by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) One of the speakers on the second day of the Alternative Fuels & Chemicals Coalition’s Global Biobased Economy Conference & Exhibit, noted that 5 years ago the bioeconomy was like an old truck stuck
soil carbon
Back TO HOMENEW DATE Crystal Ball 2022: Ethanol --- March 3, 2021 --- ONLINE
EcoEngineers is bringing back its popular “Crystal Ball” webinar series. In the final installment in the series, we will focus on ethanol markets, including advancements in sustainable farm practices, and carbon capture and sequestration developments. Our experts will talk about
October 31, 2021 Read Full Article
SfL Commends BBBA’s Acknowledgement of Ag Leadership in Environmental Stewardship
(Solutions from the Land) Solutions from the Land applauds the inclusion of much needed agricultural climate action investments in the $1.75-trillion Build Back Better Act (BBBA) spending and tax framework introduced Thursday that would increase investments in climate smart agriculture
October 29, 2021 Read Full Article
Dollars in the Dirt: Big Ag Pays Farmers for Control of their Soil-Bound Carbon
by Rod Nickel and Karl Plume (Reuters) The biggest global agriculture companies are competing on a new front: enticing farmers to join programs that keep atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide in the soil. Fertilizer producers Nutrien Ltd (NTR.TO) and Yara (YAR.OL), agribusiness giant Cargill Inc (CARG.UL), and
October 25, 2021 Read Full Article
Groups Tell CARB Ethanol Can Help Reach Carbon-Neutrality
(Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) In joint comments submitted last week to the California Air Resources Board, a group of ag and biofuel organizations and companies highlighted the role renewable fuels like ethanol can and should play in helping the state achieve its
October 18, 2021 Read Full Article
Pluton Biosciences Gets $6.6M in Seed Funding, Bayer AG Soil Deal and More
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Pluton is a large body of intrusive igneous rock according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and “breaking ground” and being “ground breaking” is just what Pluton Biosciences is doing with their novel microbes. They are making
October 11, 2021 Read Full Article
The Voice of Conservatives Is Important in Renewable Energy Policy Discussions
(Solutions from the Land) ... Those who advocate for no- and low-carbon fuels and other energy solutions come from across political parties – Democrats and Republicans – and from all along the spectrum of partisan views – from liberals to conservatives. The
October 02, 2021 Read Full Article
USDA Investing $75 million in Partner-Led Projects with Focus on Climate-Smart Ag, Equity in Program Delivery
(U.S. Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest nearly $75 million for 15 partner-led projects to address natural resource concerns on private lands. This year, projects funded by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program’s (RCPP) Alternative Funding Arrangements
September 27, 2021 Read Full Article
Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Advances the Future of Sustainable Fuels in American Aviation
(White House) New Actions Aim to Produce Three Billion Gallons of Sustainable Fuel, Reduce Aviation Emissions by 20% by 2030, and Grow Good-Paying, Union Jobs -- Today (September 9, 2021), President Biden is taking steps to coordinate leadership and innovation across
September 10, 2021 Read Full Article
United, Honeywell Invest in New Clean Tech Venture from Alder Fuels, Powering Biggest Sustainable Fuel Agreement in Aviation History
(United Airlines/PR Newswire) United agrees to purchase 1.5 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over 20 years - which is one and a half times the size of the rest of the world's airlines' publicly announced SAF commitments combined Honeywell first
September 09, 2021 Read Full Article
Group Spotlights Biofuel Benefits for California’s Carbon-Neutral Future
(Renewable Fuels Association) In joint comments submitted last week to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a group of ag and biofuel organizations and companies highlighted the role renewable fuels like ethanol can and should play in helping the state achieve its goal
September 09, 2021 Read Full Article
Funding & Formation: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Petri
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Like a petri dish, Petri funds and grows formation-stage startups at the intersection of biology and technology. They invest pre-seed and seed capital and work 1-1 with founders for 12 months or more to build their
September 09, 2021 Read Full Article
Connections: Saying Goodbye to a Soil Organic Matter Fundamental
by Sally Brown (BioCycle Magazine) ... This fuller understanding of how SOM (soil organic carbon) operates in no way takes away the importance of soils as a tool for carbon storage. Rather it suggests that policies based on burying and
September 08, 2021 Read Full Article
Carbon Dioxide Removal with Roger Aines
(Climate Now) How do we reach global net-zero emissions by 2050, when there is almost no chance of completely ending our dependence on fossil fuels by that time? The solution will require Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) – a host of natural
August 10, 2021 Read Full Article
Lawmakers from Both Parties Call for Investment in Ag as a Climate Solution
(North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance) Thirty lawmakers from both houses of Congress have written a letter urging House and Senate leadership to support an historic, long-term investment in farmers, ranchers and rural communities as a part of upcoming infrastructure and
August 06, 2021 Read Full Article
President Biden’s Climate Plan and iIts Role in Agriculture & Renewable Biofuels
by Oliver Peoples (Yield10 Bioscience/Biofuels Digest) During President Biden’s April 22nd climate plan speech at the Virtual Leaders’ Summit on Climate, he announced his goal of cutting 50 percent of U.S. carbon-emissions levels by 2030. This is no simple task, and consumers,
August 03, 2021 Read Full Article
Establishing a Fair Ag Carbon Market Will Be Complicated, but Worth the Effort
(Solutions from the Land) The talk among policy makers in Washington to promote a market in which farmers, ranchers and forestland owners can be fiscally rewarded for their efforts to retain carbon in their soil has excited many. The prospect for
August 02, 2021 Read Full Article
Harder Introduces Landmark Legislation to Help Farmers Lead on Climate Change
(Office of Representative Josh Harder (R-CA 10th) Bill will establish billions in new initiatives to support the efforts of the agriculture industry in leading the way on climate -- Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) reintroduced his Future of Agricultural Resiliency and Modernization (FARM)
August 02, 2021 Read Full Article
Can New Technology Incentivize Farmers to Capture Carbon in Their Soil?
