Grist | Topics | 21 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 21 of 21
Headline	Author	Published	Section
How biofuels are like drugs Not all biofuels are the same; we can do biofuel well or poorly	Vinod Khosla	17 Jun 2008	Gristmill
To my surprise, recently I found myself the subject of an editorial by the Wall Street Journal which characterized me as a strong advocate of subsidies for food-based ethanol, and as a recipient of 'federal dole' who ought to 'take a vow of embarrassed silence.' I have not advocated subsidies for food-based ethanol. In fact, I strongly believe any nascent technology that cannot exist without subsidies beyond an introductory period will not gain market penetrati ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Bush: Not a Gristmill reader President hails cellulosic ethanol as a panacea	Tom Philpott	06 Mar 2008	Gristmill
I'm offended: President Bush evidently hasn't been following my string of posts about how cellulosic ethanol probably won't ever be viable. Addressing a renewable-energy conference, the president fretted that the ethanol boom he set in motion is 'beginning to affect the price of food.' He added: 'So we got to do something about it.' And what we 'got to do,' evidently, is throw more cash at cellulosic ethanol. Here's how The New York Times summed up his statement: ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, George Bush, politics (all these topics)

Cellulosic ethanol: not likely to be viable New study from mainstream ag economists at Iowa State	Tom Philpott	03 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Cellulosic ethanol represents a beacon on the horizon -- the justification cited by wiseguys like Vinod Khosla for dropping billions per year in public cash to prop up corn ethanol production. Corn ethanol, you see, is a bridge to a bright cellulosic future. But the beacon is looking more and more like a mirage, a ghost, a specter; the bridge we're hurtling down may well lead to a chasm. A quiet consensus seems to be forming among people you'd think would know th ...
Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics)

Biofuel blight: tastes great, less filling Alcohol refinery may enhance tourist industry	biodiversivist	03 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Tourists, bird watchers, and native cattle herders in Kenya's Tana River delta may soon have a spanking-new alcohol refinery in the middle of their wetland. Granted, the wetland will be slightly less wet because a third of its water will be diverted to cropland. Always one to look for a silver lining, I would hope that this refinery will include an air-conditioned bar where tourists and herders alike can gather for happy hour after a long, hot day of wildlife viewing ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, Richard Branson (all these topics)

Biofuels and the fertilizer problem Can a 'renewable fuel' rely on mining a finite resource?	Tom Philpott	13 Feb 2008	Gristmill
While scrolling through news accounts of the recent boom in the agrochemicals industry -- yes, that's how I spend my days -- I came across an interesting take on biofuels and phosphate, a key element of soil fertility. The article, from Investors Business Daily, takes a standard rah-rah position on what it deems a 'heyday in the heartland.' The journal wants to make sure its readers know there's plenty of cash to be made investing in the companies catering to the gre ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, industrial ag, sustainable ag (all these topics)

Stock analysts v. venture capitalists Tom Konrad on cellulosic electricity	Guest author	24 Jan 2008	Gristmill
The following is a guest essay by Tom Konrad, a financial analyst specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency companies, a freelance writer, and a contributor to AltEnergyStocks.com. ----- Romm v. Khosla In a persuasive series of articles entitled "Pragmatists vs. Environmentalists" (Parts I, II, and III), Vinod Khosla has provided the reasoning behind his "dissing" of plug-in hybrids, which drew the ire of Joseph Romm. Nei ...
Topics: biofuels, business, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, renewable energy (all these topics)

Biomass, part I Where will biofuels and biomass feedstocks come from?	Vinod Khosla	22 Jan 2008	Gristmill
When it comes to biofuels we have choices. We can do it poorly, using short-run approaches with no potential to scale, poor trajectory, and adverse environmental impact. Or we can do it right, with sustainable, long-term solutions that can meet both our biofuel needs and our environmental needs. We do need strong regulation to ensure against land-use abuses. I have suggested that each cellulosic facility be individually certified with a LEEDS-like 'CLAW' ratin ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Why Vinod Khosla is very wrong A pragmatic view of cellulosic biofuels	Joseph Romm	17 Jan 2008	Gristmill
So Vinod Khosla is not happy with with my recent attack on his (willful) ignorance, 'Khosla blows his credibility dissing plug-ins.' Gristmill has given the billionaire a platform to defend himself, but he just spouts even more nonsense in the bizarrely titled post, 'Pragmatists v. environmentalists, part I': I have been accused of dissing hybrids. I was mostly discussing Prius-type parallel hybrids and all the support they get, when one can get the same carbon ...
Topics: biofuels, cars, cellulosic ethanol, electric vehicles, energy, ethanol, hybrids, Prius (all these topics)

Cellulosic ethanol: It might be a bust Thus spake Chairman Peterson of the House Ag Committee	Tom Philpott	17 Jan 2008	Gristmill
David already pointed to it, but it bears repeating: House Ag Committee Chairman Colin Peterson, a tireless champion of ethanol and any other big-ag project he can get his mits on, has declared that cellulosic ethanol could well never 'get off the ground.' At best, he declared, cellulosic ethanol stands at least 10 years away from commercial viability (exactly what cellulosic boosters have been saying for three decades). Wait a minute. Ethanol's champions have long c ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics)

