Biofuel
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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Global Warming Hoax:
The Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman once said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”
When Congress passed legislation to greatly expand America’s commitment to biofuels, it intended to create energy independence and protect the environment.
But the results have been quite different. […]
E-CORN-OMICS: Food And Fuel Markets Begin To Merge In Ethanol Boom
Monday, May 5th, 2008Daily Herald:
Erwin Johnson picks up a clump of the dark, rich soil that he has farmed for 35 years, like his father and grandfather before him. In a few months, this flat expanse of northern Iowa will be crowded with corn ready to be trucked to market.
A year ago, that market got a little […]
Brazil’s Counterattack On Biofuels
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008TIME:
As soaring commodity prices spark food riots around the globe, prompting a U.N. official to dub the production of biofuels at the expense of food cultivation “a crime against humanity,” the debate over the efficiency and morality of using plants as an energy source is heating up. And Brazil, the world’s largest producer of biofuels […]
End Of Fuel Scarcity In Sight
Monday, April 28th, 2008This Day:
As the nation groans under the crippling effects of the week-long fuel scarcity, the end may be in sight with the resolution of the delayed release of the N17 billion owed Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
The association is believed to be behind the current dearth of petroleum products as the marketers failed to […]
How To Solve The Global Food Crisis
Friday, April 25th, 2008BBC News:
The world economy has many problems but none more pressing than what is happening to food prices.
There have been food riots in Haiti, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Indonesia and several other nations.
Twenty thousand desperate textile workers in Bangladesh went on a rampage, giving rise to fears of wider instability, since the garment industry accounts […]
Tug-Of-War Between Global Crises
Friday, April 25th, 2008New York Times:
With signs of a food shortages everywhere, a chorus of concern was punctuated today by a man with a singular view: Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General.
“This steeply rising price of food has developed into a real global crisis,” he said, according to wire services. “The United Nations is very much concerned, as [are] […]
We Can Still Save From The World Food Crisis
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias:
It does not deal with an apocalyptic prophecy anymore. It is now a reality that concerns everybody: the increase on the prices of staple foods might lead the whole world towards a situation of famine.
In different occasions, president Hugo Chávez has warned about the issue in such a manner that food […]
Gasoline To Remain The Dominant Fuel, Experts Say
Friday, April 18th, 2008AutoWeek:
We’ll stick with gasoline.
That was the conclusion of a panel of experts discussing alternative fuels at the SAE World Congress on Wednesday, April 16.
Panelists said that gasoline will continue to dominate until the industry begins mass production of fuel cells and other electrically powered vehicles.
The panel spent most of its time discussing ethanol. […]
Lowndes Student Finds Fuel Alternative
Friday, April 18th, 2008WALB-TV:
Georgia forests produce millions of tons of biomass every year.
It’s regarded as useless, but one South Georgia student thinks the waste could be the key to more alternative fuels in the state.
So when Governor Sonny Perdue issued a challenge, Lowndes High Senior Nicholas Worley stepped up.
“It was a challenge to agriculturists to solve the […]
Petrobras Creates Biofuels Unit
Thursday, April 17th, 2008Biodiesel Magazine:
State-controlled Brazilian oil company Petrobras SA has created a subsidiary to coordinate biofuels efforts, establishing a work group that will gather Petrobras biofuels efforts under one management umbrella.
The new subsidiary, launched March 3, will handle biodiesel input acquisition and processing, as well as ethanol production, and coordinate production-chain activities in Brazil and abroad, the […]
Green Options Fuel Future
Thursday, April 17th, 2008Metro Canadá:
Environmentally sound alternative fuel options offer great emissions savings over traditional gasoline, but what are they all about? Here’s a roundup of each:
Battery-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles:
Battery-electric cars draw all their power from an onboard battery, while hybrids use a combination of battery and gas motors to drastically increase fuel efficiency.
Both types produce much lower […]
Ways For Small Businesses To Deal With Rising Fuel Costs
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008BizOpBlogs:
Here are 10 ways that small businesses of different types can cope with the rising cost of gasoline and other fuels:
1. Add a separate fuel fee. Call it a fee, call it a surcharge - call it whatever you want. But more and more small businesses are tacking on a special charge to offset […]
Energy Independence?
Monday, April 14th, 2008Washington Times:
The whole idea of “energy independence,” writes Robert Bryce, exuberantly, is “Hogwash.” And like so many things, Mr. Bryce tells us, it all began with Richard Nixon.
“Every U.S. President since Richard Nixon has extolled [sic] the need for energy independence. In 1974, Nixon promised it could be achieved within 6 years.” Gerald Ford promised […]
Before You Buy Gasoline, Check Out The Octane Ratings
Monday, April 14th, 2008Kansas City Star:
Consumers are getting confusing pricing signals at area gas stations, thanks to how retailers are handling a flood of ethanol-blended fuel.
Some area gas stations have started selling both regular and midgrade gasoline at the same price, saying there is no longer a difference between the fuels.
Other retailers, though, are still charging more for […]
Small Business Bets On Alternative Energy
Friday, April 11th, 2008MLive.com:
Perceived demand for energy efficiency and renewable-energy services continues to lure new and existing small businesses in the region.
For instance, 15-year real-estate broker William Snyder plans to open an energy-auditing construction company on May 1 called EnergyChek. Also a developer in southwest Michigan, Snyder has hired six employees and fielded numerous calls already, which he […]
Sugar-Powered Cars ‘In 10 Years’
Thursday, April 10th, 2008Channel 4 News:
Sugar-powered cars could be the sweet solution to traffic pollution, say scientists.
Researchers have found a way to generate hydrogen directly from plant sugar. They expect the breakthrough to provide a cheap and efficient source of green transport fuel.
In future, motorists could be stopping at grocery stores instead of petrol stations to fill up […]
End Of Fuel Scarcity In Sight
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008This Day:
As the nation groans under the crippling effects of the week-long fuel scarcity, the end may be in sight with the resolution of the delayed release of the N17 billion owed Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
The association is believed to be behind the current dearth of petroleum products as the marketers failed to […]
Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees, But Gasoline Might
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Wisbusiness.com:
In 2003, University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student George Huber and colleagues made hydrogen from plant sugars using nickel-tin alloy catalysts in the lab of Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor James Dumesic.
In 2005, the team made a diesel-like fuel from plants.
Today, University of Massachusetts Amherst Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering George Huber has graduate students of […]
The Worst Moment In History To Demand Biofuels
Monday, April 7th, 2008Enter Stage Right:
This is the worst moment in history to demand billions of gallons of biofuels from our farms.
I told the Sustainable Agriculture students at Iowa State University last month, “Human numbers are still expanding rapidly. With more people and higher incomes, we’d need to double farm output by 2050 even without biofuels. . . […]
Fuel Or Folly? Ethanol And The Law Of Unintended Consequences
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008San Francisco Chronicle:
In the pantheon of well-intentioned governmental policies gone awry, massive ethanol biofuel production may go down as one of the biggest blunders in history. An unholy alliance of environmentalists, agribusiness, biofuel corporations and politicians has been touting ethanol as the cure to all our environmental ills, when in fact it may be doing […]