by Michael Sterenberg (Columbia Climate School State of the Planet) The Scenic Hudson Soil Lab is a rather unassuming structure. Sitting atop a hemp farm within New York’s Hudson River Valley, the lab is unadorned, and no bigger than a roadside
July 28, 2021 Read Full Article
Zero, Then Negative --- July 29, 2021 --- ONLINE
Join us for a discussion on carbon removal that welcomes champions and skeptics alike to explore the entire portfolio of approaches, from direct air capture to soil carbon sequestration. Over the last several years, carbon removal has gone from a little-known
July 28, 2021 Read Full Article
Why All Agriculture Carbon Credits Aren’t the Same
by Helena Bottemiller Evich (Politico) Green groups are calling for USDA to set standards so there’s more clarity in the rapidly changing market. -- Agricultural carbon credit programs are cropping up left and right, but the standards they adhere to are
July 27, 2021 Read Full Article
New Energy Freedom Refinery to Produce Carbon-Negative Fuel from America's Ag Wastes
(New Energy Blue/PR Newswire) New Energy Blue announced its planned construction in Iowa of a biomass refinery designed to produce renewable carbon-negative automotive fuel, which replaces gasoline. "Our Iowa project can keep one million tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere every
July 20, 2021 Read Full Article
Field to Market Launches Fieldprint Platform 4.0 with Enhanced Science to Assess Nutrient Loss Pathways and Estimate Soil Carbon Sequestration
(Field to Market) Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture today introduced Fieldprint® Platform 4.0, the next generation of the industry’s most widely recognized sustainability assessment tool for commodity crop production in the United States. The Fieldprint Platform’s new features
July 15, 2021 Read Full Article
RFA CEO: Multiple Reasons for Ethanol Optimism
(Renewable Fuels Association) Low-carbon ethanol’s “brightest and sunniest days remain ahead” despite recent judicial setbacks and a growing policy push on electric vehicles, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in keynote remarks today at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and
July 15, 2021 Read Full Article
AgWeb's Carbon Innovation Center
(AgWeb) The rapid pace of U.S. carbon market activity has left many farmers dazed and confused. To help answer your questions, we’re sharing the first-ever carbon market comparison tool to assess how several of the most prominent frameworks stack up.
July 12, 2021 Read Full Article
LCA Model for Biofuels: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to GREET
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies Model – aka GREET – can be used to address impacts and conduct life cycle analyses of biofuels and bioproducts. Check out Argonne National Laboratory’s
July 02, 2021 Read Full Article
Reality Check for USDA's Climate Agenda
by Matthew Choi (Politico's Morning Energy) The agriculture industry is anxiously waiting to see how the Biden administration intends to enlist more producers to adopt climate-friendly farm practices. But even as corporations are eager to buy offsets from farmers who
June 29, 2021 Read Full Article
POET Featured in Film on Environmental Benefits of Biofuels
(PR Newswire/GrainNet) POET, the world's largest producer of biofuels, appears in a new short film as part of the series Nature's Building Blocks. The digital film was produced by BBC StoryWorks, the commercial content division of BBC Global News. Presented by the International Council of Biotechnology Associations
June 24, 2021 Read Full Article
The Importance of Net-Zero Ethanol
by Jim Ramm (EcoEngineers) ... In a world demanding net-zero, the way forward for ethanol is to take advantage of the two great carbon sinks available: farm-level soil carbon and underground carbon dioxide storage. But first, what exactly is net-zero carbon? It
June 10, 2021 Read Full Article
Carinata Now a Listed Feedstock for CORSIA Sustainable Aviation Fuel
(Nuseed/Biobased Diesel Daily) A recent update by the International Civil Aviation Organization now includes carinata as a renewable fuel feedstock with a similar greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint as waste and residuals, like used cooking oil. “For sustainability being categorized with waste is
May 21, 2021 Read Full Article
Miscanthus Carbon Independent Sequestration Figures Revealed in New Study
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In the United Kingdom, the first dedicated, independent study into Miscanthus life cycles shows that the above ground biomass grows annually and recycles all the carbon that’s been produced through planting, harvesting and burning the
May 03, 2021 Read Full Article
Feedstock Development, Production, Management: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to USDA’s Feedstock Innovations
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From switchgrass, sorghum or sugarcane, feedstock development, genomics, and crops improvement abound with USDA’s help at the Biomass Research Center. Rob Mitchell, Research Leader and Research Agronomist at USDA ARS, shares all about the latest
March 26, 2021 Read Full Article
Characteristics of the Soil in Biofuel Crop Fields Affect Its Potential to Store Carbon
(NewsWise) Microbiome and soil chemistry at long-term bioenergy research sites challenge the idea that switchgrass increases carbon accrual in surface soils on marginal lands. -- In this study, researchers characterized the influence of crop and site on fungal and bacterial
March 16, 2021 Read Full Article
Building the Evidence on Corn Ethanol’s Greenhouse Gas Profile
by Jan Lewandrowski (US Department of Agriculture) Over the past two decades, the demand for renewable fuels — including corn-based ethanol — has helped drive a strong domestic market for corn, and supported rural America by generating jobs (PDF, 1.5 MB). New research
February 15, 2021 Read Full Article
Land O'Lakes Sustainability Business Truterra Launches TruCarbon™, the First Farmer-Owned Carbon Program
(Truterra/PR Newswire) TruCarbon Promises Streamlined Experience for Farmers; Novel Approach for Buyers to Incentivize Change at Scale; TruCarbon Launching With Microsoft as First Secured Buyer -- Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business and subsidiary of Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's largest farmer-owned cooperatives,
February 04, 2021 Read Full Article
Two Biden Priorities, Climate and Inequality, Meet on Black-Owned Farms
by Hiroko Tabuchi and Nadja Popovich (New York Times) The administration has pledged to make agriculture a cornerstone of its plan to fight warming, but also to tackle a legacy of discrimination that has pushed Black farmers off the land. --
February 01, 2021 Read Full Article
Biden’s Climate Crisis Order Addresses Biobased Fuels, Products
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) President Biden on Jan. 27 issued an executive order that aims to tackle the climate crisis, create jobs and restore scientific integrity across the federal government. The order addresses the production and sourcing of biobased
January 28, 2021 Read Full Article
Energy-Dense Liquids, Drop-in Fuels: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Tying in with today’s top story, this is one slide guide you don’t want to miss from Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO who recently shared this with investors. From the latest in market traction and demand
January 27, 2021 Read Full Article
Regenerative Ag: The No. 1 Food Trend of 2020
by Tom Karst (Farm Journal Ag Web) ... More global produce marketers and retailers are taking measures to become regenerative companies. In a post on the chain’s website, Whole Foods called regenerative agriculture the number one food trend of 2020. “Farmers, producers, academics,
January 12, 2021 Read Full Article
Carinata for Biofuels, High Protein Feed, Cover Crop: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Nuseed
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Nuseed (which acquired Agrisoma last year) has four focus crops – carinata, sorghum, canola and sunflower – sound more like a cooking ingredient list but they are in fact fantastic feedstocks for a range of
December 28, 2020 Read Full Article
Biden Wants the U.S. to Stop Contributing to Climate Change by 2050. Here’s What that Would Actually Take.
