Free Republic

Along with Russia, Venezuela, Iran and the Dubai property market, add another name to the list of bubble economies hurt by the falling price of oil: the ethanol industry. And naturally, the ethanol lobby is looking for a bailout on top of its regular taxpayer subsidies. The commodity bust has clobbered corn ethanol, whose energy inefficiencies require high oil prices to be competitive. The price of ethanol at the pump has fallen nearly in half in recent months to $1.60 from $2.90 per gallon due to lower commodity prices, and that lower price now barely covers production costs even after...

A jury sentenced a Lakeview man to 10 years in prison for growing nearly 7,500 marijuana plants. Andrew Stever, 40, was sentenced on Monday after a three-day trial in the Federal District Court in Medford.Ten years is the mandatory minimum sentence for anyone convicted of growing 1,000 or more pot plants. In July 2007, officers from several local, state and federal agencies found 7,459 plants growing on Stever's Lakeview property, which bordered Forest Service land. Two men fled the scene, leaving behind personal property and three firearms, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Portland. Physical evidence and testimony linked...

DES MOINES, Iowa - President-elect Barack Obama has selected former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary, according to Democratic sources familiar with the selection process. Obama will announce the appointment of Vilsack on Wednesday, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the selection before the announcement. Vilsack will be the fourth former opponent of Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries to join his new administration. Others include Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been tapped for secretary of state, and New Mexico Gov. Bill...

Daredevil SAS man-turned-explorer Bear Grylls was being airlifted to South Africa last night after being badly injured filming a TV documentary in Antarctica. The 34-year-old adventurer broke his shoulder in a life-threatening fall and was said to be in ‘shock and agony’ from a serious fracture which left the bone protruding from his body. The accident happened at 11pm British time on Friday, and Bear’s insurance company arranged for his evacuation by air ambulance for urgent medical treatment, at an estimated cost of £60,000. Daredevil: Bear Grylls broke his shoulder Bear was injured during the making of his latest daredevil...

Where I live (the middle of nowhere), we were at the bottom of the list for having the 90% gasoline 10% corn ethanol brew at our local filling stations. This well-intentioned big-government mandate did eventually find us, however, and because I keep records of car mileage and fuel purchases, I can now affirm that the gas-ethanol mix does reduce fuel mileage. So I did some calculating, and . . . Oops! Looks like I’m "saving" the environment at the rate of using four additional 4 gallons of high-test per annum. And in the process, causing hunger in third-world countries because...

It's time to start reflecting on the past year, and I want to kick mine off with some admissions on places where I was flat wrong. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs - boy, did I get on that train. When I found out that those little bulbs operated at roughly 1/3 the wattage of normal bulbs and they lasted for 5 years, I ran out and outfitted the entire house with them. I'm not some earth-worshiping, tree-hugging, enviro-nazi, by the way. I'm just a guy who loves technology, electronics, and efficiency, and who doesn't like to change light bulbs. One place...

The use of ethanol and other renewable fuels supposedly helps gasoline burn cleaner creating less pollution. It also reduces America's reliance upon foreign oil. Last Monday the Environmental Protection Agency increased the amount of renewable automobile fuels required to be sold in the United States next year from 7.8 percent to 10.2 percent of the 138.5 billion gallons of gasoline projected to be consumed. This mandate mainly directs that higher levels of ethanol be mixed with gasoline. The higher standard is required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, a law that requires the increased use of renewable...

Once upon a time, ethanol was seen as the future of clean energy and as leading the U.S. to energy independence. That was 2004, but Wall Street wised up fast that ethanol was ready for a bust. So, in 2006 and 2007, when Wall Street firms started investing their own money in renewable energy companies, they left ethanol far behind. snip It is one of the few things Wall Street investment banks have gotten right lately, while private investors including Bill Gates and Richard Branson were bullish on ethanol as recently as January. We were thinking of this in reading...

A boy is seen standing in a field in southern Ethiopia. As impoverished and landlocked Ethiopia was choked by high oil prices, the government allocated more than 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) for biofuel crops development as part of a national strategy enacted last year With a slight reeling in his gait, Ashenafi Chote ventures into his small plot of land and shakes his head, his eyes full of regret: "I made a mistake". For the last 10 years, his plot in southern Ethiopia had kept his family of four alive by supplying enough food to eat and even surplus to...

