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Movie Review – Carbon Nation

Joanna Schroeder

I took a brief break from my 2012 La Nina Reading list to watch a documentary on climate change.  Carbon Nation touts itself as a “climate change solutions movie that doesn’t even care if you believe in climate change.” Yet this movie does care about climate change.  The narrator says, “We thought we had time to figure things out. Trouble is there is no more time. Climate change is happening now.”

The movie features many of the same players and same technologies as other films – Lester Brown, Van Jones (who just released Rebuild the Dream, which I will be reviewing soon), Amory Lovins, and Thomas Friedman.  In terms of technologies, it covers wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, and it also has sections that discuss land use, deforestation, transportation, and energy efficiency.

The movie was well done, interesting and had great graphics. In addition, I really liked some of the people who were interviewed – real down to earth people who are taking clean technologies into their own hands. The other thing I liked about the movie was the way it broke down how each technology or action will or can affect carbon.

What do I mean?

For example, globally, the world uses 16 terawatts (TWh) of energy each year. Of those, it is estimated that when fully developed, solar could produce 86,000 TWh, geothermal 32 THw, and wind 870 THw. In other words, these three technologies alone could replace all fossil fuel based energy and leave room for growth. This doesn’t even include the amount of energy saved and carbon reduced when you factor in gains from energy efficiency and land use strategies.

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book reviews, Carbon, Environment, global warming, Video

Nevada Opens New Gas-to-Energy Plant

Joanna Schroeder

Waste Management has opened another gas-to-energy power plant in northern Nevada at its Lockwood Landfill.  The landfill gas will be captured and converted to electricity – enough to power more than 1,800 homes.  Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval was on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first of its kind of project in the state.

When organic materials break down, they create a gas comprised of nearly 55 percent methane gas (a gas more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change).  The gas is captured via collection wells strategically placed around the landfill and then pipe the gas to the power plant. Once the gas arrives, it is used to fuel two generators.  It is estimated that the electricity produced will offset around 700 railcars of coal.

“The Gas-To-Energy Facility at the Lockwood Landfill ensures that not even garbage will go to waste,” said Justin Caporusso, Waste Management spokesperson. “By investing in landfill gas-to-energy, we are powering homes using the same waste that is left at the curb.”

Waste Management (WM) cites some benefits of the project including the plant is not dependent on other sources of energy like wind or solar; it’s reliable during peak energy hours; it’s an economical alternative to other fuel sources such as natural gas; and it’s endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency.  In total, WM operates 131 landfill gas-to-energy facilities across North America equating to more than 9 million mW hours of electricity per year.

Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy for WM added, “Waste Management has been developing landfill gas-to-energy technology for over two decades, and we operate more of these facilities than any other company in the United States. As a leader in this industry, we understand how landfills operate and how to use technology to extract the most value from the waste stream.”

biomethane, Electricity, Waste-to-Energy

Lots of Ag Job Opportunities & Energy Near Top of List

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Where are best job opportunities in agribusiness?” Some people have become doubtful of the opportunities in the industry for some reason. They shouldn’t have those doubts though. Here’s what our poll results showed. Most picked Biotech at 28% with Energy coming in second at 21%. They were followed by Agronomy at 17%, Sales/Marketing/Communications at 15%, Dairy at 7% and both Crop Protection and Equipment at 6% each.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Would you be willing to donate the proceeds from one acre of your farm to help your local food bank?” Let us know what you think and thanks to everyone who participates in our weekly poll!

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Book Review – Roosters of The Apocalypse

Joanna Schroeder

The second book in my  2012 La Nina Reading List was “Roosters of The Apocalypse,” by Rael Jean Isaac. This book could be a dictionary definition of “opposite” as compared to Climate Wars. Where Climate Wars is on the far right side of hysteria of the evils of climate change, Roosters of The Apocalypse is on the far left side of hysteria that it is a major, orchestrated hoax upon the world that is costing us billions upon billions of dollars.

