..A must read for for every US voter and concerned citizen.. challenges the reader to explore new possibilities and new mindsets that will ultimately be required if the world is truly ready to make a change.. amazon.com US onlyCellulosic ethanol stimulus
Young companies are likely to benefit from the $1.3 billion earmarked for cellulosic fuel projects in the US stimulus package. The bill, passed in February, gives the US Department of Energy (DOE) up to $500 million to spend on loan guarantees for experimental biofuel facilities and $800 million for research projects spanning "the whole range of biomass development," says Christina Kielich, a DOE spokesperson. The agency says it will put scientists to work finding new ways to break down cellulosic feedstocks—like switchgrass and woodchips—into chemical compounds, convert the compounds into fuels and address feedstock sustainability. The funding may help more startups get off the ground but isn't nearly enough to transform the fuel industry, say biofuel experts. "The government will need to come up with an energy bill that
funds innovation more comprehensively," says David Aldous, CEO of Range Fuels, a cellulosic biofuel company in Broomfield, Colorado. Aldous points to Brazil's ethanol program in the 1970s, which financed the development of ethanol-only cars, guaranteed ethanol purchases and loans, fixed prices and mandated ethanol blending with gasoline. "It's that kind of commitment that transforms a country," he says. Indeed, US regulators may soon increase the blend rate for ethanol in gasoline to 13% from 10%, according to the Governors' Biofuels Coalition.
-- Emily Waltz
[Note that raising the 'blend rate' is the new 'holy grail' for US
ethanol producers, despite numerous reports that it would cause
engine damage, as well as further reducing gas mileage. Retired
General Wesley Clark is among those currently employed to lobby for
this change. See http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/
slugfest-brewing-over-higher-ethanol-blends/ -- B.T.]
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Brian Tokar
Institute for Social Ecology
P.O. Box 93
Plainfield, VT 05667
* See our brand new website at social-ecology.org!
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Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass.
Your idea?