Book Review – The Party’s Over

Joanna Schroeder

partys-over-cover-vsmI went back in time this week (if you can call five years ago back in time) and read Richard Heinberg’s, “The Party’s Over“.  I was curious to see how the thinking about our addiction to fossil fuels and the need to adopt renewable energy has changed. Well, it really hasn’t.

Like many other authors who wrote books about oil during this time frame, Heinberg talked a lot about America’s (and the world’s) love affair with oil and discussed, at length, when America and the world would succumb to peak oil. Since most people have come to terms with the theory that we’ve already seen peak oil, most authors don’t focus on this issue any longer. From there he focused on the current and future technologies of renewable energy sources.

It’s interesting to note that Heinberg is a follower of population reduction, a concept that is mentioned in several occasions in the book I reviewed last week, “Green Hell”. Heinberg argues that the ideal population level is around two billion people. This would be a reduction of nearly four billion people. Based on the fact that the world has limited resources (he disagrees with the fact that we can keep saving ourselves with technology) he lists five things our leaders should logically and morally be compelled to do.

  1. Adopt the ethic of sustainability in all aspects of thinking.
  2. Institute systematic efforts to improve efficiency in the use of efforts.
  3. Encourage the rapid development and deployment of all varieties of renewable energy.
  4. Systematically discourage (through taxes) the consumption of nonrenewable resources.
  5. Find humane ways to encourage a reduction in human fertility in all countries, so as to reduce the population over time.

The first four in the list are a common theme among authors but where he differs is calling for leaders to reduce the popluation in a humane way. I’m not convinced forced population reduction is humane, period.

Heinberg may have been a little ahead of the energy debate so he published follow-up to this book – “Power Down“. Heinberg powerdown-cover-vsmhas been writing and teaching in sustainability and energy for many years to agree or disagree with him, he is one to watch.

You can buy this book or any book I review here. Also, if there is a book you’d like me to review, contact me at jms@4RCommunications.com.

book reviews

New Iowa Ethanol Plant Begins Production

Cindy Zimmerman

In a time when many plants are shutting down, a new ethanol plant near New Hampton, Iowa has started production.

homeland energyThe Homeland Energy Solutions will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol annually, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), which congratulated the company for its accomplisment this week.

“It’s been a difficult time for the ethanol industry, but Homeland Energy Solutions is proof that we are working through it and finding ways to succeed,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “This locally-owned ethanol refinery will buy Iowa corn and provide good paying jobs in rural Iowa. Homeland Energy Solutions is a welcome addition to Iowa’s growing industry.”

Homeland Energy Solutions Board Chair Steve Eastman said they are excited to start production. “And we are grateful that we missed the commodity boom and bust of 2008 that whiplashed so much of the ethanol industry,” said Eastman. “While margins remain tight, we feel well positioned going forward.”

Fagen, Inc., the Granite Falls, Minnesota design-build contractor, oversaw the construction and incorporated a process design provided by ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas.

Ethanol, Facilities

Sign Petition for 15 Percent Ethanol Blend

Cindy Zimmerman

ACEThe American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has launched a petition drive calling on EPA to allow blends of up to 15 percent ethanol in regular gasoline.

According to ACE organizers, the on-line petition has gathered over 4500 signatures from nearly every state. “ACE wants to gather as many signatures as possible to demonstrate to Congress, the White House, EPA, and the media that Americans want more ethanol,” they said.

The petition states:

I believe we should be allowed to choose more clean, American-made renewable fuel for our cars. The federal government arbitrarily limits the use of ethanol in a gallon of gasoline to just 10 percent, a regulation that is standing in the way of new green jobs, jeopardizing progress toward advanced biofuels, and putting energy security at risk. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering whether to allow the use of up to 15 percent ethanol, which would enable consumers to choose between fuels that contain no ethanol and any blend up to 15%.

Sign the petition on-line here.

ACE, Ethanol

Local Lung Associations: Biodiesel Key to Clean Air

John Davis

americanlungassocA report by the American Lung Association says that the air in America is pretty bad. But local associations of that parent organization believe that biodiesel is key to cleaning it up.