by Chris Mooney (Washington Post) ... And all of it is powered by an array of solar and sometimes distant wind installations, which route electricity across the country thanks to a gargantuan network of power lines that triples the scale
December 17, 2020 Read Full Article
New Legislation Sets Policy Menu for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
by Jeff Overton (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) As the aviation industry recovers from the severe contraction caused by the pandemic, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) will be essential to help the sector achieve a path to net-zero carbon emissions by
December 12, 2020 Read Full Article
FarmLab Thinks It Can Get 1m Farmers to Sequester 1bn Tonnes of CO2 by 2025. Here’s How
by Jack Ellis (Ag Funder News) ... He (FarmLab co-founder and CEO Sam Duncan) started FarmLab with co-founder and chief technology officer Shahriar Jamshidi in 2016 with the aim of making sampling on farms more efficient and wallet-friendly. Back then, it was
December 11, 2020 Read Full Article
Could Ethanol Be a ‘Net-Zero’ Hero?
by Geoff Cooper (Ethanol Producer Magazine/Renewable Fuels Association) Already contributing to decarbonization, ethanol is a phenomenal low-carbon molecule that will continue to play an instrumental role in the transition to net-zero emissions. And because it is here today, there is
November 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Wyden Introduces Legislation to Improve Soil Health, Crop Resilience and Address the Climate Crisis
(Office of Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR) U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. introduced legislation to help address the climate crisis by encouraging farming practices that improve soil health and crop resilience and lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. “In 2020 alone,
November 16, 2020 Read Full Article
TerraSync Algae Micro Cover Crop: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Accelergy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Mark P. Allen, Vice President of Integrated Carbon Solutions at Accelergy, shared this illuminating slide guide on how Accelergy’s TerraSync is cost competitive, has soil health benefits, gobbles up CO2 better than any other
October 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Submission by Solutions from the Land on Behalf of the North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance In Response to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture
(Solutions from the Land) NACSAA 'Capstone Submission' Stresses CSA Is 'Foundational' to Global Agreement -- North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance has handed over its capstone submission into the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture, the global platform for ag policy
October 23, 2020 Read Full Article
ANL Releases 2020 Updates to GREET Models
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Argonne National Laboratory’s Systems Assessment Center on Oct. 9 announced the 2020 release of the suite of Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) models. GREET is a life-cycle analysis tool that can
October 13, 2020 Read Full Article
Carbon Farming, Algae Biofertilizer: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Accelergy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Just look at those melons and what a difference algae can make! And that’s just part of the story that shows us that, yes, CO2 emissions CAN be used to grow algae and that algae CAN be
October 02, 2020 Read Full Article
Proactively Leveraging Ethanol’s Low-Carbon Value
by Brian Jennings (American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Merely playing defense on the RFS does not constitute a plan to expand ethanol demand. We need to go on offense because it is a matter of when, not if, Congress
September 07, 2020 Read Full Article
Australian JV Launched to Develop Novel Waste-to-Fuels Technology
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Australia, Epichem has entered into a partnership agreement with Obsidian Minerals to establish Perren to develop a novel and disruptive waste to fuels technology using oxidative non catalytic dissolution. Perren will endeavor to develop and commercialize
September 06, 2020 Read Full Article
Regenerative Farming: Let’s Look Forward, Not Backward
by John Fargher (AgFunderNews/AgriWebb) Regenerative farming has often been a controversial topic – largely due to confusion regarding its true definition. Some believe that it involves a return to pre-industrial farming techniques, and fear it’s about pursuing sustainability instead of profits. This
August 29, 2020 Read Full Article
New Soil Models May Ease Atmospheric CO2, Climate Change
(North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance) ... In an article published in Nature Geoscience, Cornell University's Johannes Lehmann and others wrote that scientists should develop new models that more accurately reflect the carbon-storage processes beneath our feet in order to effectively
August 21, 2020 Read Full Article
Gevo’s Historic $900 Million Offtake Deal with Trafigura Group
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Colorado, Gevo entered into a long term, take or pay Renewable Hydrocarbons Purchase and Sale Agreement with Trafigura Group, the largest contract in Gevo’s history. Trafigura is one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading
August 21, 2020 Read Full Article
Murkowski: Carbon Management Has Significant Promise
(U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources) U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing focused on the development of carbon removal technologies in the United States. Murkowski also highlighted the introduction of the CREATE Act, a new bill she is cosponsoring to
August 05, 2020 Read Full Article
Carbon-Optimized Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to ARPA-E’s Carbon Programs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Carbon is the talk of the town, but what’s the difference between a low-carbon economy and a renewable “new” carbon economy? What’s the role of carbon management in the bioeconomy? What is carbon optimized bioconversion? David Babson,
July 31, 2020 Read Full Article
U.S. Renewable Energy Numbers Show Strong Progress Towards a Long-Time Goal
(Solutions from the Land) An analysis of data released by the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) that measures the amount of power generated by various resources shows more than 25 percent of the nation's net electrical generation came from renewable sources during the month of
July 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Black Gold: Iowa’s Soils Can Be a Fort Knox for Carbon Storage
by Zhichao Wang and Jim Ramm (EcoEngineers) Iowa’s fertile farmland could be a soil-based Fort Knox that — instead of gold — stores a wealth of carbon within its underground vaults. How farmers can tap into the potential riches of carbon capture
July 29, 2020 Read Full Article
Farmers, Researchers Agree: COVID-19, Climate Change Revealed Holes in Agriculture System
