I’m feeling a bit nostalgic this first week of 2011 for the days of affordable energy prices, environmentalists who still understood change for the greater good and for a biofuels industry that not only got along but were actually friends. We’re only four days into the new year and some energy economists have declared that $3.00 per gallon gas prices …
Joanna’s Best Books of 2010
There are a few things I have learned over the last two years of reviewing books. First, no matter how much you “dislike”, or disagree with an author, you always learn something from him or her – always. Second, there are always two sides to every story and we all need to do a better job of learning more about …
$5 Gas Prices On the Horizon
According to former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, Americans will be paying $5 per gallon for gas by 2012 due to growing demand for oil, tighter supplies and inadequate responses by the U.S. government. His remarks were made during his appearance on Platts Energy Week television. Not necessarily news Americans want to hear as gas prices have been on …
Opinion Piece Defends Palm Oil Biodiesel
A decision by Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) to build a biodiesel plant that will convert palm oil into biodiesel to be used by the utility to produce electricity has garnered the ire of some environmentalists, who decry the use of palm oil for the green fuel. But this opinion piece in the Honolulu Star Advertiser defends the plant. Tom Tanton, …
A New Look At Ethanol’s Net Energy
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to interview Merle Anderson for my Between the Lines blog (Three Pieces of Advice From the Father of Ethanol). For those who truly know, love and respect Merle, he is none other than the “Father of Ethanol”. It has been more than a year since I last caught up with him at the …
Food Prices on the Rise – Biofuels Not to Blame
Is the food versus fuel debate finally subsiding? It has been hanging around since 2008 when the Grocery Manufactures of America launched a coordinated attack on the ethanol industry blaming them for the rising cost of food. It turned out that the greatest offender was actually rising oil prices which topped out over $150 per barrel. This week, the Wall …
Sustainable Oils Leads in Camelina Biojet Fuel
Bozeman, Montana-based Sustainable Oils is working toward an important goal. They are working to produce advanced biofuels using sustainable methods and feedstocks. One of their prime energy crops is camelina, which has a naturally high oil content and relatively low input costs (the crop needs little water or fertilizer and is suited well to grow on marginal land). It is …
CARB Proposes LCFS Soil Sustainability Provisions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is far from over on discrediting biofuels as part of their mandated policy known as the Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS). For the past year, the ethanol industry has been embroiled in a fight for proper reflections of biofuel’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions, aka indirect land use. Now, CARB has created a working group …
More Transparency Needed Among Environmental Groups
I’m calling the environmental movement out for supporting nothing and opposing everything. Not too long ago, I was proud to call myself an environmentalist. Today, I’m bordering on embarrassed to admit that I support sustainability programs. The cause of my distress is what is happening under the carpet among environmental groups. On the surface, they look squeaky clean, but when …
Senator Reid Introduces Limited Energy Bill
With the climate bill in flux in the Senate, there are new concerns surfacing that climate legislation is dead in the water, stalling political efforts to revive the economy though the development of clean tech jobs. In response, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) responded last week by proposing a new piece of limited energy legislation that would limit offshore …