According to a VeraSun press release, a “series of events” had shrunk its liquidity, impairing its ability to invest in production facilities and operate its business. “A dramatic spike in corn costs,” partly due to its hedging arrangements and “worsening capital market conditions and a tightening of trade credit resulted in severe constraints on the company’s liquidity position,” the release said The statement went on to say that the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based company said it planned to maintain operations while the company and 24 of its subsidiaries reorganize. In addition it expects to reach a deal with lenders on additional...

The pilot scale plant is expected to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn stover and switchgrass. DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol and and the University of Tennessee have broken ground on their planned pilot scale biorefinery in Vonore, Tenn. DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol was formed earlier this year as a 50-50 joint venture between Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont (NYSE: DD), the No. 3 chemical maker in the U.S., and Copenhagen, Denmark's Danisco, one of the world's largest producers of food ingredients (see Another cellulosic powerhouse formed). The two copmanies have put an initial $140 million into the venture, which will have its headquarters...

Energy took center stage in the final US presidential debate Wednesday night as both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama pledged to eliminate oil imports from the Middle East and Venezuela in the next decade. The two senators used much of the 90 minute session to spar over their differing energy priorities. However, neither, when asked by the moderator, laid out how they would deal with environmental issues such as climate change. Calls for "energy independence" have become a staple for the campaigns of the four-term Arizona Republican and the first-term Illinois Democrat. With Election Day less than three...

Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Energy Partners signaled progress Wednesday in addressing a key hurdle to widespread distribution of renewable fuels in the U.S. The company said it completed a test in Florida that moved ethanol safely through an existing gasoline pipeline and is performing similar tests with biodiesel fuel blends. The tests could be important for a U.S. biofuels industry that now transports fuel only by truck, rail car and barge, and will require more efficient transportation options as it grows. Kinder Morgan and other pipeline companies are still in the early stages of testing. Huge investments will be...

Supporters wonder why Sen. Obama is not polling higher in farm country By all conventional standards, Sen. John McCain is not courting what some might call the "traditional" farm vote in his race for the presidency--members of those interest groups and trade associations who are strong supporters of commodity price supports. In fact, some might argue that he's gone out of his way to alienate this voting block, with his opposition to subsidies in the farm bill and for ethanol. For example, consider his comments made recently to an invitation-only group at the Harry Truman Library in Independence, Mo. "My...

The US Department of Agriculture on Friday trimmed its estimate for the amount of corn to be used for ethanol production by 100 million bushels, citing weakening gasoline demand. "Ethanol corn use for 2008/09 is projected 100 million bushels lower as reduced gasoline consumption is expected to slow the expansion of blending modestly over the coming months," the USDA said. The cut resulted in a forecast of 4 billion bushels in the agency's monthly crops report. The agency maintained a projected use of 3 billion bushels of corn for the 2007-2008 period. Just last week, volumes of conventional gasoline blended...

The collapse of the ethanol boom continues as a Pratt-based ethanol producer is the latest to file bankruptcy. Gateway Ethanol LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, estimating it owes between $50 million and $100 million. The filing comes weeks after Minneapolis-based Dougherty Funding LLC sought to have Gateway placed in emergency receivership to preserve any money being returned to creditors. It moved to foreclose on the company’s plant in May, saying Gateway defaulted on a $54.3 million loan used to build the facility. In a motion field in the U.S. District Court of Kansas in September, Dougherty noted...

Folks, I spoke with a few Iowans I know and they report that many of their friends and relatives back home want to vote for McCain. But they want him to reverse his position and support Ethanol. Since McCain is the only candidate on record supporting a freeze on government spending, I think its a good idea for him to SUPPORT ethanol, and cut something else instead in its place.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The chief executive of ethanol producer Poet sees U.S. ethanol producers potentially replacing nearly all the country's gasoline supply by 2030 on higher corn yields and the rise of fuel made from corn cobs, wood chips and switchgrass. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Poet has been flying below Wall Street's radar partly because it remains privately held through a collection of 10,000 equity partners, many of whom are Midwestern farmers. Still, the 20-year-old company looms large among ethanol makers in the corn belt with a targeted 2008 production capacity of 1.5 billion gallons, rivaling VeraSun Energy Corp. and...

Japanese firms—including traders and car manufacturers as well as oil and gas companies—are fast stepping up their interest in Brazil's bioethanol industry. But the increased interest in, and development of, Brazil's bioethanol industry already is beginning to saturate the country's transport and export infrastructure, with more bottlenecks likely on the way. Itochu Corp. is the latest Japanese firm to enter the market, announcing plans to produce bioethanol in Brazil through an alliance with major US grain processor Bunge Ltd. The Japanese trading house has agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Agroindustrial Santa Juliana SA, a Brazilian bioethanol production firm...

