Environmentalists have long seen biofuels as a means to improve the sustainability of transportation and energy use since they are a renewable source of energy that can be replenished on an ongoing basis. Further, because biofuels are generally derived from plants, which absorb carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, biofuel production offers the potential to help offset carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change. Nonetheless, in recent years, there has been considerable backlash against biofuels, which are increasingly viewed as a threat to the environment. Green groups now point to large-scale land conversion for energy crops, higher food prices, and a spate to studies that suggest net emissions from corn ethanol are little better than those from fossil fuels, to caution that biofuels can cause more problems than they address.
Posted August 30th, 2007 by alternative energy news from mongabay.com
Posted August 24th, 2007 by alternative energy news from mongabay.com
Jatropha may be a more economic biofuel than corn-based ethanol, reported the The Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing research from Goldman Sachs.
Posted August 23rd, 2007 by Organic Minded
I have been reading this in the organic news alerts I recieve. Unless we, the people this legislation will effect, take action now politics will win!! This is a post I read on a compost tea forum I belong to. Use the link provided to let the USDA know how you feel.
"Under pressure from industrial agriculture lobbyists, the USDA has quietly approved a new regulation that will effectively end distribution of raw almonds, while putting many smaller almond farmers out of business. The regulation is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, unless thousands of consumers take action now. The rule requires pasteurization of almonds, including organic, yet allows those same almonds to continue to be labeled as "raw". Nutritionists point out that raw, organic almonds are far superior, in terms of nutrition, to pasteurized almonds. One of the FDA-recommended pasteurization methods involves the use of propylene oxide, which is classified as a carcinogen in California and is banned in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Organic and family-scale almond farmers are protesting the proposed rule, saying it will effectively put them out of business, since the minimum price for the pasteurization equipment is $500,000."
Take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6747.cfm
Don't let the industrial ag lobbiests win this fight. Fight back with your input. Take a stand!!
"Under pressure from industrial agriculture lobbyists, the USDA has quietly approved a new regulation that will effectively end distribution of raw almonds, while putting many smaller almond farmers out of business. The regulation is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, unless thousands of consumers take action now. The rule requires pasteurization of almonds, including organic, yet allows those same almonds to continue to be labeled as "raw". Nutritionists point out that raw, organic almonds are far superior, in terms of nutrition, to pasteurized almonds. One of the FDA-recommended pasteurization methods involves the use of propylene oxide, which is classified as a carcinogen in California and is banned in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Organic and family-scale almond farmers are protesting the proposed rule, saying it will effectively put them out of business, since the minimum price for the pasteurization equipment is $500,000."
Take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6747.cfm
Don't let the industrial ag lobbiests win this fight. Fight back with your input. Take a stand!!
Posted August 23rd, 2007 by Biopact team
Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" is a feature length documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and their impact on the planet. "The 11th Hour" documents the cumulative impact of these actions upon the planet's life systems and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.
"The 11th Hour examines the human relationship with Earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future". - 11thHourFilm.com
With the help of over fifty of the world's most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, "The 11th Hour" documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems.
Watch the film trailer.
The film is now playing in Los Angeles and New York, and opens nationwide from August 24th. For release dates and theaters in your area, click here.
Visit The 11th Hour Action Community here.
"The 11th Hour examines the human relationship with Earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future". - 11thHourFilm.com
With the help of over fifty of the world's most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, "The 11th Hour" documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems.
Watch the film trailer.
The film is now playing in Los Angeles and New York, and opens nationwide from August 24th. For release dates and theaters in your area, click here.
Visit The 11th Hour Action Community here.
Posted August 23rd, 2007 by Martin
Biodiesel developer goes bust....
Posted August 8th, 2007 by alternative energy news from mongabay.com
The fuels committee of the Motor Union of Great Britain and Ireland has issued a valuable report on motor-car fuels... a famine in petrol appears to be inevitable in the near future, owing to the fact that demand is increasing at a rate much greater than the rate of increase of the supply. In 1904 the consumption of petrol in the United Kingdom was 12,000,000 gallons; in 1907 it had risen to 27,000,000 gallons... the committee discusses in the report other possible fuels. The supply is divided into two parts. The first includes all fuels limited in quantity...The second group contains one item only - alcohol - and it is evident from the whole tone of the report that the committee expects to find in denatured vegetable spirits the fuel of the future.