by Sarah Spicer (Wichita Eagle) To preserve the environment, mitigate climate change and stabilize the U.S. food system, Midwest farmers should diversify their crops and move away from raising corn and soybeans, researchers say. The current crop system, which was founded after
July 29, 2020 Read Full Article
How to Tackle Climate Change, Food Security and Land Degradation
(North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance News) Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Global
July 28, 2020 Read Full Article
Pivotal Research Discovers Practices, Technologies Key to Sustainable Farming
by Anna Marie Tomczyk (Argonne National Laboratory/Phys.Org) ... The practices that grain farmers use to produce their crops—managing fertility, tillage practice and crop rotations—influence the overall carbon footprint of U.S. agriculture. By using sustainable practices, farmers could substantially reduce their
July 24, 2020 Read Full Article
Bayer Takes Steps to Make Carbon Sequestration a Farmer’s Newest Crop Opportunity
(Bayer) Bayer to reward growers to generate carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices and creating a new revenue stream on-farm / The initiative makes Bayer the first company to develop a transparent, science-based and collaborative approach to a carbon market
July 22, 2020 Read Full Article
The NEGEM Project – Assessing the Realistic Potential of Carbon Dioxide Removal and Its Contribution to Achieving Climate Neutrality
(NEGEM) ● Reducing GHG emissions continues to be the main priority in climate change mitigation, but carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere (CDR) is increasingly seen as a necessary supplement to traditional emission cuts. ● The NEGEM project will quantify the
July 17, 2020 Read Full Article
Climate Mitigation Potential of Agricultural Conservation Practices Is Significant!
(Solutions from the Land) A blog posted on the World Resources Institute (WRI) website last month dismissed the potential for regenerative agriculture and related systems to contribute to large-scale emissions reduction and carbon dioxide (CO2) removal - cuts that will
June 17, 2020 Read Full Article
Smart Farms of the Future: Making Bioenergy Crops More Environmentally Friendly
by Julie Chao (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Berkeley Lab launches three new projects to advance sustainable agricultural practices ... The three projects, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), leverage Berkeley Lab’s strengths in artificial intelligence, sensors, and ecological biology.
June 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Why Is No One Talking about Agriculture as a Solution to Climate Change?
by Karn Manhas (Terramera/AgFunder News) ... Far less attention has been paid to agriculture’s capacity to be a climate solution. How? Through the production and maintenance of healthy living soil. The world’s soils contain 2,500 gigatons of carbon — more than three times more
May 29, 2020 Read Full Article
Q&A on Cellulosic Ethanol with Clariant
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DigestConnect hosted a wildly popular webinar in late April with Clariant’s Head of Business Line, Biofuels & Derivatives at Clariant but there were so many fantastic audience questions we didn’t to, that we decided to follow
May 28, 2020 Read Full Article
Leading with Soil: Scaling Soil Carbon Storage in Agriculture
(Carbon 180) Soil carbon storage offers significant economic and environmental opportunities for farmers and ranchers. Agricultural practices that store carbon in the soil can help fight climate change at a low cost. Those same practices can also improve overall soil
May 13, 2020 Read Full Article
Draft Soil Enrichment Protocol Incentivizes Carbon Storage Public Comment DEADLINE: May 18, 2020
by Sally Brown (University of Washington/BioCycle Magazine) The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) released a first draft of its new Soil Enrichment Protocol (SEP) on April 17th that gives carbon credits for regenerative farming practices. The purpose of the protocol — available
April 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Climate-Smart Agricultural Policy Requires Reformed Incentives to Minimize Emissions
(Natural Resources Institute Finland/Phys.Org) Post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must safeguard and stimulate the preservation of carbon-rich soils through protection of peatlands. Functional peatlands are the most space efficient long-term carbon store and sink in our planet's biosphere. However, croplands on peat
April 15, 2020 Read Full Article
Congresswoman Pingree Introduces the Agriculture Resilience Act to Promote Farmer-Driven Climate Solutions Legislation Sets Goal of Reaching Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions in U.S. Agriculture by 2040
(Office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)) Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), comprehensive legislation that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by the year 2040. “Farming has always been a
March 04, 2020 Read Full Article
Gevo Secures Funding from Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund
(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) has been awarded part of The Queensland Waste to Biofutures (W2B) Fund to support the development of waste to biofutures projects in Queensland, Australia. The W2B fund provides targeted funding for pilot, demonstration or commercially scalable biorefinery
March 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Congresswoman Angie Craig Leads Letter Reiterating Support for Biofuels, Reducing Carbon Emissions
(Office of Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN2)) Today, U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (MN-02) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) delivered a letter signed by 11 members on the bipartisan Congressional Biofuels Caucus urging the Select Committee on Climate Crisis to include biofuels as a
February 27, 2020 Read Full Article
Farmers Join Forces for Sustainability and Responsible Climate Policy
(American Farm Bureau Federation) Twenty-one farm and ranch groups representing millions of U.S. farmers and ranchers are launching Farmers for a Sustainable Future (FSF), a coalition committed to environmental and economic sustainability. This coalition will serve as a primary resource
February 20, 2020 Read Full Article
OSU Receives $3.1 Million Research Grant to Improve Sorghum Data and Savings
(Oklahoma State University) Forage sorghum is being grown in Chickasha as part of the bio-energy research center work on using sorghum in the production of Cellulosic ethanol. Oklahoma received a $3.1 million grant to improve field-level data collection. -- A recent
February 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Gevo/Agri-Energy Earns Sustainability Certification from an Independent International Watchdog Group, the Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB)
