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 to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offering their “comments on the critical issue of how to address the issue of indirect, market-mediated effects.”
Under the CARB Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) proposal, all fuels are assigned a “carbon score” to reward the least carbon intensive fuels. But only biofuels are being singled out for so-called “indirect effects,” which thereby gives petroleum products a better carbon score and a competitive advantage.
The scientists make two major compelling points regarding the indirect land use issue:
1. The science is far too limited and uncertain for regulatory enforcement
2. Indirect effects are often misunderstood and should not be enforced selectively
The scientists warn Gov. Schwarzenegger that the state’s proposal “creates an asymmetry or bias in a regulation designed to create a level playing field. It violates the fundamental presumption that all fuels in a performance-based standard should be judged the same way … Enforcing different compliance metrics against different fuels is the equivalent of picking winners and losers, which is in direct conflict with the ambition of the LCFS.”
Read the letter here.
The 
Legislation that would allow producers to make cellulosic ethanol out of waste wood from federal forest land was re-introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives. 
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) are co-sponsoring the 
At last week’s 
Dr. Ken Cassman of Univesity of Nebraska-Lincoln, is now scheduled to make a special presentation at the Nebraska Ethanol Board meeting on March 6. Dr. Cassman is the co-author of a study that found that corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 51 percent compared to gasoline. 
While you’re filling up, take part in a 30-second video contest and be eligible to win an Apple Macbook or one of several 500GB Passport hard drives. Contest details are available at 
Honda has announced that they plan to build a new R&D facility in Japan that will focus on producing biofuels from non-food feedstocks. The 1,050 m2 lab is expected to be completed and operating by November of this year. Honda has been working with the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth since 2006 and began operating an experimental production facility in 2007. 
After alluding to putting $15 billion in renewable energy development during his State of the Union Address (see 
The report earned praise from The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO):
Last summer, crude oil prices were skyrocketing to around $150 a barrel, and we were all sweating the $4-$5 a gallon fuel prices every time we pulled up to those gas pumps. It was during this time of anxiety that the debate around the role biodiesel and ethanol were playing in food price spikes that were also hitting everyone hard in the pocketbooks. Our friends at Farm Foundation took on this debate when they released in July 2008 the report, What’s Driving Food Prices?