The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has responded to last week’s Time Magazine cover story “The Clean Energy Scam.” Executive director Toni Nuernberg sent the following letter to the editor of Time in response to the article:

In Michael Grunwald’s March 27 article “The Clean Energy Scam,” corn-based ethanol is the scapegoat of the week. Though Grunwald draws attention to the vitally important need for evaluation of global land-use changes, the environmental finger pointing at corn-based ethanol by his sources has come to the point of ridiculous.

The fuel behind this latest fiery round of environmental blame game is two studies posted mid-February in Science Express. The papers, authored by Timothy Searchinger and Joseph Fargione, reach conclusions regarding the greenhouse gas emissions associated with potential global land-use changes caused by increasing biofuels demand — specifically for corn-based ethanol. Their conclusions are considered debatable by others in the scientific community. (more…)

This post was on Corn Commentary yesterday:

The price of a barrel of crude shot up to $110.10 today before closing at $100.01, driven by fear despite evidence of good supplies and falling demand, illustrates the tightrope the United States walks in terms of energy security.

A refinery explosion in Texas over the weekend and fear that OPEC will decide to cut back production next month drove prices higher.

Here is a contributing blog entry from Beth Calabotta, who is oilseeds-biodiesel technology manager with Monsanto, on this week’s conference in St. Louis.
Besides spending hours in the exhibit hall at the Monsanto booth, Beth had a front row seat for the president’s address and got pretty close when he hit the floor to meet and greet right after his speech.

There were several really exciting things about the recent Advancing Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis. I have to admit I have never attended a conference of any sort where the President of the United States stopped by to offer words of encouragement. But George W wasn’t the only speaker with an impressive resume on the agenda, there were opportunities to hear two cabinet members, a US senator, CEOs from the agriculture and bioenergy sector, and leading venture capitalists, just to name a few of the many extraordinary speakers.

On a more personal note, it was a lot of fun to explain to people who stopped by the Monsanto booth the benefits that molecular breeding and biotechnology can play to help make renewable energy happen. I don’t remember a time in my career when so many diverse people where interested in understanding more about agricultural yields, and it was fun to talk about all the hard work and excellent results people engaged across all sectors of agriculture have delivered and will continue to deliver. Corn yields have roughly doubled every generation, and the people working on livestock productivity have also make great strides. Dr. Fraley, in his talk, told us that this amazing trend will continue. It is possible to develop both food, feed, fiber and fuel on the same acre. To put this in perspective, in 1940, the year before my parents were born, an acre of my grandfather’s farm in Johnson County Iowa produced enough corn to feed 200 chickens.
Today, that same acre produces enough corn to feed over 1200 chickens. It has always felt great to work in agriculture and to help feed people, but if feels even better to know that what we are working on helps to feed, clothe and fuel the next generation.

Thanks for those observations, Beth. I would certainly love to hear from anyone else who attended the conference to provide their thoughts and comments - and pictures, too.

We really try to stay away from politics here on Domestic Fuel but sometimes you just have to say something. Actually this picture which I found on GOP and the City kind of says it all for me.

What kind of a lunatic would come into our country and proceed to call our President “the devil?” This chunky little dictator I guess. I don’t care if you like President Bush or not Mr. Hugo. Don’t come into our country and make your outlandish statements and expect that it’s going to have a positive impact on your image. As the news outlets all over the country are reminding people over and over, Citgo is owned by the Venezuelen government and we do have fuel choices.

You can find more stories about this here, here and here.

While domestic fuels have the possibility to stem our dependence on foreign oil, most would agree that it would not be possible to completely supply our need for fuel. Based on our current consumption of oil, more than 90% of the arable land in the US would be required to produce enough ethanol. A large part of the corn and soybeans needed for fuel is being grown in the Midwest.
The effects of climate change bear bad news for farmers in this region. NBC News reported recently that new calculations indicate a shift in the jet stream. The result could mean less perciptitation and an expansion of deserts in areas where they currently exist. People in Oklahoma and Texas are accutely aware of this development following the wildfires earlier this year, and any farmer in the Midwest can probably attest to the lack of rain so far this season. If predictions regarding climate change hold true, it could make it even more difficult to grow our way out of our dependence on oil. However, the competition between using foodstock for fuel and supplying the nation with nutrition could benefit famers able to produce in the new climate.

JW
www.mocommonsense.com