An oil refiner has dropped a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) challenging a regulation that would boost ethanol consumption in the state by 2010. According to a story in the Sacramento Business Journal, Tesoro Corporation dropped the lawsuit after a judge denied the company’s request for a temporary injunction to delay a new gasoline standard set to …
Ethanol Groups Criticize Negative Study
Ethanol industry organizations say a University of Minnesota study critical of corn ethanol is flawed. The study, which claims corn ethanol is worse for health and the environment than gasoline, was analyzed in detail by the Renewable Fuels Association. RFA warns “because there is no consensus within the academic community on the best methods for analyzing highly uncertain potential land …
Report Shows Efficiency of Ethanol Production
A new report concludes that America’s ethanol industry is energy efficient and doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research has just released its report entitled “Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn Ethanol” which was published in Yale’s Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE). According …
Economic Stimulus Sought for Agriculture and Renewables
A diverse coalition of 34 business, agriculture and environmental groups is asking Congressional leaders to support an economic recovery package that provides strong funding for agriculture-based, clean energy development programs. The National 25x’25 Steering Committee and other renewable energy advocacy groups outlined a three part recommendation in a letter to Congressional leaders this week. The letter recommends including at least …
Questions, Discussions Dominate Transition Conference
How do we meet carbon reduction goals? How do we reduce our carbon footprint with biodiesel and ethanol without actually creating more carbon from the production of those biofuels? What are the trade-offs and benefits we could see between securing our food supplies and our energy security? And how do we make all these things work while not damaging the …