One hundred years after the original 1908 event designed to show the world how dependable automobiles could be, the 2008 Great Race will feature vehicles running on alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol, and even solar power. This story from the Los Angeles Times says the alternatively-powered vehicles will also join some classic roadsters on the 22,000 mile New York …
AZ Bill Would Help Pay for Adding Biofuels
A bill introduced in the Arizona legislature would help pay the costs of gas stations adding biofuels to their lineups. The Tucson Citizen reports HB 2620, offered by Arizona House majority leader Tom Boone (R-Peoria), will help stations meet the growing numbers of vehicles that can run the green fuels: “We need to make sure Arizonans have cleaner fuel choices …
Green is Universal
Universal Studios theme park in Orlando was in the spotlight during the National Biodiesel Conference last week for its biodiesel use, but they are using ethanol as well – and that will be highlighted during the National Ethanol Conference coming up later this month. Robert Winslow, Universal Senior Director Engineering and Environmental Sustainability Technical Services, gave a behind the scenes …
Challenges to “Science” Studies
Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and others around the country are calling into question the assumptions and conclusions of researchers who published their findings last week in Science. Dr. Michael Wang of Argonne’s Transportation Technology R&D Center and Zia Haq of the DOE’s Office of Biomass Program sent a letter commenting on the studies, which generated …
Global Biofuels Policy Effects
Biofuels from an international perspective was on the agenda at the World Ag Expo in California this week. International seminars on Tuesday included “The World of Biofuels” and “The California-Brazil Connection: Ethanol, Biodiesel, Electricity and Beyond.” One of the panelists for the second seminar was Rahul Iyer of Primafuel, who spoke on international biofuel policy trends and the many opportunities …
Ethanol May Help Lower Gas Prices
According to a Reuters news service article today, “explosive [ethanol] production is stifling an established driver of oil markets — U.S. gasoline demand — and could lead to lower prices at the pump.” The article quotes analyst Eric Wittenauer of AG Edwards in St. Louis saying, “‘Ethanol blending could help ease U.S. refining bottlenecks and that could be ultimately reflected …
Ethanol Insurance For Farmers From John Deere
John Deere is now offering “ethanol insurance” through their John Deere Risk Protection division. It’s a policy for the grower who wants some extra coverage in case he can’t fulfill a delivery contract to an ethanol plant. Dennis Daggett, Director of Marketing for John Deere Risk Protection, is on the scene here at the National Farm Machinery Show where I’ve …
Waste to Fuels Conference
The Southern Waste Information eXchange and the Florida BioFuels Association are sponsoring the 1st Annual Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show in Orlando, Florida on April 6-8, 2008. The conference will provide a forum for informing the public and private sectors of the economic and environmental benefits of converting waste materials to alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol as well …
Ice Cream and E85
The first E85 station for the state of Mississippi is scheduled to open later this month. Ford’s Fuel off I-20 in Newton is pleased to be offering the fuel at Ford’s Ice Cream Museum, which boasts a 100% green facility, “saving the planet one scoop at a time” with the ingredients of “cows – sunshine – grass – farms.” As …
25x’25 Refutes Science Article
The National 25x’25 Steering Committee has responded to widespread media coverage of studies published by Science Magazine last week, saying they failed to report that there are ways to insure that future biofuels give us both a new renewable energy source and greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The journal Science reported last week that studies indicate clearing land for the …