... (Christian Aid's report)Growing Pains urges governments to adopt a new vision on biofuels, seeing them as a force for rural development in poor countries, rather than a silver bullet solution to climate change. ‘Christian Aid believes that the best approach
by Ann Davis and Russell Gold (Wall Street Journal) The biofuels revolution that promised to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil is fizzling out. Two-thirds of U.S. biodiesel production capacity now sits unused, reports the National Biodiesel Board. Biodiesel, a
From the report: ... Objective independent studies now emerging on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 suggest that the costs to the agriculture and forestry sectors from its cap and trade provisions are on net modest. At
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Massachusetts, the state Department of Energy Resources, in coordination with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, announced that it would ban all biofuels not made using waste feedstocks from qualifying under the
by Cath Everett (BusinessGreen.com) Corn ethanol industry accuses EPA of influencing independent panel to boost support for controversial biofuel carbon life cycle regulations. An independent peer review of proposed US biofuel regulations has only served to intensify a long-running dispute
by Jessica Leber (New York Times and ClimateWire) U.S. policies are subsidizing new energy crops that are likely to spread off the farm and wreak economic and ecological havoc, a federal advisory board cautioned yesterday. For years, researchers have worked
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Center for Public Integrity released a report on lobbying over the impending Climate Bill, and reported that 13 bioenergy companies plus several trade groups registered to lobby Congress for the first time
General Wesley Clark (Ret.), co-chairman of Growth Energy, introduced a renewable fuels road map designed to put the nation on track to create more jobs, reduce emissions and help make our nation more energy independent. The principles outlined in Growth
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (''EPA'') announces the availability of documents pertaining to the expert peer review record completed on the Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS2) Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Analysis. On May 5, 2009, EPA announced proposed revisions to
Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, evaluated a recent US Government Accountabilty Office report, "“Now it’s the GAO that is saying that farm prices are a fraction of the hike to grocery bills. Whatever is driving up grocery prices won’t
by Neil Winton (Detroit News) While manufacturers like Nissan of Japan jostle for the lead in the race to saturate markets with electric cars, automotive forecasters seeking to cut through the hyperbole tell a more sober story. ... Automotive forecaster
.... There is plenty of corn to eat and plenty for making ethanol and plenty for feeding cattle and plenty more to export and still more to make chemicals and fabric. After peaking briefly in July 2008 at more than
by John Lynn (Energy Tribune) ... Methanol can be produced from a wide variety of feedstocks, including natural gas, coal, biomass, and even atmospheric carbon dioxide. ... Using mature gasification technology, one ton of biomass can be used to produce
by Tom Doggett (Reuters) Major automakers asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to approve higher blends of ethanol in gasoline until the agency has adequate test results showing the fuel would not damage vehicles. ... the Alliance of Automobile
The ethanol industry should voluntarily stop the unnecessary use of antibiotics in the production process, particularly because viable alternatives are readily available, concludes a new report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). For decades, ethanol producers have added
The latest research note from the UK's Policy Exchange recommends that bio-jet fuels should become a priority for the aviation industry; that they represent the only viable option for significantly reducing emissions from aviation without cutting the number of flights flown. ... Despite their potential,
“For Cap-and-Trade to truly reduce CO2 emissions, many promising lab-scale technologies will have to be prototyped, tested, and commercialized quickly,” says Bob Kozak, President of Atlantic Biomass Conversions. “With the current wording, the proposed Cap-and-Trade legislation does not have a
(25 x25) The USDA reported last week that American farmers are expected to produce 12.3 billion bushels of corn, the second largest U.S. corn crop in history. After estimating all of the uses of corn, USDA projects an excess corn
by Chris Emery (Princeton News) Biofuels derived from renewable sources can be produced in large quantities and address many problems related to fossil fuels, including greenhouse gas emissions, but only if they are made from certain sources, according to a new
Jim Lane, editor of Biofuels Digest summarizes the current state of the nascent advanced biofuels industry, including the current popularity of algae, sluggish progress of cellulosic ethanol and promise of drop-in biofuels. READ MORE
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Governors from Indiana, South Dakota, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin urged increasing the percent of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline from 10% to 15% as
by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) (Politico) ...(W)e envisioned a biofuels industry that would move beyond corn ethanol. Scientists, the environmental community and some cutting-edge entrepreneurs were confident that biofuels could come from a wide array of feedstocks and use an
by Allen Schaeffer (Diesel Technology Forum in The Hill) ...This new generation of clean-diesel engines along with the millions of others already on the road is diverse in its ability to use high-quality blends of renewable biofuels made from soybeans,
by Senator John Thune (R-SD) (Politico) As Congress, the administration and the private sector look for ways to reduce our consumption of imported oil, we should not overlook the most readily available domestic alternative to imported oil: biofuels. The development
While the effects of producing corn-based ethanol on water supply and water quality are fairly well understood, less is known about the effects of the next generation of biofuel feedstocks. ... (L)ittle is known about the effects of large-scale cultivation
by Justin S. Baker, et al. (Duke University) Emerging markets and a rapidly evolving agricultural industry will strongly impact the implementation of conservation programs in the United States. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the nation’s largest and most successful
by Dr. James Hansen (HuffingtonPost) ... For all its "green" aura, Waxman-Markey locks in fossil fuel business-as-usual and garlands it with a Ponzi-like "cap-and-trade" scheme. Here are a few of the bill's egregious flaws: It guts the Clean Air Act, removing
byDavid Biello (Yale Environment 360) Biofuels – made from algae and non-food plants – are emerging as a potentially viable alternative to conventional jet fuels. Although big challenges remain, the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could be major. .... While homes, cars,
