|
| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Read it and weep
National Biodiesel Board opens green building in Jefferson City, Mo. |
JMG |
12 Sep 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The National Biodiesel Board built a new green building for its new headquarters, according to an NBB news release. Excerpt below the fold: The carpet comes from recycled materials. The paint is nontoxic. The parking lot lights are powered by the sun. But what really makes the new headquarters of the National Biodiesel Board so eco-conscious is the work that goes on inside. Yesterday Governor Matt Blunt, U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof and Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr jo ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, green building, Missouri (all these topics) |
|
|
Ten strikes and still not out
Biofuels: not cost-effective or lucrative for climate change or business |
biodiversivist |
03 Sep 2008 |
Gristmill |
| According to this article in Mongabay, a study from a British think tank is calling for an end to subsidies for biofuels based on -- not biodiversity loss and high food prices -- cost effectiveness. The economics is startling -- if developed countries spent the same amount of money on preventing deforestation and the destruction of peatlands as they do on biofuel subsidies (US $15 billion), this would halve the total costs of tackling climate change. In addition to t ... |
|
| Topics: Seattle, energy subsidies, business, ethanol, biofuels, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
The (renewable) electron economy, part 2
The five transport energy solutions and one imperative |
Michael Hoexter |
08 Aug 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is the second in a series on how we can build an energy future based on our best science and no longer critically dependent upon exhaustible and polluting fossil fuels. The Five Transport Energy Solutions and One Imperative There are five fundamental options to move into a post-oil, post-natural gas energy world and one imperative: Imperative A: End-use energy efficiency and conservation. We will have to invest less in new energy supply if we get more f ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, cars, coal, energy, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
A revolt against ethanol?
NYT: Consumers are complaining about ethanol-spiked gasoline |
Tom Philpott |
29 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| As ethanol continues to insinuate itself into the fuel supply -- propelled by a slew of government goodies -- ordinary folks are getting fed up, The New York Times reports: Many consumers complain that ethanol, which constitutes as much as 10 percent of the fuel they buy in most states, hurts gas mileage and chokes the engines of their boats and motorcycles. In Oklahoma, some vendors are refusing to sell ethanol-spiked gasoline. And they're winning customers with ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, ethanol, fuel efficiency (all these topics) |
|
|
We Said What We Parliament
E.U. committee vote signals backstep from biofuels |
|
08 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:11 PM on 08 Jul 2008 The European Union took another step back from biofuels late Monday, as the Parliament's environment committee approved 36-0 a proposal to lower the E.U.'s original target for biofueled transportation. The committee's proposal would have the E.U. source just 4 percent of transportation fuels from biomass by 2015, then do a major review before jumping to the current target of 10 percent ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, European Union, international politics, legislation, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Sweetening the deal
Lugar calls for end to tariff on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol |
Kate Sheppard |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) stopped by ($ub. req'd) the American Enterprise Institute yesterday to give a speech arguing that Congress should lift the 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. 'To demonstrate leadership the United States should lift its tariff on Brazilian ethanol that now shelters the U.S. industry,' Lugar told the AEI crowd. Many politicians -- including Lugar, who's from a big corn state -- have supported the tariff to protect American biofuel ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, ethanol, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
A fuel's errand
Republican House members ask EPA to scale back ethanol mandate |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| More than 50 Republican representatives sent a letter [PDF] to the Environmental Protection Agency last week urging the agency to lower the mandate for ethanol production in response to both the recent flooding in the Midwest and drought in the South. They argue that one-third of the country's corn crop will be used for ethanol to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard, and while the weather this year will cause a decrease in supply of corn, the RFS will increase demand ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, Congress, energy, ethanol, Muckraker, news, politics, regulation, severe weather, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
Tale of obsession
A review of Fields of Fuel |