Posted August 8th, 2007 by alternative energy news from mongabay.com
'Second generation' biorefineries -- those making biofuel from lignocellulosic feedstocks like straw, grasses and wood -- have long been touted as the successor to today's grain ethanol plants, but until now the technology has been considered too expensive to compete. However, recent increases in grain prices mean that production costs are now similar for grain ethanol and second generation biofuels, according to a paper published in the first edition of Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining.
Posted August 6th, 2007 by Biopact team
The United States House of Representatives has passed an Energy Bill requiring utility companies to produce 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020.
The Bill passed in the House on a 241-172 vote, despite strong opposition from electric utility companies and the White House, which has threatened to veto the measure. Twenty six Republicans voted in favor and nine Democrats opposed the bill.
A senior analyst for Lazard Capital Markets described the bill as "a significant positive step towards creating a cohesive energy policy."
The renewable electricity standard applies only to investor-owned utilities and exempts rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the state of Hawaii from the mandate.
The bill also calls for stronger energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting and incentives for building more energy-efficient buildings. The bill bans the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and requires that all bulbs be 300% more efficient than today’s ordinary bulbs by 2020. The bill also includes a range of loan guarantees, federal grants and tax breaks for alternative energy programs. These include building biomass factories, research into making ethanol from wood chips and switch grass and producing better batteries for hybrid cars.
The bill will repeal a tax break for oil companies from 2004, and another tax break relating to income from foreign oil production. Critics of the two tax breaks called them loopholes that the industry had taken advantage of.
The 786-page House energy bill does not include an increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. That issue, as well as whether to force major increases in the use of E85 fuel as a substitute for gasoline, were left to be negotiated when the House bill is merged with energy legislation the Senate passed in June.
"There's a war going on against energy from fossil fuels" said Representative Ralph Hall, Republican-Texas. Representative Joe Barton predicted the bill "isn't going to go anywhere" because President Bush would veto it if it reaches his desk.
In a somewhat surprising comment from the White House, they accused the bill of making "no serious attempts to increase our energy security". This defies commonsense as by producing more electricity from domestic renewable sources rather than with imported natural gas by definition increases the United States' diversity and security of energy supply.
As with all legislation the details (such as a subsidy for installing gas pumps for expensive and inefficient E85 fuel) need to be checked carefully. Regardless a 15% renewable energy standard is good news.
The United States House of Representatives has passed an Energy Bill requiring utility companies to produce 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020.
The Bill passed in the House on a 241-172 vote, despite strong opposition from electric utility companies and the White House, which has threatened to veto the measure. Twenty six Republicans voted in favor and nine Democrats opposed the bill.
A senior analyst for Lazard Capital Markets described the bill as "a significant positive step towards creating a cohesive energy policy."
The renewable electricity standard applies only to investor-owned utilities and exempts rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the state of Hawaii from the mandate.
The bill also calls for stronger energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting and incentives for building more energy-efficient buildings. The bill bans the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and requires that all bulbs be 300% more efficient than today’s ordinary bulbs by 2020. The bill also includes a range of loan guarantees, federal grants and tax breaks for alternative energy programs. These include building biomass factories, research into making ethanol from wood chips and switch grass and producing better batteries for hybrid cars.
The bill will repeal a tax break for oil companies from 2004, and another tax break relating to income from foreign oil production. Critics of the two tax breaks called them loopholes that the industry had taken advantage of.
The 786-page House energy bill does not include an increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. That issue, as well as whether to force major increases in the use of E85 fuel as a substitute for gasoline, were left to be negotiated when the House bill is merged with energy legislation the Senate passed in June.
"There's a war going on against energy from fossil fuels" said Representative Ralph Hall, Republican-Texas. Representative Joe Barton predicted the bill "isn't going to go anywhere" because President Bush would veto it if it reaches his desk.
In a somewhat surprising comment from the White House, they accused the bill of making "no serious attempts to increase our energy security". This defies commonsense as by producing more electricity from domestic renewable sources rather than with imported natural gas by definition increases the United States' diversity and security of energy supply.
As with all legislation the details (such as a subsidy for installing gas pumps for expensive and inefficient E85 fuel) need to be checked carefully. Regardless a 15% renewable energy standard is good news.
