Meet Merrill Eisenhower Atwater

Chuck Zimmerman

Dan & MerrillTravelling with the convoy is Merrill Eisenhower Atwater (right), great grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower. Here he’s talking with transportation author, Dan McNichol.

Getting to know Merrill, a fellow Missourian, has been one of the treats on this trip. I finally got to interview him this evening. He’ll be taking a “swing” route with a small group from the convoy through Denver and Kansas City tomorrow while the main convoy moves into Nebraska.

Merrill has political aspirations and judging by what I’ve seen and heard he’s going to be a very successful politician. He’s here not just because of his connection to the man who is credited with creating the Interstate Highway System but because he believes more attention needs to be placed on it and that too many people take it for granted.

Hear more from Merrill: Listen to MP3 Merrill Eisenhower Atwater Interview (5 min MP3)

Merrill is one of the people blogging the convoy trip. You can find a link to his blog here.

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio

Dan McNichol On Eisenhower

Chuck Zimmerman

Dan McNicholAt the Interstate Perspectives symposium in Cheyenne, noted transportation author, Dan McNichol, who is a convoy participant and driver, spoke to the crowd.

Dan talked about President Eisenhower and how and why he worked so hard to create a cross country highway system. To find out how entertaining Dan can be you can watch a portion of his presentation here: Watch wmv file Dan McNichol Speaks (3 min WMV)

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Video

Interstate Perspectives Symposium

Chuck Zimmerman

Interstate PerspectivesAfter arriving at Cheyenne, WY the interstate convoy attended an evening symposium called, “Interstate Perspectives.” We heard from highway historians and people who have worked on building the highways.

Well over 100 people attended to learn more about the highway system we’re travelling on.

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Uncategorized

Broin Pushes Billion Gallon Mark

Cindy Zimmerman

Broin Companies The Broin Companies are approaching a milestone. According to a release from the development, production, management, and marketing firm, “combining the production from plants now in operation and those currently under construction, the Broin Companies will push past the one billion gallon mark in annual ethanol production.” As the second largest producer in the industry, the Broin Companies have designed and constructed 23 operating ethanol plants and currently have nine projects under construction or development.

Ethanol, Production

Wyoming Ethanol Visits Convoy

Chuck Zimmerman

Bill Newman and MeAt our morning press conference today, Bill Newman (left), Safety Manager for Wyoming Ethanol drove up in Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal’s E85 GM Avalanche. It was nice to see someone from the ethanol industry on hand. The Wyoming Department of Transportation pointed the vehicle out to attendees and the brightly wrapped truck caught a lot of eyes.

Bill followed the convoy on to Cheyenne after the event. Before leaving though I asked Bill a few questions, including telling us a little about Wyoming Ethanol.

Listen to Bill: Listen to MP3 Bill Newman Interview (1 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio, Ethanol

WYDOT Press Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

John CoxWelcoming the AASHTO Convoy Crew to Wyoming today was John Cox, Director of the Wyoming Dept. of Transportation. We had a press conference at a rest stop at 8,600 ft., the highest spot on I-80.

John said he appreciates how the convoy is raising awareness of the interstate highway system and the role it plays in commerce coast to coast.

Listen to John’s comments here: Listen to MP3 WYDOT Director John Cox Remarks (2 min MP3)

BTW. John mentioned our fortune for the good weather we had (at that moment). It changed. By the time we got to our lunch we had a rain shower and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees. Then just before we got back on the highway the sun came back out and it warmed up again. I guess that’s life on the mountain top.

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio

Coal Powered Ethanol Plant Planned for NE

Cindy Zimmerman

Alcorn Plans for a 125-million-gallon ethanol plant in Nebraska that will use coal as its primary energy source were announced this week by the Phelps County Development Corp, and Alcorn Energy LLC of Troy, Mich. According to a Kearney (NE) Hub news story, Alcorn Energy Chief Executive Officer Tom Randazzo said the large local supply of corn was one of the most important considerations in choosing the Phelps County site. “We are excited to also announce that Alcorn Energy has formed a strategic alliance with Agri Co-op to supply all the corn for our plant operation,” Randazzo said.

Ethanol

Next Generation of Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

Pioneer DuPont and BP are partnering up to develop, produce and market “the next generation of biofuels” to help meet increasing global demand for renewable transport fuels. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont, is playing a role in this new partnership, according to Pioneer President Dean Oestreich. He says the first jointly developed product the partnership will bring to market is biobutanol. “Butanol is simply another molecule that is different than ethanol, but it’s also a fuel. And what we’ve done here is we’ve found a way, through use of our science, to make the process more efficient and economically viable.” Oestreich says biobutanol and ethanol in a blend can actually make a better fuel.
Here’s an inteview with Oestreich about the announcement and the potential for biobutanol. Listen to MP3 Pioneer Interview (7 min MP3)

Audio, Energy

FL Governor Signs Energy Bill at Ethanol Plant Site

Cindy Zimmerman

US EnviroFuels The planned site of Florida’s first major ethanol facility served as the backdrop for Governor Jeb Bush this week as he signed into law the four-year, $100 million Florida Renewable Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency Act, designed to encourage the development of alternative fuel technologies in the state.
U.S. EnviroFuels is planning a 40 million gallon per year facility at Tampa Bay’s Port Sutton (see previous post). The company is expected to break ground in August, and begin operations by October 2007. Read more in this Tampa Bay Business Journal article.

Ethanol

Tailgating With The Commissioner

Chuck Zimmerman

Commissioner of TailgatingMaking our arrival in Laramie, WY enjoyable was the Commissioner of Tailgating, Joe Cahn.

Joe is a chef who travels the interstate meeting interesting people and tailgating at every chance. He’s going to do this for us again in Omaha with a “Taste of America.” I asked him to tell people that besides the corn he will roast, it can also be made into ethanol to fuel the cars and trucks that get you to the tailgate party.

Here’s what Joe had to say yesterday: Listen to MP3 Commissioner Cahn Interview (3 min MP3)

Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio