, 2 and public health benefits have been
by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Of all the grandstanding by politicians over the Flint, Michigan, drinking water disaster perhaps the most hypocritical has been that of Democrats such as Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton heaping all the blame on Michigan Republicans while not saying one word about the deficiencies
by C. Boyden Gray (Des Moines Register) The Iowa primary has put into play one of the more obscure issues in the political life of the nation — ethanol, of all things. Donald Trump led off his rant against Sen. Ted Cruz in a CNN interview Monday night with the assertion
February 1, 2016
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by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) … “The RFS helped kick start the significant volumes of ethanol production we see today, but we cannot rely on the RFS to ensure a continued market,” Durante (Doug Durante, Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC) executive director) said. “The industry needs to grow beyond the RFS
January 27, 2016
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by Andrew Marshall (Stock & Land) Maverick North Queensland MP Bob Katter wants ethanol back on the national fuel agenda to help contain Australia’s rising petrol costs. He says serious commitment to renewable biofuels would also dramatically improve air quality in our cities and help underpin the rural economy, particularly the
January 27, 2016
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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Once we decided to go forward with the E85 conversion, Bob Kozak researched options for retrofitting my bright yellow 2002 Ford Focus ZX3. He decided that the kit offered by Fuel Flex International would probably meet our needs. Getting Started with the Right E85
(Ethanol Across America) Despite the effectiveness of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in providing an entry ramp to the fuel market, the potential for corn ethanol to contribute to meeting a range of public policy objectives has only scratched the surface, according to a new White Paper released here today.
January 18, 2016
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(U.S. Department of Justice) The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today filed a civil complaint in federal court in Detroit, Michigan, against Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Volkswagen Group of America Inc., Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations LLC, Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North
by Robert Moffitt (American Lung Association in Minnesota/Post Bulletin) A Dec. 14 letter to the editor described Rochester’s “community responsibility to become energy sustainable.” A key component to achieving this goal is increasing the use of clean-burning transportation fuels in the greater Rochester area. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded
January 4, 2016
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by ZOË Schlanger (Newsweek) … (Arnold) Schwarzenegger, a longtime champion of clean energy, hinged his argument on the health detriments of pollution created from burning fossil fuels. “First—do you believe it is acceptable that 7 million people die every year from pollution? That’s more than murders, suicides and car accidents—combined,” he wrote. “Every
December 8, 2015
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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing examining the health impacts of current octane sources and the need for cleaner, cost-effective octane providers. Octane is necessary for vehicle performance and increasing octane volumes would enable highly efficient engines. At the same time, octane-boosters in use
December 7, 2015
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by Michael Birnbaum (The Washington Post) Cheap electricity, a changing climate This is part of a series exploring how the world’s hunger for cheap electricity is complicating efforts to combat climate change. — … But behind the green growth is a filthy secret: In a nation famous for its windmills,
November 24, 2015
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by Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg/The Washington Post) A brew made from sawdust and water hyacinth flowers may help reduce the millions of lives lost across the developing world from the fumes of ramshackle cooking equipment. Those are the ingredients being used by Green Energy Biofuels, a Nigerian renewable energy developer, to produce
November 17, 2015
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(Shell) Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) has signed an agreement with Project Gaia Prospects Limited (PGPL) for the conduct of a pilot study on the use of Ethanol clean cookstoves, a cleaner and safer way of cooking. SNEPCo will provide 2,5000 clean cookstoves and 15,000 canisters for distribution
