AAA has already made up its mind about increasing amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline to 15 percent, but they want to know what you think. The headline for an article posted by the automotive organization last week reads “Bailout Blend: Bad for Your Engine?” and proceeds to bash ethanol as being bad for consumers. “How would you feel about …
Rethinking Deforestation – A Copenhagen Challenge
Yesterday I wrote about one of the major challenges facing leaders who will be participating in the Copenhagen Climate Conference – global warming. Today, I’m addressing a second major issue facing the leaders – stopping deforestation. There is a misnomer that the main driver of deforestation is the increased production of biofuels. While there is a correlation between biofuels and …
Countdown to Copenhagen
The countdown to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is on as the talks begin in six days. The conference, December 7-18, 2009 is a meeting of the UN to hash out a successor to the Kyoto protocol that is set to expire in 2012. The aim is to prevent global warming, and similar talks date back to the 1992 Earth …
An Inside View of the Brazilian Ethanol Industry
Oi from Brasil! I have spent the last three days learning about the ethanol industry in Brazil. I have been traveling with a group of 20 international journalists in the State of Sao Paulo, where 60 percent of the country’s sugarcane is grown and consequently where the majority of the ethanol is produced. I’ll be writing a series of posts …
Energy Reform? Then Don’t Follow California.
Many states look to California to set the stage for environmental and energy reform. They passed the first greenhouse gas emissions legislation. They passed the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. But not so fast. They are bankrupt. They still have some of the worst air pollution in the country. They still have “brownouts” when it rains. Let me give you an …
National Wind Challenges President Obama
Earlier this week, National Wind CEO Leon Steinberg, challenged President Obama to take a stand by insisting that legislators pass an energy bill establishing a federal oversight committee to implement an interstate transmission highway. Steinberg likens the challenge as similar to President “Ike” Eisenhower’s initiative of creating a federal interstate system. The only difference is that while the nation’s interstate …
5 Reasons Why the Climate Bill Will Ruin Your Life
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 42 percent of Americans oppose the climate bill that passed the House last week because respondents believe the bill will hurt the economy. Well, the more I dig into the nuances of the proposed climate bill, the more I realize that this bill will do more damage than good. Here are …
McCain Blames Subsidies for High Food Prices
In a speech on Wednesday not far from the corn fields of proud Missouri farmers, Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain blamed subsidies for higher food prices. “My administration will reduce the price of food by eliminating the subsidies for ethanol and agricultural goods,” McCain told an invitation-only group at the Harry Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. “These subsidies inflate …
EPIC Responds to Time Scam Story
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has responded to last week’s Time Magazine cover story “The Clean Energy Scam.” Executive director Toni Nuernberg sent the following letter to the editor of Time in response to the article: In Michael Grunwald’s March 27 article “The Clean Energy Scam,” corn-based ethanol is the scapegoat of the week. Though Grunwald draws attention …
Back Over a Barrel
This post was on Corn Commentary yesterday: The price of a barrel of crude shot up to $110.10 today before closing at $100.01, driven by fear despite evidence of good supplies and falling demand, illustrates the tightrope the United States walks in terms of energy security. A refinery explosion in Texas over the weekend and fear that OPEC will decide …