biodiversivist |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Fields of Fuel, directed by Josh Tickell, is visually compelling and technically polished, which unfortunately bestows a veneer of legitimacy the film does not deserve. Promotional films are stereotypically one-sided, ignoring or glossing over negatives while exaggerating and or fabricating positives. That is to be expected, but what set this film apart from your generic promotional film is Tickell's success at manipulating viewers' emotions. The screening I att ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, cars, energy, movies, video (all these topics) |
|
|
Pyongyang syndrome
Agriculture and energy solutions to avoid the fate of North Korea |
Sharon Astyk |
24 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| John Feffer has a good article over at Asia Times Online. It points out the deep danger we're in -- how teetery both the world and America's food and energy systems are. It is well worth a read, particularly because of its clear articulation of the bind we're in -- the strategies we've used in the past to get out of disaster will only accelerate collapse in the long-term.. The tools we're using to get more food out of the ground take food from the future. The ana ... |
|
| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, energy, North Korea, organic food (all these topics) |
|
|
Cuckoo for kudzu
Kudzu as the next biofuel source? |
Gar Lipow |
20 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Some biofuel experts seem to think that the next big biofuel source should be kudzu in the U.S. I hope biodiversity experts and readers from the South will comment on this idea. Take the poll beneath the fold: |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
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) |
|
|
Corn polls
New surveys suggest changing views on biofuels |
Ron Steenblik |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Biofuel policy has made it to the polls. Yesterday, the National Center for Public Policy Research, a nonprofit, non-partisan educational foundation based in Washington, D.C., released the results of a survey (PDF) conducted at the beginning of this month which claims to have found that most Americans -- 'including those in the Farm Belt' -- want Congress to reduce or eliminate the mandated use of corn ethanol. In response to the key question, 'What do you think Congr ... |
|
| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol, European Union, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Call for an end to Washington State biofuel mandates
ASUW student body transcends State and Federal legislators |
biodiversivist |
10 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A resolution opposing current Washington State biofuel policies (website not yet updated to reflect acceptance of resolution) passed in the University of Washington Student Senate on the third of June. The Associated Students of the University of Washington are, to my knowledge, the first legislative body in the country to take this bold step. The following is a brief history of how it came to be:Back in February, The Daily ran a short story about UW's plans to incr ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, dirty hippies, energy, Jay Inslee, Washington (all these topics) |
|
|
Algae Whiz
Sapphire Energy hopes to soon power your car with algae |
|
29 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:16 AM on 29 May 2008 Sapphire Energy says it has successfully turned algae into biofuel, raising hopes that a viable oil alternative could be produced without need for agricultural land. The indeed-sapphire-colored fuel produced by the year-old company is coaxed from algae, sunlight, non-potable salt water, and carbon dioxide. Sapphire says its fuel is equivalent to conventional crude in both chemical makeup and pric ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, business, energy, greenish companies, news, progress (all these topics) |
|
|
Pour Some Sugar on Swede
Swedish company will vend verified sustainable ethanol |
|
27 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:57 PM on 27 May 2008 Swedish biofuel company SEKAB says it will become the first company to vend ethanol verified to be environmentally and socially sustainable. The company is partnering with Brazilian producers to develop criteria for the full lifecycle of fuel-bound sugarcane, verifying that the fuel was not produced through child or slave labor, was processed in fair working conditions for fair wages ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, business, energy, news, Sweden (all these topics) |
|
|
Feeding the food-for-fuel debate
USDA defends America's fuel supply |
biodiversivist |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Vinod Khosla. Photo: brettwayn via Flickr. Much of what Vinod Khosla had to say in his latest post, and my responses to that post here, have been covered in previous posts. So, if some of this sounds eerily familiar, now you know why. Admittedly, I have an advantage in this debate because he can't respond directly to my arguments. Remember the West Wing episode where the Josh Lyman character makes the mistake of responding to a blogger? On the other hand, ... |
|
| Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, Department of Agriculture, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
The farm bill ups the cellulosic ethanol ante
