The Ethanol Summit 2009 is in full swing in Sao Paulo, Brazil with President Bill Clinton kicking off the festivities yesterday. His main message was that while biofuels are an important element in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it cannot happen at the continued destruction of rainforests. In an article published by Reuters yesterday, Clinton was quoted as saying, …
EPA Responds to Indirect Land Use for Ethanol Issue
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has received a response from the Environmental Protection Agency explaining the decision to include indirect land use change in calculating estimates of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for biofuels, but the senator still believes it should not be a factor in the Renewable Fuels Standard. According to the letter from EPA acting assistant administrator Elizabeth Craig, the …
Ethanol Industry Chief Featured in NY Times
The president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association had a chat with the New York Times this week about the whole issue of indirect land use changes and ethanol. Bob Dinneen is featured in a post today on the NY Times “Green Inc.” blog in a post by reporter Kate Galbraith. Mr. Dinneen emphasized that his group was perfectly …
Senate Bill Would Curb Unproven Indirect Land Use Measures
U.S. Senator John Thune has introduced a bill designed to strengthen the Renewable Fuels Standard and prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using inaccurate indirect land use models to discredit the positive environmental impacts of ethanol. “Following California’s recent decision to use flawed models to estimate ethanol’s environmental impact, I am concerned that the EPA could soon apply similar standards …
Corn Farmers Provides Facts About Land Use
Last week’s ruling by the California Air Resources Board on a low carbon fuel standard that penalizes corn ethanol on the basis of indirect land use has mobilized corn growers to get the facts out about the environmental impact of the nation’s largest crop. “It’s a little known fact that we are growing five times as much corn as our …
Ethanol Report on Indirect Land Use
This edition of the “Ethanol Report” discusses the critical decisions being made regarding renewable fuels and indirect land use on both the federal and state level. Comments are from Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research Geoff Cooper, Air Improvement Resource President Tom Darlington and Nathanael Greene, Senior Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. You can listen to …
Corn Growers Establish Climate Task Force
The National Corn Growers Association Ethanol Committee has established a task force of corn farmers to focus on climate issues, such as land use change, greenhouse gas emissions, cap-and-trade policies, carbon sequestration and low carbon fuel standards. The team includes farmers from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio. “There is a wealth of information and research on climate change that …
More Criticism of CA Low Carbon Fuel Standard
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received at least two more letters this week protesting the state’s proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Over 65 retired members of the U.S. armed forces and intelligence community wrote to the governor about their concerns that applying the LCFS in its current state would penalize renewable fuels to the benefit of petroleum and other fossil …
Senators Caution EPA Over Indirect Land Use Calculations
Senators from ethanol producing states are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to propose regulations assuming that greater U.S. biofuels use would increase carbon dioxide emissions. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) spoke on the Senate floor about the issue on Monday, following a letter sent by 12 senators to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson last week. Grassley expressed fears that EPA …
Scientists Question California Climate Plan
Over 100 of the nation’s top scientists are questioning the approach taken by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which singles out biofuels for “indirect effects,” claiming that petroleum products result in lower carbon emissions. Scientists affiliated with research labs such as the National Academy of Sciences, UC-Berkeley, Sandia National Labs, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and MIT sent a letter …