On a recent trip to the Black Hills, I discovered a way to get better mileage. Whenever I was able to buy gas with no ethanol in it, I got a full 20 percent better mileage. I put this to a calculator and found that using gas laced with ethanol caused me to use 17 percent more gas. So, we pay taxes to support the ethanol industry; we pay more to use ethanol because of poorer mileage, which also causes us to put more hydrocarbons into the air — not to mention the pollutants put into the air distilling the...

A new Quad-City Times and Lee Enterprises poll of Iowa voters shows Democrat Barack Obama holding a commanding lead in the state with a little more than six weeks to go before Election Day. In a survey of 600 likely voters who vote regularly in state elections, 53 percent said they would support Obama, and 39 percent said they would support Republican John McCain. A total of 3 percent in the poll said they would support someone else, and another 5 percent were undecided.

Biofueled Food Shortages? by: Irene Warren, September 15, 2008 America’s renewable energy plan remains bleak, as biofuel was found to give off more Greenhouse Gas Emissions than renewable energy, explained a panel of experts yesterday at the Hudson Institute. Although experts disagreed on the next course to take in keeping Americans fed, they, for the most part agree that biofuel drives up cost and can even cause a universal food shortage in the long run. In light of the Global Warming, “the World Bank is warning of climate chaos and demands a rebuilding of the world’s agricultural science centers to...

What happens when presidents from more than 100 of the nation's best-known colleges call on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18? Well, a brigade of hyperbolic mommies start screaming at them, that's what. In the Amethyst Initiative, college presidents have offered a rational, if counterintuitive, plan. Let's stop treating young adults like wards of the state. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (naturally) replied: No debate allowed. There is plenty of empirical evidence suggesting that the drinking age of 21 is counterproductive. To begin with, it bars parents from educating their own children about alcohol and, like...

I have some serious disagreements with President Bush. As a Texan, I have a right to be critical. I voted for the man 4 times. I’ve felt that the gent fell into a trap at some point. In essence he morphed into a typical, liberal Globalist, placing too high a value on world opinion. Constantly pandering, trying to win global approval. A bleeding heart for the so-called “emerging nations”. That being said I must give him credit for something that he has done for our Nation. Something that he is probably totally unaware that he did. His decision that “could”...

Ethanol's wild ride has brought it quickly from political golden child to scapegoat for everything from soaring food prices and world hunger to pork-barrel spending.

Calculated bioethanol yield per hectare. A study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists found that sweet potatoes grown in Maryland and Alabama, and tropical cassava grown in Alabama, yielded between two to three times as much carbohydrate (starch, sucrose, glucose) for fuel ethanol production via fermentation as field corn grown in those states. Dr. Lew Ziska, a plant physiologist at the ARS Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., and colleagues at Beltsville and at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Ala., performed the study. The research is unique in comparing the root crops to...

BOTUCATU, Brazil (AFP) - Brazilian biofuel, already available for nine out of 10 cars on the roads, is also keeping a small but growing fleet of aircraft aloft, the company making them says. Some 200 single-engine, single-seat Ipanema planes made by Neiva, a subsidiary of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, are now burning cheap ethanol made from sugarcane for their crop-dusting and public health missions. < > Brazil is the second-biggest producer of ethanol in the world (again, after the United States), generating 18 billion liters last year, of which around 17 percent was exported.

One of Japan's largest sake manufacturers, Gekkeikan, has announced the development of a new "super yeast" able to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-edible parts of plants, such as paddy straw and chaff. The super yeast that produces alcohol was created with genetic engineering, by integrating koji mold genes that produce cellulolytic enzymes into sake yeast. These enzymes become densely displayed on the surfaces of the yeast cells. Since this super yeast has the functions of the standard koji mold, it achieves one-step production of ethanol from pretreated cellulose. The company claims the whole process is completed with a new easier...

Forget food crops. Future fuels will come from more practical feedstocks. Plus, each generation will use fewer resources and pack more energy than the last. PM crunches the numbers on alternative fuels for the real world.By Chris Ladd Photograph by Bill DiodatoPublished in the September 2008 issue. Eric Meek of the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., created this handblown beaker for our cover story. Watch the beaker take shape on PopMech TV right here. RELATED STORIES • NEW COVER STORY: "The Shape of Fuels to Come," On Sale Now! Process*: Raw biomass is typically ground up and pretreated...