Lost amid the crop-subsidy battle, a new biofuel regime |
Tom Philpott |
24 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Amid all the thunder and lightening about subsidies in the new farm bill -- which officially became law Thursday -- Congress made a major policy shift with regard to the goodies lavished on ethanol makers. Under previous policy, biofuel makers -- whether conventional or cellulosic -- benefit from a 51 cent a gallon tax credit conferred on gasoline blenders. No any more. According to a recent Environmental Law & Policy Center memorandum [PDF] summing up th ... |
|
| Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, energy, ethanol, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Biofictions
Wall Street Journal editorial mischaracterizes both my position and biofuels |
Vinod Khosla |
22 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| To my surprise, on Tuesday I found myself cited by the Wall Street Journal 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.' While I appreciate the Journal's foray into fiction writing (and I'd love to discuss my status on the dole with my accountant, who recently filed my taxes), I would like to clarify a few facts and offer a more rounded view of biofuels and ethanol ... |
|
| Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Grease Is the Way We Are Stealin'
Thieves targeting used cooking oil |
|
21 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:01 PM on 21 May 2008 Leftover cooking grease is a hot commodity these days, and restaurants across the country are reporting being hit by slippery-fingered thieves. Biodiesel producers must legally register with the U.S. EPA, but DIY biofuelers are helping themselves to waste cooking oil as its value skyrockets along with the price of diesel. David Levenson, owner of a grease-hauling business in San Francisco, has ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy, news (all these topics) |
|
|
Weed Wack
Biofuel-bound grasses are often invasive species |
|
21 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:30 AM on 21 May 2008 As biofuel sources go, weeds and grasses are looked on with more favor than land-ravaging, food-price-raising corn and palm. But there's no such thing as a free lunch-in-your-tank, says a paper presented by green groups at a United Nations meeting Tuesday: "Some of the most commonly recommended species for biofuels production are also major invasive alien species." The quick growth and need for ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, news (all these topics) |
|
|
Danny sings the blues
Seattle Times columnist needs a new ride |
biodiversivist |
07 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Via the Sunday Seattle Times: Danny Westneat has wrecked his car and needs a new ride. Now, I don't expect it to be easy being green. But this is ridiculous. What was hailed as our leading green alternative to petroleum [biodiesel] is now an affront to humanity? I wonder which print media gave him this false impression that biodiesel was our leading green alternative? But when we asked around about biodiesel, it didn't take long before the scolding started. Biodie ... |
|
| Topics: biofuels, cars, energy, oil, Seattle (all these topics) |
|
|
Taking a pillow to a knife fight
Traditional print media and complex issues |
biodiversivist |
06 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| On Saturday I received an email with a link to an article by Lisa Stiffler in Friday's Seattle Times. I'm going to use it to demonstrate how newspapers can muddy the water when it comes to complex issues. First, her article is a perfectly good one -- and a very typical one. You can't put a hyperlink on paper. You can't afford to waste space for footnotes. You are constrained by a word count. You also have to craft a story, keep it local, and do your best not to show ... |
|
| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, energy, Washington (all these topics) |
|
|
These criminals are slippery -- very slippery
|
JMG |
06 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Christian Science Monitor notices a rash of slippery thieves making off with the newest hot commodity: grease. |
|
| Topics: biofuels, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
BusinessWeek drinks the ethanol-spiked Kool-Aid
The newsweekly uncorks a whopper in defense of crop-based fuels |
Tom Philpott |
06 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The massive biofuel mandate embedded in the 2007 Energy Act, signed amid much bipartisan hoopla, is coming under heavy fire.The Wall Street Journal reported recently that two dozen Republican senators have formally asked the EPA to lower the mandate in response to heightened food prices (a power granted to the agency in the Energy Act). Perhaps not coincidentally, the food-processing giants now competing with biofuel plants for corn -- think Kraft and Kellogg -- have b ... |
|
| Topics: ag policy, agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
I read a letter to the editor, the other day, I opened, and read it, it said they was suckas
|
David Roberts |
04 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A trio of fine letters in The NYT today, taking Richard Cohen to task for his reflexive praise of sugar-cane ethanol. |
|
| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy (all these topics) |
|
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.