So what is a rooster anyway? Isaac quotes Richard Landes who describes “those who initiate and build support for these movements as roosters (aka Al Gore) for they crow an exciting new message, and their opponents as owls, gloomsters counseling caution and skepticism (Real Issac).” Issac weaves the message of the Xhosa throughout the book, a parable about an orphan girl’s vision of truth. I can’t tell you her truth because I was unable to follow the thread. Rather than explain it in one section, she drops little nuggets of the story throughout the book and not in a clear, concise way.  I could have looked up the story on Google, but quite frankly, I’m far to lazy to go to the trouble.

Anyway, the key to building momentum is getting “elites” to join the cause. Al Gore, or U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid would be considered rooster elites.  Once that happens, ordinary people will join in.  Isaac tells the story of how the prophecy of global climate change caught fire and spread around the world in breathtaking speed.  While doing this, she deconstructs all the “deceptive techniques” and fakery” used by organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). I won’t rehash the scandal involved in their report but the bottom line was accusers claim they fudged the numbers to support climate change.

It is no doubt that those on the “right side of green” will make millions on global climate change.  Read More

book reviews, Environment, Opinion

Incentives and Fuel Demand Boost Biofuels

Joanna Schroeder

According to a new report from GlobalData, government incentives and fuel demand are helping to boost biofuels markets. “Biofuels (Biodiesel and Bioethanol) Market – Global Production, Regulations, Export-Import Analysis and Key Country Analysis to 2020,” found that countries in Europe, Asia and North America (U.S.) are heavily involved in biofuel production – both ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol production globally began in ernst in 2003 and has grown significantly with the help of government subsidies. Canada and China both have blending targets, as well as the U.S. who passed a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) to drive the use of biofuels. In 2003, production numbers were 33,514 million liters and grew to 105,608 million liters by 2011. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) was 15.4 percent during this time period and the report expects production to grow another 4.4 percent between 2011-2020.

Biodiesel production picked up speed on a global level in 2005, and has also seen various government subsidies and incentives spurring growth. Key biodiesel exporters in 2010 were Germany, China, the Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium and the U.S. In 2005, global production of biodiesel was 4,854 million liters, and grew to 23,579 million liters by 2011. Biodiesel boasted a CAGR rate of 30.1 percent and is expected to grow an additional 3.5 percent between 2011-2020 for an annual production level of 4,205 million liters.

The report says the the growth demonstrates the importance of government and environmental policy for the current growth of the industry. It also concludes that future production increases will be dependent on similar support from global governments.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Research

Ethanol Report on Support for Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Report PodcastA new poll showing strong support for renewable fuels validates some of the most important ethanol industry legislative priorities – including maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), commercializing E15, providing incentives for the development of cellulosic ethanol, limiting tax incentives for the oil industry, and requiring automobile manufacturers to build cars that will run on fuel sources other than oil.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about the poll results and what they mean in this edition of “The Ethanol Report.”

Listen to or download the Ethanol Report here: Ethanol Report on Poll Results

Subscribe to the Ethanol Report here.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

New Poll Shows Support for Renewable Fuels

Cindy Zimmerman

A new poll from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) indicates overwhelming support by Americans for renewable fuels.

The poll, conducted by American Viewpoint, shows American voters are supportive of the key federal policy driving renewable fuel innovation in America today – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with a full 61% percent of adults polled saying they supported it.

RFA“Poll after poll consistently demonstrates that Americans of all stripes believe we must be pursuing the production and use of renewable fuels to reduce our dependence on imported oil,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS is a critical component to the continued growth and innovation of this industry. The RFS ensures that ample supplies of renewable fuels like ethanol are available today and that new and promising renewable fuel technologies will have a market in the future. The RFS has proven effective in addressing America’s goals by helping reduce volumes of imported oil, create jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuel.”