In this transmission electron micrograph of the mesoporous nanospheres, the nano-scale catalyst particles show up as the dark spots. Using particles this small (~ 3nm) increases the overall surface area of the catalyst by roughly 100 times. Nanoscale catalysts could tap syngas as cheap source of ethanolAMES, Iowa –Say the word “biofuels” and most people think of grain ethanol and biodiesel. But there’s another, older technology called gasification that’s getting a new look from researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University. By combining gasification with high-tech nanoscale porous catalysts, they hope to create ethanol...

At what price will corn be so expensive that the federal government will decide that it is time to stop driving up the price of food? Three years ago, Congress imposed a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandate that has forced the gasoline industry to mix massive amounts of corn-based ethanol into the nation's fuel supply. In 2007, Congress nearly doubled that mandate to require nine billion gallons of ethanol be blended into gas in 2008 and even more in 2009. But, as a safety valve, Congress gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power to waive the new mandates if...

Oil giants plough cash into cellulosic ethanol specialists, as race for second generation biofuel breakthrough heats up BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen 11 Aug 2008 Oil giant BP has announced it is to invest up to $90m as part of a deal with US cellulosic ethanol specialist Verenium intended to accelerate the development of a commercially viable form of biofuel that does not affect food supplies. Under the terms of the alliance, the two companies will form a 50:50 joint venture that will license intellectual property from both firms and undertake new research into the development of cellulosic ethanol made from waste...

 Expanding ethanol use will not reduce global warming, bring down gas prices, relieve our dependence on foreign oil, starve terrorists of funding, restore the family farm, or create jobs. In fact, using more ethanol increases greenhouse gas production and local air pollution and is water-intensive as well as land-intensive.   Resident ScholarKenneth P. Green   Ethanol--the chemical that gives your booze its kick--has been used by mankind for a very long time, 8,000 years or so. Even Stone Age people recognized the value of a good tipple. Of late, ethanol has been touted as the super-fuel that will reduce global...

August 05, 2008, 7:00 a.m. Dreams From My FarmerIf Obama is a reformer, why doesn’t he vote like one? By David Freddoso When conservatives complain about the Obamalovefest all around, it’s not all a reaction to the messianism. The more down-to-earth complaint is that mainstream-media organs have uncritically bought a key idea promoted by Obama’s well-crafted media campaign: that he is a reformer, a positive agent of change who reaches across partisan divides and bucks parochial interests for the common good. This idea is a great lie, and there is a long record to prove it in Springfield and...

Strong Energy Measures Wanted Poll Shows Most Favor New Drilling, Taxes on Oil Profits By Jon Cohen and Paul KaneWashington Post Staff Writers Sunday, August 10, 2008; Page A08 A new national poll shows broad public support for government action in the face of $4-a-gallon gas and other energy concerns, giving Republicans a rare opening to go on the offensive against congressional Democrats and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Nearly two-thirds of Americans now put a priority on "finding new sources of energy" over improving conservation -- a significant shift since 2001 -- and majorities support all of the five potential...

Des Moines, Iowa (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain didn't mince words Friday at the Iowa State Fair, telling corn producers he didn't want to subsidize their ethanol but was eager to help market farm products around the world. "My friends, we will disagree on a specific issue and that's healthy," McCain said as he stood near bales of straw at one of the nation's premier farming showcases. "I believe in renewable fuels. I don't believe in ethanol subsidies, but I believe in renewable fuels." McCain has never been shy about speaking against subsidizing ethanol when he is in...

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday denied a request by Texas to temporarily cut federal ethanol requirements for the nation's fuel supply, saying the state had not proved that the recent rise in corn prices is severely hurting its economy. Under the energy law signed late last year, 9 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel must be blended into gasoline between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009, to meet a national Renewable Fuels Standard. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) sought to reduce that to 4.5 billion gallons, on the grounds that the mandate is hurting livestock producers and increasing food...

HOUSTON, Aug. 7 -- The US Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request submitted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for a 50% waiver from the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandate for corn-based ethanol. The RFS, part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, requires increased national production of renewable biofuels to 36 billion gal/year by 2022 from 9 billion gal/year in 2008. Perry blamed increased demand for corn-based ethanol for contributing to escalating corn prices, which he said contributes to higher food prices and also higher costs for livestock feed (OGJ Online, July 22, 2008). EPA said...

A modern society such as that in the United States requires personal transportation — cargo trucks, planes, and cars — to make a market economy work. Any serious effort to move our country to mass transportation, such as trains and buses, for everyone and everything all the time — or even most of the time — would destroy not only our economy, but the American way of life. To provide our personal transportation for the foreseeable future, the United States needs oil or an oil substitute. Electric vehicles, the proposed solution by many for America’s transportation problems, have serious drawbacks...

