Syngenta has received the 2008 World Business and Development Award (WBDA) for the development and successful introduction of a new sugar beet that can be grown under tropical climate conditions and brings significant advantages to farmers, the environment, the sugar and ethanol industries and the economy.
The WBDA, presented by the United Nations Development Program, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Business Leaders Forum, acknowledge the contribution of the private sector to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. The award recognized Syngenta’s tropical sugar beet as “an example of technological innovation that helps increase sustainable agricultural productivity to meet the world’s growing demand for food, feed and fuel.”
It took Syngenta 11 years to develop the tropical sugar beet. In 2007, the beet was successfully introduced in India, where it is shown here being offloaded in a Syngenta press photo. In the State of Maharashtra, Syngenta helped a cooperative of more than 12,000 small farmers to build and operate plant that produces ethanol from Syngenta tropical beets. In Colombia, construction has started on two beet-to-ethanol plants, which are expected to start operations in 2009.
The fuel, produced from wheat straw at Iogen’s Ottawa demonstration facility, is being purchased by Shell for use in upcoming fuel applications. Iogen officials say the current purchase is the first of many opportunities for the companies to jointly showcase the technical and commercial viability of cellulosic ethanol.
The ads will be running on nationally syndicated shows including Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, in addition to local radio stations throughout the United States.
Officials in Snohomish County in Washington state are looking at making their own biodiesel for the future of energy for themselves… and they hope the rest of the country will look to them as the example of what energy independence could be.
“The American Soybean Association greatly appreciates the work of the Senate to extend the biodiesel tax credit,” said ASA President John Hoffman, a soybean producer from Waterloo, Iowa. “Passage of this legislation to extend the biodiesel tax credit enhances the viability of the U.S. biodiesel industry, which is an important market for U.S. soybean farmers. ASA now urges House members to swiftly pass the measure and send it to the President to be signed into law.”
A United Nations forum on Millennium Development Goals this week featured a discussion on energy and biofuels that allowed the CEO of world’s largest ethanol producing company a chance to share ideas on how ethanol can help address both poverty and energy dependence in developing nations.
“With a billion acres of idled cropland across the globe and the price of agricultural commodities above the cost of production for the first time in decades there is an unbelievable opportunity for underdeveloped countries to simultaneously lift people out of poverty and solve their crippling addiction to energy imports,” Broin said. 
The research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Cassman with the 
“We are glad to partner with the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition (GBC) and Western Convenience who are working to expand E85 throughout the state. “Together, we are making a difference for Colorado’s air quality and for consumers who support renewable fuel,” said Mark Sponsler, CEO of Colorado Corn. “Western Convenience, GBC, and auto industry leaders like GM have been outstanding partners in this effort.” 
Things could be looking up for renewal of renewable energy incentives as the U.S. Senate has approved $17 billion in tax credits for wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy systems.