In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement today about Congress’ failure to pass comprehensive, multi-year food, farm and jobs legislation before the current law expires on Sept. 30, 2012: ”In a year that has brought its share of challenges to America’s farmers and ranchers, the House Republicans have added new uncertainty for rural […]
In Washington, the Agriculture Energy Coalition wrote House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), urging them to schedule debate on HR 6083, the Farm Bill passed by the House Committee on Agriculture in July and reported to the House last week. “The certainty provided by a five-year Farm Bill is particularly […]
In Germany, the executive director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuel Initiative told Reuters at the ILA air show going on in Berlin this week that the industry is focused on looking at second generation biofuels so as to avoid conflict with food crops when looking to reduce the carbon footprint of air travel. Airbus […]
In Germany, transport minister Peter Ramsauer and US ambassador Philip Murphy signed an alternative aviation fuels development agreement “make research and development in alternative aviation fuels even more dynamic,” the minister said.
In Washington, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson released a statement on Friday indicating that gasoline refiners must use 1.28 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2013. The mandate represents a 28% increase over this years requirement of 1 billion gallons. Said Jackson, the action “is another step that strengthens America’s energy security by reducing dependence on foreign […]
In Germany, The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP e.V.) applauded the European Commission’s positive decision in the evidentiary procedure for the opening of anti-dumping proceedings against biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. UFOP said that “the export practices of these countries have led to ruinous competitive distortions for the European biodiesel industry […]
In Washington, House Republicans have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson admonishing her for putting place regulations for blender pumps that require a purchase of a minimum of 4 gallons, with the hope being to avoid filling up small engines like lawn equipment that shouldn’t use higher ethanol blends. Representatives from the Science, […]
In Costa Rica, the country will at last start blending 10% ethanol in 2013 after several false starts to get the policy in place. Local oil company Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope), who made the announcement, also made the announcement last year and then it didn’t come about so it may still be too early […]
In Brussels, the European Union plans to limit the use of crop-based biofuels following concerns over food competition and lower environmental benefits than previously thought. Conceding to considerable pressure, the EU’s draft policy changes also aim to end all public subsidies for crop-based biofuels after the current legislation expires in 2020.
In North Carolina, President Obama mentioned the importance of biofuels to the economy as he gave his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Mentioning the one million barrel per day drop in oil importation, the president described his expectations for the future: “we’re offering a better path, a future where we keep investing […]