November 10, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Hungary, Clean Fuels Development Coalition Executive Director Douglas Durante said as a way for ethanol to find value beyond limitations of government imposed limits, both in the EU and the U.S., the focus should be on providing clean, low carbon octane to help meet health, climate, and
November 9, 2015
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by David Giambusso (Politico New York) Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration tacitly endorsed two bills to increase the use of biofuel citywide, but a Monday hearing on them grew heated nonetheless when oil lobby representatives showed up to challenge them. Both Intros 642 and 880 would expand the use of
October 28, 2015
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by Brian Jennings (Ethanol Producer Magazine/A,merican Coalition for Ethanol) ACE members will keep working to help the EPA get the RFS on track will also continuing to work on other strategies to increase ethanol use, writes Brian Jennings. — … We’re trying to be patient with the EPA. We’re trying
October 27, 2015
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by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) In the aftermath of revelations of how Volkswagen had their thumb on the scale as they cheated not just the EPA, but all of us who breathe the air, it raises serious and significant questions as to how we go about the
October 23, 2015
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by Neela Banerjee & Lisa Song (Inside Climate News) Throughout the 1980s, the company struggled to solve the carbon problem of one of the biggest gas fields in the world out of concern for climate impacts. In 1980, as Exxon Corp. set out to develop one of the world’s largest
October 23, 2015
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by Seth Borenstein (Associated Press/Detroit News) Volkswagen’s pollution-control chicanery has not just been victimless tinkering, killing between five and 20 people in the United States annually in recent years, according to an Associated Press statistical and computer analysis. The software that the company admitted using to get around government emissions limits
October 5, 2015
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(Propel) Diesel HPR provides superior performance and improved local air quality as Propel provides simple tools to track personal emission reductions, check price and find locations. HAYWARD, Calif. (October 1, 2015) – Propel Fuels, California’s largest retailer of low-carbon fuels, is introducing nation’s most advanced diesel fuel: Diesel HPR (High
October 2, 2015
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by Margo Sanger-Katz and John Schwartz (New York Times) Volkswagen’s diesel deception unleashed tons of extra pollutants in the United States, pollutants that can harm human health. So while many commentators have been quick to say that the cheating engines are not a highway safety concern, safety — as in health — is
September 29, 2015
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by Bill Brandon (Biofuels Digest) Fooling with computers to give false readings has happened before. It is important to recognize similarities to earlier cases and EPA’s role in them. The 1998 consent decree In October 1998, the DOJ and EPA entered into a consent decree with heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturers for
September 29, 2015
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(Advanced Biofuels USA) In the spirit of Pope Francis, and in response to press release from the International Climate Science Coalition’s (ICSC) we invite the ICSC to join Advanced Biofuels USA and the biofuels community to find and institute ever better ways to replace petroleum-based and fossil natural gas-based transportation
(Algenol) U.S.-based Algenol will partner with South China’s Fujian Zhongyuan New Energy Company, Ltd. (ZYNE) to develop projects throughout Southern China, utilizing carbon emissions to create renewable fuels. The goal is to provide solutions for China’s three biggest challenges: access to clean air, clean water and sustainable fuels. Today in
September 23, 2015
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by Chris Reiter (Bloomberg/MSN.com) Volkswagen AG said irregularities on diesel- emission readings extend to 11 million vehicles around the world, forcing the German carmaker to set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) in an initial tally of the potential costs. Volkswagen extended its slide after the announcement, falling as much
September 22, 2015
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(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) After scientists found that toxic lead particles in engine exhaust were accumulating in bodies and affecting brain health, amendments to the Clean Air Act 25 years ago prohibited the use of lead in gasoline. Children were especially vulnerable, exhibiting lower IQ levels and more antisocial behaviors.
