So many times, we talk about large biodiesel refineries coming online that will supply entire regions with the renewable fuel. But this little item in a local on-line paper caught my eye. The University of Wisconsin Extension Service is sponsoring at least two workshops… one at the Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton on March 27th and one in Dunn County on March 29th… teaching farmers how to brew their own biodiesel right on the farm.
The Dunn County News points out that Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, had intended for farmers to do just that… make their own fuel to run the tractors to work their farms. The article goes on to promise that at the upcoming workshops “farmers will get an unbiased, research-based look at what it takes to produce farm-based biodiesel”:
Jim Faust, UW Extension Ag Agent noted “There is a tremendous interest in biofuels, both among farmers, industry and government, whether it’s corn ethanol, biodiesel or ethanol from cellulose. It represents a potential win-win situation in terms of economic development in rural communities, reduction of greenhouse gases, as well as taking the U.S. on the road towards energy independence.
Wisconsin already has an aggressive plan for renewable energy. Governor Jim Doyle wants to replace 25% of the energy used in the state with energy from renewable sources, such as biodiesel and ethanol, by the year 2025 (see his plan here).
While these types of plans, such as the Wisconsin 2025 initiative and the big refineries, so often grab the headlines on this web site, it’s also the little initiatives such as the Wisconsin Extension Service’s attempt to teach farmers to make their own fuel that help chip away at that foreign fuel dependence.
Senator John Thune (R-SD) is asking federal officials to approve the use of a 20 percent blend of ethanol in vehicles.
Last year I covered what was then known as the 
“We have an opportunity to really bring about an economic renaissance to rural Illinois by the increased use of ethanol and biodiesel,” Boland said. “We know there are a number of new (ethanol and biodiesel) plants that are being constructed around the state. … What this does is, it brings hundreds of construction workers to small towns … and a permanent work force of anywhere from 35 to 75 workers.” 
Those are the words of Will Steger, famed Arctic explorer, now on a four-month-long, 1200-mile expedition across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island. 
So what is Steger trying to prove as today he and his sleddog team approach Iqaluit, Canada through -50 degree wind chills? Ironically enough, global warming. 
The ethanol industry, through the 
California-based Oryxe Energy International has announced that Texas has approved the company’s biodiesel fuel additive, ORYXE LED for Biodiesel, for use in the state. 
The 
Presidential candidate Barak Obama visited the nation’s number one ethanol producing state over the weekend. During his visit to Davenport, Iowa, he did an interview with local television station 
Lawmakers and special interests have been chiming in with reaction to the US-Brazil biofuels agreement announced last week.
During a press conference Friday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President Bush said, “I hope the citizens of Brazil, like the citizens of the United States, are as optimistic about the future as these two Presidents are. And one reason we’re optimistic is because we see the bright and real potential for our citizens being able to use alternative sources of energy that will promote the common good.”