(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), a company producing a new generation of low-carbon, drop-in, liquid transportations fuels, has received certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). The certification is for Gevo’s sourcing of sustainable corn at its production facility in
February 07, 2020 Read Full Article
Farmers Are Poised to Tackle Climate Change With Technology and Innovation
by Jamey Mulligan and Moira McDonald (Morning Consult/World Resources Institute/Walton Family Foundation) American farmers know all too well the effects of our changing climate. If it’s not flooding, it’s drought, then flooding again. But American farmers — whether they know it
February 01, 2020 Read Full Article
Iowans Push 2020 Candidates to Focus on Climate Change
by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) ... While climate change has been given short shrift on the debate stages, it’s been widely discussed as the state races toward its first-in-the-nation caucuses on Monday. Record-setting flooding devastated nearly every corner of the state
January 29, 2020 Read Full Article
Bigger, Better Crops Combat Climate Change
by Michael Robin (Western Producer) Carbon from bigger crops and more robust plants like this hybrid canola, and their larger root systems, is being sequestered at higher rates than it was in the past from annual cropping. As well, new
January 28, 2020 Read Full Article
DOE Project at U of I Will Measure Bioenergy Crop Carbon Emissions
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment) The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $3.3 million grant to a multidisciplinary research team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to develop a precise system for measuring
January 27, 2020 Read Full Article
Grassley: New WOTUS Coming This Week, Trump Got No Applause on Ethanol
(Hagstrom Report/Fence Post) ... In a call to rural reporters, Grassley (Senator Charles Grassley R-IA) noted that he continues to warn the Trump administration that farmers are watching the management of the Renewable Fuel Standard and that he had heard
January 22, 2020 Read Full Article
Payments for Ecosystem Services Key to Enabling Agricultural Solutions to Sustainable Development Goals, Ag Renaissance
(Solutions from the Land) As discussions on climate change, clean water, hunger, poverty and biodiversity grow both on the domestic and global stages, the role of agriculture in addressing these mega-challenges is filling a growing role at the policy table. Statewide
January 16, 2020 Read Full Article
A Clean Fuels Policy for the Midwest
(Great Plains Institute) This Initiative is exploring a clean fuels policy, at the state or regional level, as a marketdriven approach to achieving our economic, energy security, climate, environmental, and public health goals. This white paper presents policy design considerations that
January 08, 2020 Read Full Article
Cellulosic Biofuel Technology: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Mercurius Biorefining
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Reaching high is something Mercurius is familiar with, esp. with their REACH technology. Standing for renewable, acid-hydrolysis, condensation, hydrotreating, their REACH technology works at low temperature, low pressure and enzyme free. According to Knud Balslev at
January 02, 2020 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Announces $20 Million in Funding to Develop Feedstock Monitoring and Carbon Storage Technology
(U.S. Department of Energy) Today (December 19, 2019), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $20 million in funding to develop technologies to quantify feedstock-related emissions at the field level. The Systems for Monitoring and
December 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Agriculture's Role is Growing in the Effort to Stem a Changing Climate
(Solutions from the Land) The global climate negotiating sessions in Madrid come to a close this week, and producer advocates remain gratified that delegates to the talks have demonstrated a growing acceptance of the agricultural sector's role in addressing the
December 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Global Biogas Industry Leaders Call on Governments around the World to Unlock the Full Potential of Biogas in Addressing the Climate Emergency
(World Biogas Association) -If all barriers were removed, the biogas industry could abate up to 4bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually, representing at least 12% of today’s global emissions, by 2030. -Today only 2% of the feedstock available globally to
December 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Gaesser, Shea Share Growth of Climate Smart Ag During Panel at COP 25
(Solutions from the Land) ... SfL Steering Committee member Ray Gaesser, an Iowa corn and soybean producer, and SfL President Ernie Shea appeared on the panel, which focused on climate change and the agriculture sector. They spoke of the role
December 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Deep Dive: Climate Change and U.S. Farmers
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) A meeting last June in Newburg, Md., represented a change for U.S. farmers, Pro's Helena Bottemiller Evich reports . The event was hosted by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a group made up
December 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Soil Carbon Science for Policy and Practice
by Mark A. Bradford, Chelsea J. Carey, Lesley Atwood, Deborah Bossio, Eli P. Fenichel, Sasha Gennet, Joseph Fargione, Jonathan R. B. Fisher, Emma Fuller, Daniel A. Kane, Johannes Lehmann, Emily E. Oldfield, Elsa M. Ordway, Joseph Rudek, Jonathan Sanderman &
December 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Argonne Collaboration Shows Benefits of Better Corn Residue Management Strategies
(U.S. Department of Energy) As the global population swells, boosting the demand for both food and energy, land management has never been more important. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are conducting pivotal research that
December 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Gevo Enters into a Fuel Sales Agreement with Scandinavian Airline System for Sustainable Aviation Fuel
(Gevo) Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), a leading renewable fuels and chemicals manufacturer, announced today it has signed a Fuel Sales Agreement with Scandinavian Airline System (“SAS”) to produce and supply sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”) for use and distribution in low
November 15, 2019 Read Full Article
Argonne National Laboratory Releases 2019 GREET Model
by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Argonne National Laboratory’s 2019 GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) models include changes and updates to carbon calculations for land use change from the production of biofuels, as well as
November 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Top 5: A $75 Carbon Tax Will Help Meet 2°C
by Tammy Klein (FutureFuel Strategies) According to a new study by the IMF, carbon taxes are the most powerful and efficient tools to reduce energy use and shift to clean energy sources, but only if they are implemented in a fair
