biofuels

Producing electricity from the burning of wood, or biomass, has long been viewed as an environmentally friendly way of generating power. But now this once favored source of green energy is losing its luster . . .

Finding new sources of fuel is obviously a big priority these days. So it was encouraging to get news from the annual National Biodiesel Conference that progress continues on turning waste products into liquid fuel.

When you think of the military and the color green, you probably think of the Army and its use of camouflage. But how about the Navy?

Supporters of ethanol fuel claim that its widespread use has reduced gasoline prices in the U.S. But according to a study at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ethanol production has almost no impact on gas prices, and claims to the contrary omit important variables and rely on seriously flawed statistical data.

The Obama Administration’s anti-hydrocarbon ideology and “renewable” energy mythology continues to subsidize crony capitalists and the politicians they help keep in office – on the backs of American taxpayers, ratepayers and motorists. The latest chapter in the sorry ethanol saga is a perfect example. Bowing to pressure from ADM, Cargill, Growth Energy and other Big [...]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to allow a controversial blend of gasoline and ethanol to be sold in the U.S. could be headed for rough legal sledding. Federal appeals court judges recently heard a challenge to the Obama EPA’s approval of E15, a blend of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol, to be [...]

CHURCHVILLE, VA—U.S. Energy prices have risen to more than 6 percent of consumer spending—which may be a historic “tipping point.” Our food prices, meanwhile, have had their steepest increase in a generation, to about 6.5 percent of spending. That’s a double whammy consumers haven’t suffered since Jimmy Carter’s infamous “stagflation,” a painful mix of weak [...]

CHURCHVILLE, VA—A new study from the University of Illinois estimates that the world has more than 702 million hectares of marginal land suitable for growing biofuels. The researchers assessed land around the world based on its soil quality, slope, and regional climate. They added degraded or low-quality cropland but ruled out any good cropland, pasture, [...]

CHURCHVLLE, VA—Paul Krugman is a big deal: Princeton professor, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate (2008). Krugman wrote last week about the “food crisis, the second one to hit the world in the last three years.” His key statement: “what really stands out is the extent to which severe weather events have disrupted agricultural [...]

By Dave Juday Farm Futures magazine, in an article “Ethanol is Not to Blame for Egyptian Riots,” notes “as the unrest in Egypt continues and spreads, several theories are surfacing as to why the riots are happening. Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association says don’t blame American ethanol production.”  Moreover, the [...]

What am I missing? There must be some aspect of our insane energy policies that I fail to appreciate. “We the People” just booted a boatload of spendthrifts out of Congress, after they helped engineer a $1.3 trillion deficit on America’s FY-2010 budget and balloon our cumulative national debt to $13.7 trillion. The “bipartisan White House [...]

When it comes to alternative fuels, ethanol is the big leader. But with concern over how rising demand for this corn-based product is driving up food costs, much research is now being done to find other so-called “biomass” sources that can be turned into fuel.

Fears repercussions from angry motorists HOLGER J. THUSS (Jena) “ production may go down as one of the biggest blunders in history. An unholy alliance of environmentalists, agribusiness, biofuel corporations and politicians has been touting ethanol as the cure to all our environmental ills, when in fact it may be doing more harm than good. [...]