How we develop rural jobs as the country moves to a bioeconomy was the latest subject tackled today at the Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Impacts Conference in St. Louis.
One of the key speakers during this session was USDA’s Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr, who talked about how we need to move forward and be aggressive… even in light of the recent stock market turbulence.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we have to move forward,” says Dorr. He says with the U.S. importing $700 billion in foreign oil… many times from those who would wish us harm… it has become an energy security and national security issue. “Why would we want to subject our kids and grandkids to that sort of dependency?”
Dorr admits that it might be easier said than done, “but there are an extraordinary numbers of hard working people who keep their shoulder to the wheel all the time to make these things work. That’s the American way.”
No matter if Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama wins the election in less than three weeks, there will be a new administration in Washington, DC. Dorr expects plenty of policy debates, much like the debate we’re hearing at today’s conference, as the new administration moves forward. He believes that biofuels will be a major point for whomever is the next one to sit in the Oval Office.
Listen to more of my conversation with Dorr here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/ThomasDorr.mp3]
How do we meet carbon reduction goals?
One of the presenters, John Reilly from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), says we must be careful we’re not expanding one environmentally-friendly source just to infringe on another area of the environment.
A fascinating discussion this morning at the opening session of the Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts conference here in St. Louis.
Kitty Smith with the USDA’s Economic Research Service and chair of the “The Bioeconomy & the Environment” session says biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are a much better alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels.
The latest in a series of Farm Foundation-sponsored meetings on how to transition the country to a bioeconomy is about to get underway this morning in St. Louis, Mo.
New specifications for biodiesel have been published by one of the most highly regarded standard development organizations in the world.
The move is seen as a benefit to biodiesel makers, consumers, as well as engine and vehicle manufacturers. It received praise in 
Levin and his Republican opponent, Jack Hoogendyk, both say the U.S. must reduce its dependence on imported oil. But they disagree on whether drilling should be allowed in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and what should be done to prompt alternative energy development.
A police car, designed from the ground up specifically for law enforcement officers and will run on biodiesel, will debut during a nationwide tour starting tomorrow (Oct. 14th).
The latest in a series of conferences sponsored by the Farm Foundation on how this country can transition to a bioeconomy takes place this week in St. Louis, Mo.