by Dawson Williams and Rick Gilmore, GIC Group Despite a dim future for climate legislation at the national level, efforts at the regional level and among leading voluntary carbon schemes are opening new GHG reduction avenues for agriculture. The Climate Action Reserve (CAR), which was chartered by state legislation in California in 2001, has just […]
In California, the state government published its proposed carbon and greenhouse gas regulations, but unexpectedly proposed to initially offer carbon emission permits by grandfathering in existing emissions as of 2012, when the emissions trading scheme takes effect. The scheme, which is threatened by Proposition 23 on the California ballot in today’s election, is not expected […]
In Washington, several of the legislative architects of US biofuels policy, particularly advanced biofuels, are facing defeat in what analysts are projecting may be one of the most lopsided midterm elections in recent memory. Already the respected Rothenberg and Cook political reports are projecting losses by the Democratic Party in the House of more than […]
In Washington, the RFA urged fuel retailers to limit E-15 sales to Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) until regulations governing the fuel are finalized and implemented. “The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent approval of E-15 for a portion of the U.S. light duty vehicle fleet is but the first step in a detailed process required to ensure […]
In Washington, at a White House meeting that included representatives of the Advanced Biofuels Association, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and Algal Biomass Organization., the associations delivered a letter to President Obama, thanking him for his “commitment to developing secure, sustainable, domestic alternatives to imported petroleum.” The joint letter also offered to assist the President as […]
In Oregon, the state won’t be offering E15 blends right away because state bureaucrats want to take a stab at local rulemaking first as well as approval by the governor and state legislature. The state Measurement Standards Division, part of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, says several other steps are needed at the state and […]
In Washington, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack replied to a Wall Street Journal editorial which characterized the EPA’s approval of E15 ethanol blending as a politically-motivated decision. “The EPA’s decision to allow the increased use of ethanol in some automobiles is scientifically sound,” Vilsack wrote, “and follows a comprehensive review of extensive testing and other […]
In Washington, representatives from national and regional agriculture, food and feed organizations withdrew en masse this week from the Leonardo Academy’s sustainable agriculture standard setting initiative citing “fatal, systemic limitations and chronic biases” within the Leonardo effort. A letter addressed to Michael Arny, Leonardo Academy president, was signed by ten national agricultural-organization voting members on […]
In Washington, the USDA’s Economic Research Service has published “Effects of Increased Biofuels on the Economy by 2022,” which finds that by substituting domestic biofuels for imported petroleum, the United States would pay less for imports overall and receive higher prices for exports, providing a gain for the economy from favorable terms of trade. Improved […]
In Washington, the U.S. Navy announced that it will conduct a full power demonstration of a Riverine Command Boat (experimental) powered by an alternative fuel blend of 50 percent algae-based and 50 percent NATO F-76 fuel aboard Naval Base Norfolk, Va., Oct. 22. “From a strategic perspective, we are reducing reliance on fossil fuels from […]