September 21, 2015
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by Barry Blitstein (TribLive) Letter to Editor: Regarding the editorial “The ethanol racket: More perversion” : Calling the ethanol industry a “racket” as if it were a form of organized crime is nothing short of scandalous. … Ethanol is the cheapest and safest form of octane on the market today; it
September 15, 2015
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(Urban Air Initiative/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Officials from the Urban Air Initiative called the recent effort by the American Petroleum Institute to discredit ethanol a smokescreen to hide the fact that the toxic components in gasoline are endangering the lives of millions of people. UAI President David VanderGriend responded to a new
September 14, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest speaks with Sebastian Soederberg, Novozymes’ VP for Biomass Conversion, on how the emotional issue of city smog is creating an opening for cellulosic ethanol, even with currently low oil prices. … Let me start with air pollution in cities, which is a growing, local,
September 9, 2015
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(Foodtank.com) … Miraci Pereira Silva is an organic farmer from the Roseli Nunes settlement in western Brazil. For years, together with other members of her community, she has grown crops like lettuce, beans, and papaya, which are sold locally and provide a reliable income for the settlement’s farmers. But as their
September 8, 2015
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( Nebraska Ethanol Board/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … “The fuels combusted on our nation’s roadways are a predominant source of the most dangerous particle-borne toxic emissions,” said (David) Hallberg, an Omaha resident. “Adding toxic carcinogens to gasoline is the way oil companies achieve the octane your engine needs to perform. Using more
September 1, 2015
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by Kim Trinchet (Urban Air Initiative) New documents filed with the U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. show that the model used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure tailpipe emissions inaccurately blames ethanol for increased air pollution, according to the Urban Air Initiative and several collaborating
August 21, 2015
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by Kim Trinchet (Urban Air Initiative) Many gas stations are promoting E0, or gasoline with zero percent ethanol. It not only costs more than regular gasoline which contains 10% ethanol, new data shows it also burns dirtier in your engine which then puts more toxic emissions into the air. Urban
August 21, 2015
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by Kim Trinchet (Urban Air Initiative) One of the great misconceptions following ethanol is that it causes compatibility issues in certain engines. But new data shows that the opposite is true, and ethanol free gasoline blends actually increase much of the wear and tear on hoses, seals, and fuel tanks. This
August 21, 2015
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by Dave VanderGriend (Ethanol Producer Magazine/ICM/Urban Air Initiative) … The RFS is very important to our industry, but focusing on it alone, has caused us to take our eye off the dealer. The down card trumps everything in the deck and it’s called the MOVES model, which stands for Mobile Vehicle Emissions
August 17, 2015
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(U.S. Grains Council/Ethanol Producer Magazine) A U.S. Grains Council mission including U.S. environmental and public health specialists recently traveled to China to discuss how air and water quality in that country could be improved through the use of ethanol in the country’s fuel. “China already has a 10 percent mandatory blend
August 3, 2015
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(Urban Air Initiative/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Many gas stations are promoting E0, or gasoline with zero percent ethanol. It not only costs more than regular gasoline that contains 10 percent ethanol, new data shows it also burns dirtier in your engine which then puts more toxic emissions into the air. Urban
August 3, 2015
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(Office of Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)) In a letter this week to Office of Management and Budget (OPM) Director Shaun Donovan, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham called for prompt action on upcoming federal standards to curb natural gas
July 28, 2015
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by Michael Bastasch (Daily Caller) A University of Minnesota scientist told lawmakers Thursday that mandating ethanol be blended into fuel supplies is leading to more deaths from poor air quality in the Midwest and along the East Coast. “The Renewable Fuel Standard, because it is currently dominated by corn grain
July 27, 2015
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(Securing America’s Future Energy) Today’s low prices at the pump may have many people believing our nation’s energy security problem has been solved, but don’t be fooled. The truth of the matter is energy security can only be achieved by tackling oil’s near complete monopoly over our transportation sector, of
July 21, 2015
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by William Saletan (Slate) The war against genetically modified organisms is full of fearmongering, errors, and fraud. Labeling them will not make you safer. They Want You to Be Overwhelmed … Hundreds of organizations, including Consumers Union, Friends of the Earth, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Center for Food Safety, and
July 20, 2015
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by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) The Urban Air Initiative (UAI) has released a study that finds ethanol free gasoline blends actually increase the wear and tear on engines including hoses, seals and fuel tanks. In other words, the data supports ethanol blends lead to cleaner engines. The findings were presented at
June 30, 2015
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