November 01, 2019 Read Full Article
A Roadmap to Make the Land Sector Carbon Neutral by 2040
(Environmental News Network/International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) ... IIASA researchers contributed to the development of a new roadmap outlining actions on deforestation, restoration, and carbon cuts that could lead to the land sector becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and
October 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Interaction Encouraged
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Jaime Finguerut, director of the Sugarcane Technology Institute in Brazil, showed a presentation slide titled, “EMERGENCY!” as he explained to his audience at The Alcohol School Sept. 10 that the climate crisis is the
October 23, 2019 Read Full Article
Biofuels Producers Merit Recognition for Contributions to Climate Change Mitigation
(Solutions from the Land) Tomorrow marks the seventh annual Bioenergy Day, during which more than 40 organizations all over the United States and Canada - businesses, non-profits, universities, and state and local governments - are showcasing the many ways they benefit
October 22, 2019 Read Full Article
OP-ED: Achieving Carbon Emission Reductions with Biofuels
by Pat Gruber (GEVO/American Energy Society) It’s a gaping hole in most conversations about fuel: what do we do about liquid transportation fuels? No matter how quickly we try to electrify our transportation sector, gasoline isn’t going away. Diesel isn’t going away. Jet
October 21, 2019 Read Full Article
National Farmers Union Climate Presentation
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September 25, 2019 Read Full Article
Grab It and Use It: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Carbon Capture
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At the recent Algae Biomass Summit, John Litynski, Deputy Director of Advanced Fossil Technology Systems at the DOE gave this illuminating overview of the federal government’s role in CCUS and detailed some of the major
September 20, 2019 Read Full Article
Achieving NET ZERO -- Farming’s 2040 Goal
(National Farmers Union) The NFU has set the ambitious goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the whole of agriculture in England and Wales by 2040. This is our contribution to the UK’s ambition of net zero by
September 12, 2019 Read Full Article
It’s Time to Rebuild: Farmland as Critical Infrastructure
by Michael A. Fatigati (Vantaggio Renewables/Biofuels Digest) ... We believe that one of our nation’s important natural resources, while protected in some ways, is being neglected to our peril and should be re-classified as infrastructure. This segment of infrastructure supplies
August 21, 2019 Read Full Article
In Iowa, Candidates Are Talking About Farming's Climate Change Connections Like No Previous Election
by Georgina Gustin (Inside Climate News) About half the candidates have policy proposals or statements addressing climate change impacts on agriculture or farming's potential as a climate solution. ... They also brought an unprecedented focus on agriculture's connections with climate change—an issue that's
August 16, 2019 Read Full Article
Florida Ag Producers, Foresters Share Ideas to Deal with Climate Change
(Solutions from the Land) Florida Rep. Kathy Castor told a group of farmers, ranchers and timber producers in her state Monday that responding to a changing climate must be a collaborative effort, drawing together producers, government agencies and academics to
August 14, 2019 Read Full Article
“I Am Not Charcoal.” – Sincerely, Biochar: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Biochar
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) On a recent Digest webinar, we heard all about biochar. The science. The markets. The technology. The results. The needs. And much more. If you missed The Digest’s webinar then check out the slides that cover
August 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Positive Climate Perspective: Iowans Educate Democrats on Solutions Farmers, Biofuels Offer on Climate Change
by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) As Democratic presidential candidates traipse through Iowa talking about their plans to address climate change, a mixed group of farmers and biofuel advocates are stressing the role agriculture can play as a solution. Matt Russell, executive
July 31, 2019 Read Full Article
American Coalition for Ethanol : ACE Calls on EPA to Rely on the GREET Model as It Considers Future RFS Volumes
(American Coalitin for Ethanol/Market Screener) American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings highlighted the important role corn ethanol could have in further reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions if properly valued under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in a letter to Environmental Protection
July 26, 2019 Read Full Article
POET Outlines Lessons from 4-Year Long Startup of Project Liberty Cellulosic Ethanol Project
(Green Car Congress) Commercially viable cellulosic ethanol plants has proven devilishly difficult to bring to fruition. The primary outlier from the list of efforts that have shut down over the past few years is POET/DSM’s Project Liberty (earlier post). In an
July 22, 2019 Read Full Article
These Candidates See Farming as a Climate Solution. Here’s What They're Proposing.
by Georgina Gustin (Inside Climate Change) ... Sen. Michael Bennet, like Biden, writes about voluntary markets to support better soil carbon practices. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg talked at the first debate about climate change and farming's role, and how "the right kind of soil management and
July 19, 2019 Read Full Article
New University and Government Reports Set the Record Straight on Ethanol’s GHG Benefits
(Renewable Fuels Association) Two new academic studies released this week provide further evidence that grain-based ethanol is significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and call into question the reliability of recent “land use change” analyses based on flawed satellite imagery-based methodologies. These studies
July 17, 2019 Read Full Article
Firm Launches Plan to Cut One Trillion Tons of CO2 From Atmosphere
(Solutions from the Land) A company that says it is "dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet," announced last month the launch of The Terraton Initiative™, a project designed to accelerate carbon sequestration at an unprecedented scale. ... Among the
July 09, 2019 Read Full Article
NACSAA Pushes Science-Based Decision Making, Other Principles, in Bonn
(Solutions from the Land) Science-based decision making and putting farmers at the center of all discussions were among the guiding principles touted by representatives of NACSAA and many of its member organizations in a workshop held by United Nation's facilitators in
July 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Ag Leaders Shaping Global Climate Strategies... Who Would Have Thought?
