Everyone has an opinion about the veracity of global warming, except, maybe global governments who are pursing economic improvements on the back of climate change. The quest for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and predominately carbon dioxide (CO2) has led to a spurt of new research around the development of more sustainable practices and technologies. But at what cost …
Ethanol Opponents Call for End to Tax Incentives
Seizing on last week’s CBO report and a proposal by Growth Energy to phase out and redirect the blenders tax credit for ethanol (VEETC), several long-time opponents of ethanol renewed their call for an end to all tax incentives for the home-grown fuel. In a press conference this morning, representatives from the American Meat Institute (AMI), Environmental Working Group (EWG), …
RFA Disputes Dead Zone Tie to Ethanol
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle this week blames ethanol production for the so-called “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, which it compares to the oil disaster currently facing that body of water. The article prompted a response from Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen, who starts off a letter to the editor by saying, “it is clear …
Ethanol Industry Takes Environmental Group to Task
The ethanol industry has come together to take the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to task over their claims that American ethanol is not a sound strategy. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) have called EWG out on the table for what they claim is their misleading …
Working for Green Spotlights Green Jobs
One of the benefits of America’s move to energy security and its quest to curb climate change are the opportunities for people to work in the burgeoning green industry. Today, Working for Green, a new online community dedicated to helping Americans secure green jobs, has launched a new video-based resource that spotlights individuals who are improving their lives through green …
Book Review – No Impact Man
So you’re a bit frustrated with the state of the climate and pretty concerned with our fossil fuel use. So what do you do? You become the No Impact Man. Colin Beavan, a writer from New York who was struggling with how to deal with climate change, decided that he, along with his wife, two year old daughter and dog, …
EPA, USDA Announce Biogas Program
Two federal agencies are teaming up to capture the methane U.S. farms produce and turn that greenhouse gas into fuel. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture have a new interagency agreement that will promote the biogas as a renewable energy source, while cutting those gas emissions from livestock operations. This EPA press release says the agreement is …
Economist Defends Ethanol Jobs Numbers
In a commentary on the Natural Resources Defense Council blog, the organization’s Director of Renewable Energy Policy Nathanael Greene criticizes the ethanol industry for what he calls a “highly inflated jobs study” released earlier this week. Greene claims the industry’s jobs numbers are “way off” because they use both inflated jobs multipliers and inflated economic impact, creating what he calls …
Green Activists Continue Ethanol Smear Campaign
Another anti-biofuels report has been released, this time from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) who is arguing that an immediate benefit would ensue if current biofuels policies were repealed and replaced with policies that would take the world’s most productive cropland out of production. Maybe more alarming is that while the report attempts to discredit the most promising biofuels technologies, …
Register Now for Energy Communications Summit
Another approach and discussion is emerging surrounding messaging and education of global climate change. Green communication specialists will gather in May for a summit to refine the cause that clean energy and sustainable business practices are good policy and good business. The first-ever Green PR summit rEnergize Communications Summit will be held May 23-25 to discuss how corporate brands, products …