My Week of Oil is coming to a close (but will never end) and California has made another interesting move. The California Energy Commission has a new Commissioner – Anthony Eggert. Two highlights of his career include his time serving as the Science and Technology Adviser to Mary Nichols at the California Air Resources Board. Prior to that, he did …
California’s Love Affair With Oil
Last week, the Southern California Association of Governments turned down $11 million in stimulus money for Pearson Fuels to install 55 E85 stations. Huh. And this shortly after the expanded rules were announced for the Renewable Fuels Standard not to mention the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that went into effect on January 1. What would cause the most notorious state, …
In Touch With Solar
During the Copenhagen Climate Conference, President Obama announced findings from the Environmental Protection Agency that the six major groups of greenhouse gas emissions are “an endangerment” to public health and welfare. This could lead to stricter emission regulations for vehicles, manufacturing and power plant emissions. This also shines an even brighter light on low CO2 emitting technologies such as solar …
Group Calls Wind “Easiest Crop to Harvest”
A leader in large-scale community wind project development is making the case that wind turbines on farmland would only take up 1 percent of the land but could double a farmer’s profitability. In a piece e-mailed to Domestic Fuel, National Wind’s co-founder and co-chair Patrick Pelstring says wind energy doesn’t take up as much room as some people might think …
Making Biodiesel and “Things”
I found an interesting piece by Lyle Estill, a founder of Piedmont Biofuels … a Pittsboro, North Carolina-based maker of biodiesel and other “things.” Estill’s column in the Chapel Hill (NC) News is really good piece that not only talks about his little biodiesel company’s resilience in the face of a tough market, but also of the principles his blue-collar …
Book Review – Our Choice
This morning the Copenhagen Climate Conference kicked off. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the two big issues are the reduction of CO2 and the halting of deforestation. As I noted in other writings, there are Climate Alarmists and Climate Skeptics. Climate Alarmists, which Al Gore would be considered, believe that if we don’t curb global warming now, the earth …
As E15 Comment Period Closes AIAM Opposes
Comments were due today to the EPA regarding the Green Jobs Waiver that would allow up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) in gasoline. Just as the clock ran out, The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) filed comments opposing the waiver request. It is no coincidence that AIAM filed their comments at a time when others could not respond. However, …
Imperium Founder Argues for WA Biodiesel Mandate
The state of Washington has missed its goal of having biodiesel and ethanol make up at least 20 percent of its state vehicle fuel use. And that has prompted the founder of one of the nation’s biggest biodiesel facilities… which just happens to be located in Washington… to make the case that it didn’t have to happen. John Plaza, the …
Criticisms of Sperling’s Role in the LCFS Heating Up
Two weeks ago I reviewed, “Two Billion Cars” by Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon. I focused on several aspects but I did not tie together this important point: Daniel Sperling vehemently dislikes corn ethanol and he is the lead researcher for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that just passed the Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS). The LCFS was a …
10 Big Oil Front Groups to Watch
Front groups are as old as Big Oil. These are coalitions, committees, alliances and think tanks that are created by organizations that don’t disclose their support. They usually have misleading names, for example the Citizen’s Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE), which is now defunct, and often consumers take them and their positions at face value, not understanding the group’s underlying …