The State of the Air Report 2009 was shown during the American Lung Association of the District of Columbia’s recent (ALADC) news conference, as touted in this National Biodiesel Board press release:

stateof-theair2009“Give your support to any effort to advance technology that emit lower levels of pollution like biodiesel,” said [Professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the Howard University College of Medicine and Vice Chairman-Elect of ALADC Dr. Bailus Walker, Jr.]. He also showed attendees the Journal of Inhalation and Toxicology published issue on biodiesel that resulted from a summit the ALADC and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest convened in 2006.

nbb-logo2National Biodiesel Board member Ben Wootton of Keystone Biodiesel attended the ALADC news conference. The company will be supplying fuel for the District of Columbia, which is preparing to switch to a biodiesel blend. Wootton, an asthma sufferer, became interested in working in the biodiesel industry after learning about biodiesel’s air quality benefits.

Biodiesel is a sustainable, renewable alternative to diesel fuel that reduces most regulated emissions substantially, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter and unburned hydrocarbons.

“With biodiesel, America can produce its own cleaner-burning diesel alternative that helps clean up the air with existing vehicles,” said Joe Jobe, National Biodiesel Board CEO. “Biodiesel is a natural solution to help achieve lung associations’ goals to reduce air pollution and safeguard our health. We are grateful for their support and applaud their vision for a cleaner future.”

The NBB points out that biodiesel reduces air toxins by 90 percent and significantly cuts down on the compounds linked to cancer. In addition, breathing the smoke from petroleum diesel exhaust can trigger an asthma attack, while biodiesel reduces that particulate matter triggering those attacks up to 40 percent.

Biodiesel, NBB

Alt Energy Part of Farm Foundation Competition

John Davis

30-yearchallengeMeeting the challenge of providing the world’s food, feed, fiber and, especially, fuel is what’s facing the American farmer today, and it’s part of a competition the Farm Foundation is sponsoring.

Last December, the Farm Foundation put out a report entitled The 30-Year Challenge: Agriculture’s Strategic Role in Feeding and Fueling a Growing World, where the group outlined six challenge areas facing American farmers: global financial markets and recession; global food security; global energy security; climate change; competition for natural resources; and global economic development (see my posts on Domestic Fuel and AgWired.com). To help come up with solutions, earlier this spring the Farm Foundation came up with a competition, which will hand out cash prizes totaling $20,000 and has a looming deadline of June 1, 2009:

“Agriculture globally faces the challenge of how to provide food to a world that is expected to have 9 billion people by 2040,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This challenge exists at the same time that we are already seeing pressures on global resources, as well as increased demand for agriculture to provide not only food, but feed, fiber and fuel.

“It is not clear that today’s public policies-designed to deal with issues of the last century-provide appropriate tools and incentives to address the challenges of the next 30 years,” Conklin continues. “Farm Foundation is offering this competition as a catalyst for innovative ideas and approaches.”

For more information, check the Farm Foundation’s 30-Year Challenge Web site.

Farm Foundation

Criticisms of Sperling’s Role in the LCFS Heating Up

Joanna Schroeder

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 huge set-back for the corn-ethanol industry in California, but even more so in light that other states and/or the federal government may adopt similar if not identical standards.

So, how does someone with such an outspoken, biased view have such prominent role in developing this legislation? Most people would consider this a conflict of interest.

I don’t have a crystal ball so I can’t answer that question, but I can tell you that Sperling founded and runs the Institute for Governor Schwarzenegger UCD visitTransportation Studies whose main research focus is hydrogen fuels (including from coal), natural gas fuels and fuel cells. Don’t forget California’s Hydrogen Highway and Gov. Schwarzenegger’s hydrogen powered Hummer. I surmise that Sperling had a major role in the support of a statewide hydrogen initiative.

Now I can’t criticize Sperling for supporting hydrogen. Many supporters of renewable energy support hydrogen for valid reasons but according to experts it is still 20 years away. Everyone must understand that it’s going to take all kinds of technologies to help us move away from fossil fuels – there is no silver bullet. Corn-ethanol is not perfect but it has a positive impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions and has offset some of our need to purchase foreign oil. In the future, biofuels will continue to play a major role. It is not in the best interest of our country to adopt the attitude, “Let’s wait and see. Something will save us.” We don’t have to wait. We have great technology right now.