(Solutions from the Land) Solutions from the Land takes great pride in supporting the North American Climate Smart Action Alliance (NACSAA) as it continues its important work in putting farmers, ranchers and foresters in a central position to develop the
June 04, 2019 Read Full Article
WWF Submits Request for EU Report on Climate Impacts of CAP
(World Wide Fund for Nature) Agricultural ministers need all the facts for their climate discussion on 14 May. -- WWF has submitted a Freedom of Information request for a crucial assessment of EU farming policy’s impact on the climate. The assessment, carried
May 07, 2019 Read Full Article
The Plan to Grab the World's Carbon with Supercharged Plants
by Emily Dreyfuss (Wired) ... Plant biologist Joanne Chory thinks plants can do more. She has studied the genetics of plants at the Salk Institute in San Diego for more than 30 years, and she and the rest of the five-person
May 04, 2019 Read Full Article
Strategies for Growing Biomass for Fuel Can Have Economic, Ecological and Environmental Benefits
(University of California - Santa Barbara/Science Daily) In efforts to curb our use of greenhouse gas-generating fossil fuels, plant-based biofuels are among the top contenders as alternative liquid energy sources for transportation. However, strategies to produce high yields of biomass for
February 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Farmland Expansion Increases Carbon Footprint across Northern Corn Belt
(Illinois Farmer Today) Faster conversion of land into agricultural production in recent years has raised the region’s carbon cost of producing grains, according to recently published research from an Iowa State University scientist. The study, published in the academic journal Environmental
January 08, 2019 Read Full Article
COP24, 2018 Farm Bill Give Agriculture a Voice, Climate Smart Tools
(Solutions from the Land) As 2018 closes out, advocates for the role agriculture can play in facing a changing climate can feel encouraged by developments on the international and domestic stages. Global climate negotiators in Katowice, Poland, came to a final agreement
December 20, 2018 Read Full Article
Commercializing Conventional and Advanced Liquid Biofuels from Biomass: Task 39 Update
(IEA Bioenergy Task 39) ... Task work that has recently been completed and will soon be posted on the “publically available” sections of the Task 39 website (http://task39.ieabioenergy.com/) includes the final report entitled, “Survey of Advanced Fuels for Advanced Engines” which Task 39 carried
December 19, 2018 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Environmental Groups Commend New Pilot Environmental Quality and Incentive Program in 2018 Farm Bill Report
(Grain Net) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Environmental Entrepreneurs(E2), the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) thank the Farm Bill conferees for including a new pilot Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) in the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Report to promote and
December 13, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide ABLC Guide to ARPA-E’s Agro-Energy Programs
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. ARPA-E awardees are unique because they are developing entirely new ways to generate, store, and use energy. ARPA-E
December 06, 2018 Read Full Article
ADBA Responds to Committee on Climate Change Reports
(Bioenergy Insight) The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has published two new reports on land use and biomass and the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) has responded. ADBA’s chief executive Charlotte Morton said that the association “welcomes these two important reports
November 25, 2018 Read Full Article
Major Trump Administration Climate Report Says Damage Is ‘Intensifying across the Country’
by Brady Dennis and Chris Mooney (Washington Post) Scientists are more certain than ever that climate change is already affecting the United States — and that it is going to be very expensive. The federal government on Friday released a long-awaited report with an unmistakable
November 23, 2018 Read Full Article
Part of the Answer to Climate Change May Be America’s Trees and Dirt, Scientists Say
by Brad Plumer (New York Times) ... A new study published on Wednesday, however, found that better management of forests, grasslands and soils in the United States could offset as much as 21 percent of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. At
November 19, 2018 Read Full Article
SfL Report Assesses Challenges Posed by Changing Climatic Conditions in Missouri
(Solutions from the Land) Solutions from the Land (SfL) commends Missouri agriculture and forestry leaders who looked into the future, examined what science is telling them is coming from changing climatic conditions and extreme weather events, and explored opportunities to
October 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Argonne GREET 2018 Update
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Illinois, a research team at Argonne National Lab released its GREET 2018 update. GREET is a life-cycle analysis (LCA) tool, structured to systematically examine energy and environmental effects of a wide variety of transportation fuels and
October 12, 2018 Read Full Article
‘Dirt Rich’ — The Importance of Biochar and Regenerative Systems for Soil Health
(Mercola) The creators of Dirt Rich are allowing for a full exclusive stream through October 12, 2018. STORY AT-A-GLANCE An estimated 80 percent of soil carbon in heavily farmed areas has been lost due to destructive plowing, overgrazing and the use of carbon-depleting chemical
October 08, 2018 Read Full Article
ACE Releases White Paper on the Low Carbon Benefits of Corn Ethanol during 31st Annual Conference
(American Coalition for Ethanol) The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) announced the official release of a White Paper today (August 17, 2018) entitled “The Case for Properly Valuing the Low Carbon Benefits of Corn Ethanol,” coinciding with a general session panel
August 22, 2018 Read Full Article
Deeper into the Biomass: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the DOE’s Billion Ton Report, Vol. 2
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US Department of Energy’s Billion-Ton Report: Advancing Domestic Resources for a Thriving Bioeconomy says that 1.2 billion tons of biomass would be available at $40 or less per ton by 2040, and 1 billion tons would be available
August 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Focus Growing on Win-Win Soil Health Outcomes
(Solutions from the Land) U.S. agricultural producers have long understood that healthy soil is a critical requirement for the production of our nation's food supply. They also know that as the world's population grows by more than 25 percent over the
May 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Isobutanol’s Horizons: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Gevo
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Gevo has two proprietary technologies that combine to make it possible to retrofit existing ethanol plants to produce isobutanol, a four carbon alcohol which serves as a hydrocarbon platform molecule. They have developed an industrial scale
April 12, 2018 Read Full Article
NACSAA Advances Recommendations to Shape UNFCCC Agricultural Work Program
