JW Writes: EPA on Why Diesel is not Green

Cindy Zimmerman

I was searching a cool website by the EPA that categorizes various vehicles by their green factor, or by how efficient and clean burning their emissions are. I noticed that no diesel engines were listed among the vehicles and sent a note to ask why. This is the reply I got from the EPA. The reason why you are having …

Biodiesel, Government

Ethanol To Make IRL History This Weekend

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series starts this weekend the Homestead Miami Speedway with tanks ten percent full of ethanol. Here’s a good story from Crash.net about the history making change and Rahal Letterman’s Team Ethanol. Includes this quote: “Team Ethanol and its key sponsors have made a significant impact on the IRL IndyCar Series in the last few years,” said …

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing

Hawaiian Ethanol Power Plans

Cindy Zimmerman

Hawaii is still trying to figure out how to meet state government requirements for ethanol in gasoline and now the electric company wants to use it for power. The Hawaiian Electric Company, also known as HECO, made Pacific waves this week when officials announced they could use ethanol for a new power station on Oahu. According to this story in …

Ethanol

Biodiesel Living the Jeep Life

Cindy Zimmerman

We have a picture now to identify posts from contributing blogger JW. Jeep has announced that their new Liberty CRD (Common-Rail Diesel) has surpassed 10,000 vehicles sold in just under 2 years on the market, doubling the estimated production. I was excited when I first heard about this vehicle, as I’ve known that a diesel engine is more efficient and …

Biodiesel

Thailand Government Subsidizing Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The US is not the only country helping the ethanol industry. In Thailand, the government Energy Minstry is subsidizing “the local ethanol price in order to maintain a price difference between gasohol and premium gasoline at 1.50 baht per liter.” According to this story in the TNA English News, Although the ethanol price increases, the ministry will use the contributions …

Ethanol

Ag Secretary to Tour Northstar

Cindy Zimmerman

Minnesota ethanol is on the agenda for Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns this week. Johanns will hold a roundtable with area agriculture and agribusiness leaders in Mankato, Minnesota on Thursday morning, according to a press advisory. Then he will tour the Northstar Ethanol plant in Lake Crystal, Minnesota in the afternoon. That’s all I know about it, but I would assume …

Ethanol, Government

Ethanol Helping Kids Breathe Easier

Cindy Zimmerman

Sales of ethanol in Kentucky are paying for five kids to attend a special camp for children with asthma this summer. Jennie Stuart Medical Center received $5,000 dollars raised through the sale of ethanol-enriched fuel at Max Arnold & Sons’ Max Fuel during the month of February. A portion of the proceeds were also donated by local ethanol producer Commonwealth …

EPIC, Ethanol

Bio-Oil could be new Black Gold

Cindy Zimmerman

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed, Then one day he was shootin at some food, And up through the ground came a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea. According to this story on Wired News, bio-oil could be the new crude – “a thick …

Miscellaneous

Ask for Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Here’s today’s post from contributing blogger JW: Because I like to practice what I preach, I stopped in my local MFA BreakTime about three weeks ago and dropped off a letter asking them to sell biodiesel. In that request, I pledged to purchase all my fuel there if they were to offer it. Curious to see what they thought, I …

Biodiesel

Growing Pains Making Headlines

Cindy Zimmerman

It was Irish author Brendan Behan who said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity – except your own obituary,” and the ethanol industry is getting a dose of it here with an AP article that has gotten picked up more than most of the positive stories written about ethanol in the past two months. Actually, it’s not really that …

Ethanol