So the moral? When making policy decisions, we need people who have an open mind, and are willing to review both current and future technologies and the roles they will play in our new energy economy.

biofuels, Hydrogen, Opinion

FedEx Announces “30 by 30” Initiative

Joanna Schroeder

fedex-logojpeg1During a recent session of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aviation forum, FedEx announced that it has a goal of using renewable fuels for 30 percent of its fuel needs by 2030. The company is confident that this action will both reduce air-transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to a New York Times article published yesterday, CEO Fred Smith cited using biodiesel derived from jatropha, ethanol produced from switchgrass and other second-generation biofuels to help reduce CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases that are prevalent in petroleum based fuels.

However, Smith did cite a caveat for adoption and use of biofuels, “These non-fossil fuels must be capable of being easily mixed with existing petroleum aviation fuels that use existing infrastructure,” he said.

President Obama has demonstrated his strong support of environmental and renewable energy initiatives during his first 100 days in office, and most experts have given him high praise. But with the majority of federal legislation favoring next generation biofuels, Smith suggested to the administration that they need to dedicate more significant dollars to fund research, development and deployment of these alternative fuels.

Another effort to curb FedEx’s energy use is to also replace older planes with new ones that use less fuel and fewer emissions. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, aviation fuel use accounts for approximately 10 percent greenhouse gas emisions from the transportaton sector.

It is hoped that Fed-Ex’s annoncement will encourage others in the aviation industry to follow suit.

Biodiesel, Company Announcement, Ethanol

Ethanol Petition Comment Period Extension Requested

Cindy Zimmerman

epaMore than 30 organizations are requesting an extension of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comment period for a petition that would increase the permitted amount of ethanol in gasoline from its current 10 percent level to 15 percent. The organizations signing on to the request range from livestock and meat associations to food processors, environmental groups and representatives of boats and small engine makers.

In a letter addressed to the EPA Docket Clerk, the organizations expressed their appreciation of agency’s efforts in soliciting comments on this waiver application. However, “because of the complexity and highly technical nature of the application’s potential implications, a 60-day extension would be needed, given the diverse array of parties that would be impacted, as well as the limited time to review.”

The EPA Docket No: [EPA–HQ–OAR–2009–0211; FRL–8894–5], “Notice of Receipt of a Clean Air Act Waiver Application to Increase the Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to 15 Percent; Request for Comment,” was published in the Federal Register on April 21, 2009.

Ethanol, Government

Corn Farmers Provides Facts About Land Use

Cindy Zimmerman

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.

Corn Farmers Coalition“It’s a little known fact that we are growing five times as much corn as our grandfathers did in the 1930s on 20 percent less land,” says Mark Lambert, director of the Corn Farmers Coalition (CFC), a recently-formed alliance of the National Corn Growers Association and 10 state corn associations.

CFC is working on getting facts like that out to policy makers on the state and national level as the indirect land use issue gains traction in determining the use of renewable fuels like ethanol, especially as the EPA must take that into consideration when implementing the new Renewable Fuels Standard. National Corn Growers Association first vice president Darrin Ihnen says, “Let’s not make critical decisions like this without all the facts at hand and without a fair comparison of what it takes to make a gallon of gas to a gallon of ethanol.”

The CFC is providing input to EPA on both the RFS and increasing the ethanol blend rate to 15 percent. “All we ask is that they consider the facts,” Lambert says.

corn, Ethanol, Farming, Government, Indirect Land Use

African Nations Join Global Renewable Fuels Group

Cindy Zimmerman

Global RFAFourteen southern African nations are now members of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance.

The Southern African Biofuels Alliance has joined forces alliance to help “promote biofuels friendly policies throughout the world.”

Andrew Makenete, President of the Southern African Biofuels Association (SABA) called on other nations to speak out in favour of policies that would promote investment in biofuels particularly in developing countries.

South African biofuels“Biofuels represent an enormous opportunity for developing countries particularly those reliant on crude imports,” Makenete explained. “A sustainable biofuels industry utilizing multiple feedstocks will attract investments in agriculture, reduce our reliance on imported energy and improve income levels. This is a win, win, win for developing countries.”

The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance represents over 65% of the global biofuels production from 43 countries including Canada, the United States, Argentina, 22 European countries and now 14 African nations. Through the development of new technologies and best practices, Alliance members are committed to producing renewable fuels with the smallest possible ecological footprint.

biofuels, Ethanol, International, RFA