Posted August 6th, 2007 by organicgarden
Renewable Energy designs are the bestsellers in our store. Click on the images to visit our Organic Garden Cafe Shop.
Our “Renewable Energy” designs are inspired by the early days of the alternative energy movement and futuristic graphic design visions of the early 1980’s .
Growing Fish and Greens
At the 1982 US Festival Career & Technology Exposition we set up an Apple II computer and designed the software to manage a tilapia pond utilizing a biological filter which we integrated with a hydroponics system for growing vegetables and mesclun salad greens.
Our successful exhibit further developed into our new creation of a highly efficient,self sustainable, organic fish and vegetable growing system that no longer requires a computer to maintain it’s natural balance. Now, all it takes is a daily check on the chemical balance of the water and the hydrophobic pumping system which is controlled by a common irrigation timer.
A simple, efficient system to grow out your fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and mesclun greens.
Our E-Book project, “Growing Fish & Greens” details the technical aspects of our Self-sustainable hydroponics system.
Renewable Energy in the News
U.S. House shifts $16 billion toward renewable energy
“The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.
The House voted 220-190 to add a controversial amendment that would require U.S. utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020.
Notably absent from the bill is a hike in automobile fuel efficiency standards, which Pelosi put off until the fall to avoid a bruising fight with fellow Democrats including Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell of Michigan, the staunch auto industry ally who says he wants to deal with fuel standards in global warming legislation later this year.
The Senate in June approved a bill that hikes auto fuel standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
The House bill must be reconciled with the Senate version, which is markedly different.
Republicans and oil-state Democrats criticized provisions in the tax portion of the House bill that would repeal reduced tax rates for major integrated oil companies, and drop foreign income tax deductions for companies that produce oil and natural gas overseas.” >> more
Informative links
We are presently undergoing a massive shift in our renewable energy uses, green technologies and self reliant lifestyles.
Each and everyone of us plays a critical role.
Posted August 4th, 2007 by Biopact team
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of the energy tax package in today's rare Saturday session providing strong incentives for solar power.
Two bills passed in today's session, H.R. 2776 and H.R. 3221, both strongly supported by the SEIA and other solar industry stakeholders. The package provides additional long-term support for solar power through the extension and increase of the solar Investment Tax Credit.
H.R. 2776 contains the following solar provisions:
- Provides an eight-year extension of the existing 30 percent Investment Tax Credit for businesses under Section 48 of the tax code
- Provides the ability for corporate and personal filers to claim the Investment Tax Credit against the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
- Removes the prohibition barring utilities from using the section 48 Investment Tax Credit
- Provides no extension of the existing 30 percent Investment Tax Credit for homeowners under Section 25 of the tax code, but eliminates the existing $2,000 maximum dollar limitation
- Provides up to $2.4 billion in bonding authority for the issuance of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
If this energy package ultimately becomes law, these incentives will provide much needed support for the solar industry and will help to make solar power available to more homeowners and businesses across the country. The energy package must first be reconciled with the Senate version, and then be signed into law by the President.
For more information about both bills, click on the House website -http://majoritywhip.house.gov/whip_pack/.
Two bills passed in today's session, H.R. 2776 and H.R. 3221, both strongly supported by the SEIA and other solar industry stakeholders. The package provides additional long-term support for solar power through the extension and increase of the solar Investment Tax Credit.
H.R. 2776 contains the following solar provisions:
- Provides an eight-year extension of the existing 30 percent Investment Tax Credit for businesses under Section 48 of the tax code
- Provides the ability for corporate and personal filers to claim the Investment Tax Credit against the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
- Removes the prohibition barring utilities from using the section 48 Investment Tax Credit
- Provides no extension of the existing 30 percent Investment Tax Credit for homeowners under Section 25 of the tax code, but eliminates the existing $2,000 maximum dollar limitation
- Provides up to $2.4 billion in bonding authority for the issuance of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
If this energy package ultimately becomes law, these incentives will provide much needed support for the solar industry and will help to make solar power available to more homeowners and businesses across the country. The energy package must first be reconciled with the Senate version, and then be signed into law by the President.
For more information about both bills, click on the House website -http://majoritywhip.house.gov/whip_pack/.
