Ethanol. Right. Now.

Two new studies on ethanol efficiency, GHG emissions

Two new studies have been released recently in peer-reviewed scientific journals, shedding more light on the carbon footprint of biofuels.

“Biofuels, Land Use Change, and GHG Emissions: Some Unexplored Variables”, published in Environmental Science and Technology, studied “indirect land use change” and finds that “there are no real data on what actually happens as demand increases for land for biofuel production in one part of the world and potentially leads to land clearing, because it is impossible to track these relationships in the real world.”

“Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn Ethanol”, published in Journal of Industrial Ecology, finds that the lifecycle GHG emissions of modern corn-based ethanol production are on average 51 percent lower than that of gasoline.

Follow the highlighted links above, or visit the "Ethanol Research" page on www.ethanol.org, found under the "All About Ethanol" menu heading.

Posted by KB, 1/28/09

Ethanol's under the microscope, and oil refinery bankruptcies go unnoticed

In a recent interview, Charlie Drevna of the National Petrochemical Refiners Association made this comment about today’s ethanol market: “With the failure of a number of ethanol facilities and even their corporate entities last year, it's becoming even more apparent that the RFS (Renewable Fuels Standard) never was a good policy to begin with, and that efforts to prop up those businesses with decades of federal subsidy were essentially for naught.”

Given the fact that a number of oil refineries have also recently declared bankruptcy, I wonder if Charlie thinks using gas in our cars is bad policy too?  What about the efforts to prop up those refiners by spending billions of unreimbursed defense dollars to get their oil products imported from the Middle East and other similarly bad places?  Frankly, that seems like an easier case to make.  If you’re looking for bad policy, how about the unwritten policy that sends hundreds of billions of hard-earned U.S. dollars to other countries to pay taxes and create jobs there rather than here?

But more importantly, some of you are thinking, “Refinery bankruptcies?  Huh?”  It’s true.  Refineries many times larger than even the largest ethanol producers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past few months, and many other refineries are cutting back production – yet we don’t read or hear a thing about it in the media. 

Posted by RL, 1/26/09

Senator Thune questions Vilsack on higher blends, land use change

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlbbRtZ_GXQ

Follow this link to a video on YouTube showing U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) questioning incoming Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee.  Senator Thune asks key questions relating to higher blends of ethanol, food prices, and land use change metrics.

USDA says there will be more corn than expected

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has raised by more than 20 percent (316 million bushels) the amount of corn they estimate will be on hand at the beginning of the fall harvest. USDA has also upped the total of the 2008 corn crop, increasing it 81 million bushels from the December estimate to 12.1 billion bushels -- the second largest corn crop on record.

A slowdown in ethanol production is lessening demand, and the larger number of estimated bushels is applying downward pressure on corn market prices.

There will be plenty of corn on hand for all uses -- feed, food, and fuel -- and perhaps food processors can begin passing along the savings to grocery shoppers.

President-Elect calls for doubling of alternative energy

In a speech given today, President-Elect Obama called for dramatic increases in the production of alternative energy:

 

"To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years.  We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills.  In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain."

The full text of his remarks is available here: http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/dramatic_action/

President-Elect Obama's stimulus plan to support clean energy sources such as corn and advanced biofuel is exactly the bold and visionary strategy we need to help the U.S. economy recover in the short term, and to ensure long-term prosperity and security for our nation. Biofuels must play a meaningful part of the clean energy goals of the economic recovery package.

Posted by BJ, 1/8/09

Food manufacturers are making packages smaller

An interesting article in the Chicago Sun-Times recently confirms that many food manufacturers are making the packaging of their products smaller, offering consumers less for their money.

The article states: "Shoppers without a keen eye and a willingness to read the fine print on labels might have missed what has happened: Food manufacturers were downsizing packages, while keeping prices the same, as they passed on higher food costs to consumers."

Read the full article here:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1356955,w-food-packages-shrinking-general-mills123108.article