Americans also showed a strong desire to increase their use of domestic ethanol. When asked how likely they would be to purchase a fuel with more domestic ethanol when available (specifically E15), 58% of respondents said they were very likely or somewhat likely.

Participants in the poll responded very favorably to the continued efforts to bring cellulosic ethanol production to commercial scale through the use of targeted tax policies. Sixty-five percent said they supported such incentives to help expand cellulosic ethanol production. By comparison, 69% said they opposed tax subsidies and other incentives for petroleum companies. Finally, respondents expressed strong support for greater choice when pulling up to the pump. Seventy-five percent of those polled said they would support requiring automakers to build cars to run on fuel sources other than oil. The RFA has been a strong and early champion of the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) that would accomplish this exact goal.

The poll results come on the eve of the RFA’s inaugural Washington Legislative Forum being held tomorrow, April 18th, at the Newseum in Washington , DC where Attendees will hear from congressional and administration officials about legislative priorities outlined in the poll and the chances for any legislative action regarding these priorities in 2012. Following the meeting, RFA members will take to Capitol Hill to meet with dozens of lawmakers on issues important to America’s renewable fuel industry.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, Research, RFA

Celebrate Global Wind Day

Joanna Schroeder

Did you know that June 15 is Global Wind Day? Well now that you do, there are many fun activities you can take part in to learn more about wind power.

The event is coordinated by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) along with the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). This year, they are holding a photo competition.  To enter, find a way to convey wind energy technology in a new way. You can capture the turbines at dawn or capture the activities that take place around a wind turbine or in any way your heart desires.

Once you get your award winning picture, submit your photo to the Global Wind Day website. The winner will receive a  €1,000 Amazon voucher and the winning photo will become part of online professional photography archive.  The photo will also be published in Recharge and Wind Directions magazines.  Five runners up will get a voucher worth €250.

Yet what might be the coolest aspect of the competition is that all photos will be displayed in the European Union section of the event being held in Brussels.  The deadline for submissions is May 6th so you’d better start snapping away!

Electricity, Energy, Wind

New Production Poll from BASF

Cindy Zimmerman

BASFWith the 2012 crop year now underway, we’re introducing the BASF Production Poll. This new poll will be conducted twice each month during the season with timely questions that we think both farmers and non-farmers alike will find interesting. We’d love to hear from you. So let’s get started with our first one.


Please let us know if you have any questions about the poll.

BASF, corn, Farming

Wind Energy ‘Green Growth’ Report Released

Joanna Schroeder

The wind energy industry contributed $32 billion Euros to the European Union’s (EU) gross domestic product (GDP) between 2007 and 2010. In addition, the industry grew more than twice that of the EU’s GDP overall. The information is part of the ‘Green Growth‘ report that was released today during the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) International Conference.

The report also determined that the number of people employed in the wind energy industry increased by 30 percent from 2007 to 2010 with approximately 240,000 people employed in the field. It is estimated that there will be nearly 520,000 jobs in the sector by 2020.

The industry was a net exporter of 5.7 billion Euros worth of goods and services in 2010 while the energy created avoided 5.71 billion euros of fuel costs in the same year. In addition, the industry invested approximately 5 percent of its spending back into research and development (R&D), while on average, wind turbine manufacturers invested close to 10 percent of their revenue back to R&D.

“Wind energy is a recession-busting industry,” said Arthouros Zervos, President of EWEA. “It is countering the recession – providing increasing economic activity, more jobs and exports every year to an EU struggling with an economic crisis intensified by ever increasing amounts of fuel being imported at rising costs to European citizens.”

To ensure the continued growth of the industry, Green Growth states that several things must happen including stable national renewable energy frameworks; a post 2020 energy policy with a binding renewables target for 2030; a joined up European power grid and single energy market; a more ambitious 30 percent greenhouse gas reduction target for 2020; and sufficient and dedicated EU funding for wind energy research.

Electricity, Energy, Research, Wind