Call Congress back to have an up-or-down vote on a comprehensive energy bill which includes expanded drilling for oil. There is a petition here: http://www.callbackcongress.com/

While ethanol is derived from renewable sources, it is less efficient than gasoline. As a result, a car running on E85 would pay the equivalent of $4.137 per gallon to get the same mileage as gas, the AAA survey estimated.

Rick Kitchings has been a small-engine mechanic for about 30 years, and he’s been busier than ever lately. Recently, a customer came into his shop in Savannah, Ga., with a string trimmer that had barely been used. “It looked like it just came off the showroom floor, but the motor was absolutely shot, absolutely worn out,” Kitchings said. The owner had fueled the trimmer with an gasoline-ethanol blend, which is becoming increasingly common thanks to a federal mandate to convert to biofuels.

The biomass gasifier at Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. is fuel-flexible by design. Thisrequires a handling system engineered to move feedstocks of varying volumes and densities. Biomass Magazine speaks with Rapat Corp., the engineer of the bulk conveyance system, and equipment vendor Robert White Industries Inc., about the project. The idea was fairly simple. Use the organic material left over from processing an agricultural product, such as potatoes or sugar beets, to produce methane. The methane can then be used as a heat source for the processing facility, or turned into electricity and sold back to the power grid. A team...

Washington's command-and-control approach to the promotion of ethanol and other biofuels has unleashed a host of unintended consequences. The main culprit: the federal mandate forcing 9 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced this year. Satisfying the mandate has diverted roughly 30 percent of U.S. corn production to biofuels. And while the ethanol requirement is not the only factor roiling global food markets -- the falling dollar and rising energy prices have also hiked costs -- if the mandate did not exist, more corn would be available to feed people and livestock.

Harkin: Gas cheaper because of ethanol By Ian Swanson Posted: 07/24/08 11:39 AM [ET] Ethanol is keeping gas prices as much as 40 cents cheaper, according to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the Senate’s top supporters of corn-based renewable fuels. As a result, the Bush administration should deny Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) request that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cut in half the federal mandate requiring the oil industry to blend 9 million gallons of ethanol into the nation’s gas supply, Harkin said. “Ethanol is keeping gas 24 to 40 cents cheaper than it otherwise would be,” Harkin...

After years of false starts, a new industry selling motor fuel made from waste is getting a big push in the United States, with the first commercial sales possible within months. Many companies have announced plans to build plants that would take in material like wood chips, garbage or crop waste and turn out motor fuels. About 28 small plants are in advanced planning, under construction or, in a handful of cases, already up and running in test mode. For decades scientists have known it was possible to convert waste to fuel, but in an era of cheap oil, it...

The ethanol industry, until recently a golden child that got favorable treatment from Washington, is facing a critical decision on its future. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive regulations requiring the oil industry to blend ever-increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. A decision is expected in the next few weeks. Mr. Perry says the billions of bushels of corn being used to produce all that mandated ethanol would be better suited as livestock feed than as fuel. Feed prices have soared in the last two years as fuel has begun competing with...

Advocates claim that ethanol mandates and subsidies protect our planet, enhance U.S. security, and ease our pain at the pump. In fact, ethanol policy hurts all Americans except for the tiny slice of the population that grows corn or distills it into ethanol. What is ethanol? Basically, in the United States, it is moonshine derived from the starch in corn. You can drink it. Rowdy collegians have been known to mix 1 part ethanol with 40 parts fruit juice to make huge vats of punch for parties. The law does not allow you to drink and drive, but it now...

The increased use of corn-derived ethanol and other bio-fuels has been blamed for rising food prices worldwide. But defenders of these fuels say their impact on food prices is being exaggerated and that new fuels under development will largely bypass that problem in any case. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the story from College Station, Texas. American corn, wheat and soybean fields feed much of the world and also provide the material from which alcohol fuels like ethanol are produced. Ethanol has benefited the U.S. heartland by giving farmers more stable prices for their grains and creating jobs at...

DNR is dealt a setback to its mission of conservation The agency must use E85 in its vehicles. And, as the ethanol boom grows, grasslands are lost to corn. Before buying vehicles doesn't the private citizen weigh the pros and cons of the purchase? So why is it so unreasonable for the state to … read more do so? Of course this is the same agency that is going to destroy the current largest fishing lake in Wright County on belief you can't have ducks and fish in the same body of water. This is just one more reason for...