House Ag Committee solicits feedback on climate change
Congress may soon consider a range of climate change options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among the options being considered are those that would either mandate or authorize a cap and trade program or impose a carbon tax or fee.
The House Committee on Agriculture is gathering information to help Members better understand the options available –– [...]
Dairy Farm Energy Management Handbook
Offered by the Wis. Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (WDATCP), this comprehensive 51-page pdf publication (available on line or as a downloadable pdf) offers an excellent overview about better ways to manage energy on the dairy farm.
Written by Karl Ohm, it covers a wide range of subjects, from farm energy audits, importance of [...]
Univ. of Illinois offers degree in bioenergy
Urbana –– Interest in bioenergy and renewable energy sources continues to increase and now students can earn a Master of Science degree in bioenergy from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Read . . .
Univ. of Illinois research examines costs, benefits of energy crops
Urbana –– On the University of Illinois South Farms, 320 acres are devoted to the largest biofuels research farm in the U.S., growing crops that could be used to produce renewable energy. Last year, the farm planted miscanthus, switchgrass, corn, and restored prairie as bioenergy crops. The goal is to compare insect and disease challenges, environmental [...]
New enzymes created for biofuel production
Pasadena, CA –– Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and world-leading gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have taken an important step toward the development of a cost-efficient process to extract sugars from cellulose –– the world’s most abundant organic material and cheapest form of solar-energy storage. Plant sugars are easily converted into a variety of renewable [...]
When fungi attack
Scientists try using nature’s approach to break down biomass
for cellulosic ethanol
It looks like a chunk of wood.
It looks like a small piece of a big tree, something you might grab two-handed to toss into the campfire. Pick it up, and it feels like florist’s foam. It’s light as a dry sponge and flakes away under [...]
Report outlines economic savings of energy efficiency in Ohio
Columbus, OH (March 25, 2009) – Ohio could save over $19 billion by using energy efficiency strategies that are available right now, says a study released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), an independent, Washington, D.C. nonprofit research group.
Ohio could also create more than 32,000 net new jobs by 2025, including [...]
Paper industry exec Troy Runge will lead Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative
Troy Runge, currently research director at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, has been named director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI), a public-private partnership in bioenergy research, outreach, training and economic development based in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Runge’s position is supported by a gift to WBI from the Oscar [...]