Woody biomass from forest management is a renewable, low-carbon feedstock that can substitute for fossil fuels in the production of energy and other products — a potentially important tool in the national strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resist
by Nick Hodges (Green Chip Stocks) While attending the Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street last week, I was almost surprised to see an entire discussion dedicated to how Big Oil plans on entering the cleantech business. The talk was
A “Gigaton Throw Down Initiative Team” evaluated the potential for the world to scale up clean energy technologies over the next 10 years to have a major impact on job growth, energy independence and climate change. In the 150 page
by Gal Luft (EnerPub) ... The bill's renewable electricity mandate, which requires utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, would discourage the use of coal and natural gas, but since only 2 percent of
by Dawson Williams (Clear Carbon Consulting) Agribusiness is a Significant Source of Carbon Emissions and Potential Reduction Opportunities It is widely acknowledged that production agriculture, such as livestock rearing, crop cultivation, timber production, and ornamental horticulture production, contributes a significant
by Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association It is troubling--and, at the same time, sadly amusing--that an enterprising reporter at USA Today has done more homework on the possible indirect effects of increased renewable electricity generation than scores of analysts at
Efforts continue to amend federal policy and widen the availability of renewable biomass resources that would be available from agriculture and forestry to meet the nation’s renewable energy goals. A number of advocacy groups and their allies in Congress are
by Dr. Robert Wisner, Biofuels Economist, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 (1) requires a gradual increase in the volume of various kinds of biofuels to be blended with U.S. motor
In Washington, National Biodiesel Board public affairs heard Manning Feraci said that the EISA Act required the EPA to conduct a lifecycle analysis of biofuels as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s implementation, but said that “This does not require
Large uncertainties in calculating international land use change effects and associated greenhouse gas emissions remain in the Environmental Protection Agency's life cycle assessment of biofuels for the Renewable Fuel Standard. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today asked EPA to maintain
Being a standard-bearer requires heroic endeavors, and perhaps inevitably, epic miscalculations as well. This is the situation of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) in its recent announcement of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard for alternative fuels .” For so long the
The 500+ page proposed renewable fuels greenhouse gas lifecycle rule released by EPA on May 5th and published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 24904) has been met with a hail storm of criticism from
by Ron Pernick, RenewableEnergyWorld.com: I recently gave a talk to a group of environmentalists, technologists, and business people at an innovation forum in Portland, Oregon. In my talk, I relayed the findings of our recent Carbon Free Prosperity report, where
May 15, 2009 - In recent years, the biofuels industry has made strides in breaking our nation's addiction to foreign oil. The production of ethanol has also generated strong demand for our crops and created many jobs in rural states
In its current state, the bill falls far short of the policies needed to transition from a dirty energy economy to a clean energy economy. We believe the Waxman-Markey bill should be drastically changed or dropped. Here's our position: Dump the cap and
Bruce Dale, Michigan State University...... Unfortunately, there is currently a great deal of irresponsible behavior concerning biofuels and bioproducts, both from their opponents and from their supporters. For example, it is irresponsible to promote virgin oils from temperate-zone oilseeds as
... It appears that the EPA, in determining the ghg profile for biodiesel, is penalizing the U.S. biodiesel industry for land use decisions made outside the U.S. that have little if anything to do with the domestic biodiesel production. A
"I'm off the train," Collin Peterson, US House Agriculture Committee chair said May 6 during a strongly worded statement at a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's new proposal for assessing indirect effects of ethanol production on greenhouse gas emissions. ...Peterson said,
"The era of synthetic drop-in fuels is upon us," writes Biofuels Digest editor Jim Lane. Drop In: The future does not lie in ethanol and biodiesel, though they may well provide important fractions of the renewable fuel supply for years to
... Boston Consulting Group found that the total cost of ownership of existing hybrids and advanced internal combustion engine cars is more attractive than that of electric cars as long as oil prices are below $280 a barrel. Oil is
Robert Kozak, President of Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc., and a founder and board member of Advanced Biofuels USA, urges the California Air Resources Board to reject the proposed low carbon fuel standard. He writes, "At first glance, the documentation presented with
by Elizabeth Nesbitt (Journal of International Commerce and Economics) The increasing use of industrial biotechnology by the Chinese liquid biofuels and chemical industries is expected to help offset energy security and environmental concerns generated by China’s robust economic growth. The expanding use of bioprocesses
Continuing to build advanced biofuels production capacity can create thousands of new jobs throughout the economy, contributing to U.S. economic growth and increasing energy security. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) welcomed the release of a new report by Bio Economic
by Angela Neville (Power Mag) ... In April, the Texas governor jumped into the middle of this debate. Responding to what some observers thought was strong pressure from TSCRA, Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) submitted a formal request to the Environmental
…It is difficult to argue with scientific measurements and peer review when they are discussing the first generation technologies, with little relevance of the overall shift towards renewables and greentech that is making all industry more energy efficient, improving water
One of the common frustrations that these leaders face is that the research and government organizations come to them for ideas or product samples, but instead of treating them as the drivers of innovation, they are treated as one of
(Task Force on Renewable Alternative Fuels Final Report) The Task Force on Renewable Alternative Fuels (Chapter 540 of 2007), chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Roger Richardson and staffed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), consisted of two legislative members, the
by Adam Lashinsky and Nelson D. Schwartz (CNN Money/Fortune Magazine) You probably don't know it, but the answer to America's gasoline addiction could be under the hood of your car. More than five million Tauruses, Explorers, Stratuses, Suburbans, and other vehicles
(Consortium on RuralTechnology) Biogas plants have been accepted by now in the country~as a device for improving the quality of the life of the people. They help in recycling of the cattie wastes and produce both fuel and manure from
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