Higher energy costs were the subject of dueling Earth Day radio addresses by President Bush and the Democratic Party. Here’s part of the president’s address, promoting the administration’s energy initiative: …hydrogen fuel cells, one of the exciting new technologies supported by my initiative. These fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the way we power our cars by giving us …
Read Past the Headlines
Over 120 articles on a Google news search for ethanol are coming up with headlines blaming ethanol for gas shortages in Texas and on the East Coast. But if you read the whole article, there’s a little more to it than that. Take this AP report, for example. The lead sentence says stations are facing shortages as “the industry grapples …
Pricing Right at the Pump
This article in the Billings (MT) Gazette offers a refreshingly positive look at ethanol compared to many stories in the mainstream media this week. While acknowledging some of the concerns, such as negative publicity regarding the fuel’s energy balance and the lack of flex-fuel vehicles and E85 pumps, it notes that ethanol in Montana is being priced right. Sherrie Allyn, …
Clean Cities Congress Highlights
Have you registered for the Clean Cities Congress May 7-10 in Phoenix yet? If not, here are a few good reasons why you should. 1. John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona, will welcome attendees to his home state on Monday, May 8. 2. Dr. Robert Hirsch, Senior Energy Program Advisor at Science Applications International Corporation, will give the keynote address …
Toyota Moving Forward To Flex Fuel
Toyota apparently intends to follow the U.S. car manufacturers flex-fuel lead and start producing cars that can run on ethanol. According to business reports out this week which site “an unnamed company executive” and a Toyota spokesperson, Toyota “acknowledged that Japan’s top auto maker was developing flexible-fuel vehicles, mainly for the ethanol-smitten Brazilian market for starters, but declined to disclose …
More Michigan E85 Pumps
General Motors is partnering with the state of Michigan, Cleanfuel USA And Meijer gas stations to add about 20 new E85 ethanol fueling sites in the southeast Michigan area. According to a GM press release, the announcement was made Tuesday during an event at the State Capitol presided over by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Questions About Ethanol Imports and Tariffs
Ethanol imports and the Brazilian tariff made up the majority of questions from the media during the “Truth About Ethanol” press conference Tuesday. Why do we need to import any ethanol if the industry can meet the demand? How much ethanol will we import this year? What about a temporary waiver of the Brazilian import tariff? What are the secondary …
Ethanol Gets Media Ears
The Truth About Ethanol press conference today (see previous post) lasted nearly an entire hour and included questions from media such as UPI, Chicago Tribune, Inside US Trade, Des Moines Register, Inside Washington, and Congress Daily as well as a number of farm journalists, although not as many as I would have expected. Bob, Bob and Jon did a pretty …
Enzymes Enhance Ethanol Efficiency
Dyadic International, Inc. is working to make ethanol production more efficient. That’s just one of the uses this Florida-based company has found for biological products such as proteins, enzymes, polypeptides and other such things in the agricultural, industrial, chemical and biopharmaceutical industries. For example, they actually pioneered the stone-free method used to make “stone-washed” blue jeans. Instead of tumbling them …
Ethanol + Diesel + City Buses = Cleaner Air
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has joined the CityHome™ program, a major national clean air initiative designed to create a better quality of life for city residents by improving urban air quality. According to a news release from the O2Diesel Corporation, By embracing the CityHome challenge, EPIC can continue to show that the benefits of ethanol are not …