Notable quotable	David Roberts	16 Jan 2008	Gristmill
"I really think the more I look at this whole cellulosic issue, there is a lot bigger problem to overcome here than people realize in terms of the feedstocks. We have a lot of work to do in that regard. I'm not sure cellulosic ethanol will ever get off the ground." -- Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Notable quotable	David Roberts	15 Nov 2007	Gristmill
'It certainly appeared a year ago that we were going to have a national push on ethanol, and we wanted to have the vehicles ready. But we always knew that food-based ethanol would not be the answer. The shift to cellulosic ethanol has been slower than we were led to believe. If we don't end up with cellulosic ethanol quickly, we are going to hit the wall on ethanol.' -- William Clay Ford, Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co.
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, quotables (all these topics)

The USDA goes all lukewarm on cellulosic ethanol In related news, the '07 corn harvest will break records	Tom Philpott	13 Sep 2007	Gristmill
For decades now, the USDA has been dumping cash into cellulosic ethanol research (most recently through a joint venture with the DOE). So the USDA's analysts should know something about the prospects for mass production of cellulosic ethanol, hailed by its boosters as a panacea that can wean us not only from oil, but also from corn as an ethanol feedstock. So what's the latest from USDA analysts on this miracle fuel? From a report released last week: Althou ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, Department of Agriculture, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Is corn ethanol a climate solution? Depends on how it's made	Joseph Romm	30 May 2007	Gristmill
It depends on the fuel used to drive the conversion process -- according to a new study: In particular, greenhouse gas emission impacts can vary significantly -- from a 3% increase if coal is the process fuel to a 52% reduction if wood chips are used. These results come from the energy life-cycle wizards of Argonne Lab, who have published a new study, "Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission impacts of different corn ethanol plant types," in t ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, climate, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

A Bridge to Somewhere? What we've learned from the biofuels series	Tom Philpott	15 Dec 2006	Main Dish
Future or folly? Photo: iStockphoto After spending much of the last several months thinking about the biofuels boom and its implications in preparation for this special series, we've come to a few conclusions. Like other energy sources, biofuels have significant environmental liabilities. Boosters' rhetoric about "renewable energy" aside, topsoil -- from which biofuel feedstocks spring -- is ...
Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics)

Professor Cellulose Biofuel pioneer Lee Lynd points the way toward a 'carbohydrate economy'	Jennifer Weeks	12 Dec 2006	Main Dish
Biofuel pioneer Lee Lynd points the way toward a "carbohydrate economy" By Jennifer Weeks 12 Dec 2006 Well before cellulosic ethanol became the hot new fuel, Lee Lynd was immersed in it. Since 1987, the engineering professor has been leading a major academic study group on cellulosic ethanol from his perch at Dartmouth. Before that, he even wrote his undergraduate honors thesis on it. Lee Lynd. Photo: Joseph Mehling/Dartmouth More recently, Lynd has been putting his ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, scientific research (all these topics)

It's Happening in Ottawa Grains become fuel at the world's first cellulosic ethanol demo plant	Sharon Boddy	12 Dec 2006	Main Dish
Our plant supplants your plant: a real-life cellulosic ethanol refinery. Photo: Iogen Sometimes it seems virtually anything can be made into fuel. As though, if we had the right technology, we could throw together old T-shirts, bumper stickers, and pine cones to make a magical elixir to run the millions of cars on North America's highways. That's not an entirely far-fetch ...
Topics: biofuels, Canada, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

The Balancing Act How experts measure the energy balance of alternative fuels	Julia Olmstead	05 Dec 2006	Main Dish
For years, critics have claimed that corn-based ethanol is fundamentally a bust: that it takes more fossil fuel to produce than it displaces in the gas tank. It takes a lot of ugly to make this pretty biofuel. Photo: industrial-innov.lbl.gov This condition, known as a negative net energy balance, has haunted the biofuel throughout its long career as a darling of corn-belt politicians like ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, deforestation, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

What About the Land? A look at the impacts of biofuels production, in the U.S. and the world	Julia Olmstead	05 Dec 2006	Main Dish
Nothing but blue skies from now on? Photo: house.gov Great news! We can finally scratch "driving less" off our list of ways to curb global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil! Biofuels will soon not only replace much of our petroleum, but improve soil fertility and save the American farmer as well! Sound too good to be true? Well, yes. But you coul ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, deforestation, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

The Big Three The numbers behind ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel in the U.S.	Maywa Montenegro	04 Dec 2006	Main Dish
America devours oil like no other country in the world. Representing 5 percent of the global population, the country consumes fully a quarter of the world's oil. Every year, to move ourselves and our goods around, we burn 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 40 billion gallons of diesel -- enough to propel the average U.S. car around the world 1.6 billion times. But rising price ...
Topics: ag policy, ag subsidies, agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics)

Will ADM surrender gracefully to cellulosic ethanol?	David Roberts	10 Jun 2006	Gristmill
Don't miss a great piece by Sasha Lilley about Archer Daniels Midland and ethanol: "The dirty truth about green fuel." The latter part covers the environmental sins of corn-based ethanol -- familiar to Gristmillians -- but the first part provides some crucial context. It's about ADM. Here's a taste: ADM has more than 25,000 employees, net sales last year of $35.9 billion, with $1 billion in profits, as well as a recent 29 percent profit increase in the ...
Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, ethanol (all these topics)

Mikey Likes It Bush's pick to head the USDA is a big ethanol booster	Amanda Griscom Little	09 Dec 2004	Muckraker
At a White House ceremony last week announcing the nomination of Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns (R) to succeed Ann Veneman as agriculture secretary, President Bush called his pick "a strong proponent of alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and biodiesel," later adding that "in a new term, we'll continue policies that are pro-growth, pro-jobs, and pro-farmer." Johanns ( ...
Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, Department of Agriculture, energy, ethanol, Muckraker, politics (all these topics)

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