(25 x '25/North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance) Last November, we wrote here of a major breakthrough occurring at the global climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where, for the first time, delegates approved plans to establish an agricultural work program. What
March 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Agroforestry Systems May Play Vital Role in Mitigating Climate Change
by Jeff Mulhollem (Penn State News) Agroforestry could play an important role in mitigating climate change because it sequesters more atmospheric carbon in plant parts and soil than conventional farming, according to Penn State researchers. An agricultural system that combines trees with crops
February 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Farmland Could Be Used to Sustainably Offset America’s Entire Carbon Footprint—if the Will Exists
by Louis Verchot (Quartz) ... Positive agricultural interventions could achieve up to 6% of reduction emissions needed to achieve the Paris Agreement goals—showing that this sector is not only part of the problem, but part of the solution to climate change. ... In Bonn at
January 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Research Finds Land Management Practices Matter in Cellulosic Biofuels Production
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) New research from Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago at Illinois and the International Food Policy Research Institute shows that incorporating conservation practices can both increase soil organic content and improve the
January 22, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the SPARC Regional Biojet Fuel Consortium
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sometimes, what an engine needs to roar to life is a spark. Or a SPARC, as in this case. As in the Southeastern Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata (SPARC), a consortium consisting of the University of Florida (lead),
January 19, 2018 Read Full Article
Gathering Momentum around Soil Carbon Sequestration
(CGIAR) Evidence-based science on the mitigation and socio-economic impacts of soil carbon sequestration is needed to support commitments to sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement target. ... Soil carbon sequestration, they say, “can have equal or larger impacts on mitigation.” COP23 agriculture decision
December 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Plowing Minnesota's Prairie Is Increasing Carbon in the Atmosphere
by Josephine Marcotty (Star Tribune) Newly plowed land in Minnesota released 1.6 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year between 2008 and 2012, a consequence of high corn prices and the ethanol mandate. Only the Dakotas, Texas and Missouri
November 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Better Soil Could Trap as Much Planet-Warming Carbon as Transport Produces: Study
by Thin Lei Win (Reuters) Improving soil health in farmlands could capture extra carbon equivalent to the planet-warming emissions generated by the transport sector, one of the world’s most polluting industries, experts said Tuesday. Soil naturally absorbs carbon from the atmosphere through
November 20, 2017 Read Full Article
No Crop Left Behind: Inside the USDA’s Bioeconomy Feedstock Strategy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... You’d be forgiven if you mistook Ahb Subi Banr-Sbar for a well-placed official in the Iranian government — but, in fact, it’s a 9-project network to facilitate the development of regionally-based industries producing advanced biofuels, industrial
November 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Growing the Future: WVU Biologists Team up to Research New Bioproducts
by Kathy Swisher (West Virginia University) West Virginia University biologists are part of a $40 million Department of Energy effort to create sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts through four new bioenergy research centers. As part of the Center for Bioenergy Innovation led by
September 07, 2017 Read Full Article
This Is Why When You Talk about Climate Change, You Can’t Ignore Agriculture
by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post) ... In a paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that land use changes associated with planting crops and grazing livestock have caused a loss of 133 billion tons
August 24, 2017 Read Full Article
Interra and the Pursuit of Soil Magic via Affordable Biochar
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The world of feedstocks is watching biochar very carefully these days, and for good reason. Although it might feel quite a long ways upstream from the world of making and upgrading liquid fuels — affordable,
May 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Let’s Not Forget Carbon Just Yet
by Ron Alverson (Ethanol Producer Magazine/American Coalition for Ethanol) Life-cycle modeling for ethanol needs to be updated to reflect big improvements in corn's GHG emissions profile -- ... Fuels that help automakers achieve efficiency standards are going to be important. California and the
April 24, 2017 Read Full Article
The Whole-Soil Carbon Flux in Response to Warming
by Caitlin E. Hicks Pries, C. Castanha, R. C. Porras, M. S. Torn (Science Magazine) Soils contain about twice as much carbon as Earth's atmosphere, so their response to warming is crucial to understanding carbon fluxes in a changing climate. Past studies have heated
April 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Vega Biofuels to Provide Biochar to Alaska’s Legal Cannabis Industry
(Vega Biofuels) Vega Biofuels, Inc. (OTCPink:VGPR) announced today that it has signed a five year Agreement to provide the Company’s Biochar to legal cannabis growers in Alaska. The state of Alaska is the most recent state to legalize both medical
March 07, 2017 Read Full Article
Heard on the Floor: Disruptive Technology, Feedstocks under the Microscope at ABLC 2017’s Opening Day
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... While there were big questions, there were big answers, beginning with a panel on The Sustainable Agriculture Imperative. John Pieper from Dupont Industrial Biosciences shared their latest work with cellulosic ethanol in the corn
March 02, 2017 Read Full Article
Biofuel Crops Expected to Play Crucial Role in Hawaii’s Energy Future
by Ivy Ashe (Hawaii Tribune Herald) ... The latest stop along that path comes from researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, who are investigating potential dual contributions of crops used to
January 25, 2017 Read Full Article
2016 Billion-Ton Report Volume 2 Analyzes Environmental Effects
(U.S. Department of Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The 2016 Billion-Ton Report (BT16), Volume 2: Environmental Sustainability Effects of Select Scenarios from Volume 1, jointly released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is a pioneering
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Potential Biofuel Crops in Hawaii May Successfully Sequester Carbon in Soil
(EurekAlert!/PLOS) Two potential biofuel crops in Hawaii--sugarcane and napiergrass--may sequester more carbon in soil than is lost to the atmosphere, according to a study published January 4, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Meghan Pawlowski from University of