The Swift wind turbine
Posted on April 23, 2009
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Visit the company’s web site: Swift Wind Turbine
Bioenergy Engineering ‘09 conference, Oct. 11-14, Bellevue, WA
Posted on April 23, 2009
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St. Joseph, MI — The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and 25x’25, in partnership with peer engineering and professional organizations, announce BIOENERGY ENGINEERING ’09, the first comprehensive multi-disciplinary international bioenergy engineering conference October 11-14, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington. Read more . . .
Soybean checkoff invests in sustainable agriculture
Posted on April 23, 2009
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ST. LOUIS (April 22, 2009) – The United Soybean Board (USB) and soybean checkoff are proud to serve on the steering committee for “Field to Market”, the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.
The soybean checkoff will provide nearly $160,000 in funding to Field to Market, whose steering committee is a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies and conservation groups.
As part of a broader effort to measure and support agriculture’s progress against key environmental and socioeconomic sustainability indicators, Field to Market will provide farmers an online source to gauge the sustainability of their operations and access information on practices that can improve their efficiency and protect their local environment.
Field to Market will soon launch a trial version of its Fieldprint Calculator, a free online sustainability tool. Goehring has been part of the planning process for the online calculator, making suggestions to improve a tool that will eventually be capable of computing sustainability for U.S. commodity crop producers.
Read the full release (along with a link to the Field to Market organization’s web page . . .
Could food shortages bring down civilization?
Posted on April 23, 2009
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In the May issue of “Scientific American,” Lester Brown, of the Earth Policy Institute, discusses how food shortages could be the weak link that brings down civilization.
In this feature article, “Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?” Brown reveals that the biggest threat to global political stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse. Those crises are brought on by rising demand and ever worsening environmental degradation.
“In the twentieth century, dramatic rises in grain prices resulted from poor harvests. They were event driven and short-lived,” Brown says. “In contrast, the recent escalation in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse the rise in food prices without a reversal in the trends themselves.” Read the article . . .
Proposed House legislation could reduce national energy use by 10%
Posted on April 21, 2009
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Washington, D.C. –– Pending federal energy efficiency provisions could reduce U.S. energy use by 10.6 quadrillion Btu’s, about 10% of projected U.S. energy use in 2020, according to a new analysis released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
These energy efficiency savings are more than the entire current energy use of the state of California, and are larger than the annual energy use of 49 of the 50 states.
The analysis examines the energy efficiency provisions in the “discussion draft” of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA), authored by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). Read more (scroll down towards middle of page) . . .
Ethanol’s impact on food prices was minimal, says CBO report
Posted on April 18, 2009
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An April 2009 report by The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that from April 2007 to April 2008, the rise in the price of corn resulting from expanded production of ethanol contributed between 0.5 and 0.8 percentage points of the 5.1 percent increase in food prices measured by the consumer price index (CPI).
Over the same period, certain other factors—for example, higher energy costs—had a greater effect on food prices than did the use of ethanol as a motor fuel.
Link to the report from Farmenergynews.com web site. Click here . . .
EPA seeks comments on ethanol blend rate request
Posted on April 17, 2009
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On April 16, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is seeking public comment regarding a request from ethanol producers for a waiver under section 211(f)(4) of the Clean Air Act to permit ethanol blends with gasoline of up to 15 percent (E15) by volume, according to recent news release from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, of Washington, D.C.
The current blend rate is set at about 10 percent. The public comment period will be open for 30 days. By law, the EPA must make a decision by December 1, 2009.
Growth Energy and 54 ethanol producers submitted the application to increase the blend rate on March 6, 2009. Ethanol proponents argue that increasing the blend rate is needed to keep pace with the renewable fuel mandates under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act and to assure continued investment in bringing next generation biofuels to market.
The law requires 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel (mainly ethanol) to be blended in 2009, 12.95 billion in 2010, 13.95 billion in 2011, rising steadily to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
With reduced liquid fuel demand due to the recession, ethanol producers are concerned that the market will soon reach a blend wall at the 10 percent blend rate, a point at which the liquid fuel market is saturated below the mandated ethanol production level.
Many environmental and consumer groups and small engine and car manufacturers are concerned that the increased blend rate might damage pollution control equipment, reduce air quality, and undermine vehicle and equipment performance and warrantees.
The EPA and Department of Energy are currently testing the effects of higher blend rates on engine performance and emissions.
For more information, go to EPA Registration and Health Effects Testing.
ACORE offers members details about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Posted on April 16, 2009
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Washington D.C., April 15, 2009 –– The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) has launched a new section of its website to assist member renewable energy organizations to understand the provisions of the recently-enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which pertain to renewable energy investment and production.
However, the new ACORE Implementation website is available to ACORE members only.
The breakdown of the legislation will help renewable energy companies to expand renewable energy development and to find funding from the federal government for renewable energy projects.
The pages, part of the ACORE Member Center, are located at: http://www.acore.org/member/stimulus. The web site offers section-by-section breakdowns of the major renewable energy provisions of the ARRA, links to the actual statutes, as well as to relevant governmental agencies and departments.
The site was developed by ACORE to educate its more than 600 members about the new business opportunities and funding assistance that have been made available with the enactment of the ARRA.
“Through the American Recovery and Advancement Act, the U.S. government has made clear its commitment to advance renewable energy solutions,” said ACORE President Michael Eckhart. The ARRA has major implications for companies that are financing or building renewable energy products and services.”
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