“The Postal Service is one of the greenest mailing and shipping companies in the world,” said Thomas G. Day, chief sustainability officer. The eco-friendly options offered by USPS include mailing and shipping supplies, free package pickup and holiday cards printed on recycled paper available in 2,000 Post Offices.

“We have a ‘fleet of feet’ delivering mail the greenest way possible, by walking,” Day added. “Nearly 9,000 of our carriers will be delivering holiday mail on foot this season. And we also have nearly 80,000 ‘park and loop’ routes, where carriers will drive vehicles from the Post Office to neighborhoods and then deliver those holiday packages and cards on foot.”

The Postal Service will have delivered a total of 16.5 billion cards, letters and packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve using various alternative fuel vehicles in the largest civilian fleet in the world of 215,000 vehicles. Alternatives utilized by USPS include three-wheeled electric vehicles with zero gas emissions that operate at a cost of only 2 cents a mile, as well as vehicles that can operate on compressed natural gas, propane, ethanol, and fuel cell. There’s also 30 large all-electric trucks delivering holiday mail in Manhattan.

The research team used agricultural survey data from Brazil to calculate emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from the entire production, distribution, and lifecycle of sugarcane ethanol from 2000 to 2008.

“As people try to determine how to integrate biofuels into the global economy, Brazilian sugarcane ethanol has often been considered a more environmentally friendly fuel source than U.S. corn ethanol. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers sugarcane ethanol an ‘advanced biofuel’ with fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional biofuels like corn ethanol. These new findings help us refine those estimates and move closer to making more informed comparisons between different fuel sources, and ultimately make better decisions about how to grow and use biofuels,” Spak says.

The study, titled “Increased estimates of air-pollution emissions from Brazilian sugarcane ethanol,” is featured in the Nature Highlights section and published in the Dec. 11 Advance Online Publication of the journal Nature Climate Change.

According to the report, production of conventional biofuels and biomass-based diesel fuel will be adequate to meet the requirements of the RFS2, but whether the mandate for cellulosic ethanol can be met is “uncertain.”

“The capacity to meet the renewable fuel mandate for cellulosic biofuels will not be available unless the production process is unexpectedly improved and technologies are scaled up and undergo several commercial-scale demonstrations in the next few years. Additionally, policy uncertainties and high costs of production may deter investors from aggressive deployment, even though the government guarantees a market for cellulosic biofuels up to the level of the consumption mandate, regardless of price.”

Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) agrees that technological innovation and policy uncertainty are major hurdles for meeting the RFS2 goals for advanced biofuels. “The RFS is an aggressive, technology-forcing standard that needs complementary policy to be achieved, in much the same way that oil companies rely on a bevy of tax breaks and subsidies to protect the investments necessary to bring new sources of petroleum fuels online as known oil reserves become increasingly scarce,” said Coleman. “If we enact policies reflective of the goals set forth in the RFS, the advanced biofuels industry will emerge and the RFS targets will be met.”

“You can read this report in a number of ways because the conclusions are based on variables that will undoubtedly change with technological advancements and innovation within the industry,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “A continued commitment to the RFS will create the market certainty that is crucial for both first generation and second generation ethanol. But any effort to doubt or dismantle the RFS would block the growth of the industry and ultimately threaten American jobs, our environment and our energy security.”

Also “uncertain” according to the report is the “extent to which using biofuels rather than petroleum will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” “The idea that the RFS may not be an effective strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is regrettable given the published science on the subject,” said Coleman. “Even with land use change considerations, advanced biofuels are the lowest carbon fuels being developed in the marketplace; far and away less carbon intensive than electricity, natural gas and even hydrogen fuel cells.”

The project is unique because it brings together experts in enzyme technology, power generation, gas separations, and ultrasonic technology development. Together, the group will develop and evaluate the performance of an integrated laboratory system that uses an experimental enzyme, provided by Novozymes, together with ultrasonics in a low temperature process to separate carbon dioxide from flue gas.

“Enzyme technology has enabled many industrial processes to operate with lower energy requirements and better sustainability than can be achieved by conventional approaches, which is also our goal for this project,” said Steen Skjold-Jorgensen, Novozymes vice president, research and development. “However, this project is not just about an enzyme. Innovation across disciplines and integration of processes is essential to bring new technologies forward in the CO2 capture field. We are very happy to participate together with our skilled collaborators on the project and appreciate DOE’s support in bringing such projects together.”

In other recent news, Novozymes has joined Nidus Partners to select and develop early stage technologies. Nidus was launched in September 2010 and uses its partners to help identify market opportunities and than seek out entrepreneurs to develop the technologies to meet the needs. Partners have a right of first offer for the innovations developed through Nidus.

“The investment and participation of Novozymes, a recognized world leader in bioinnovation, is another major milestone for Nidus,” stated Vicki Gonzalez, managing partner of Nidus. “This deal further confirms our unique approach in leveraging our partners’ strategic market insight to efficiently select and de-risk early-stage energy technologies.”

The Madison County landfill is the first in the country to apply this technology in a closure project and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority provided a grant in an effort to showcase the technology to other landfill owners.

“Carlisle Energy Services is proud to have helped Madison County develop a sustainable landfill closure system that generates clean solar energy,” said Carlisle’s Director of Landfill Solutions Arthur Mohr Jr. “This project demonstrates the merits of our GeoTPO Geomembrane as a viable long-term closure system for landfill owners.”

Other plans for the site include a landfill gas system that captures the heat generated by the turbine engines to dry lumber on site. This energy will be used to heat the building. In addition, the owners are considering adding other alternative energy elements such as a windmill, hydroponic greenhouses and/or additional solar systems.

“The photovoltaic landfill cover will play an integral role in Madison County’s growing renewable energy initiative, and we are proud to demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of Carlisle’s unique landfill closure system,” added James Zecca, Madison County Solid Waste Department Director.

So how else have these efficiencies improved the ethanol industry? They have directly contributed to ethanol ability’s to lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from gasoline on a well-to-wheels basis (or better known as lifecycle analysis), explained Cooper. He said that six recent reports show that corn ethanol reduced GHG’s by 28-53 percent using current technologies. He continues by highlighting that GHG reductions will continue to improve as technology improves.

Simultaneously, GHG emissions are getting worse for the oil industry. This is due to the fact that oil is getting harder to extract and oil shale and tar sand technologies create more emissions than predecessor technologies.

Cooper concluded by saying that both American farmers and ethanol producers are investing in technology that will continue to lower their carbon footprint while at the same time producing more food, feed and fiber than ever before with less resources.

The authors write in the report, “While all four groups have different missions, histories, goals and ideas about the role of government, we all agree that we can begin to overcome our nation’s budgetary and environmental woes by tackling spending that is not only wasteful but environmentally harmful.”

So what do they want to cut? Fossil fuel, nuclear, alternative energy, and crop subsidies to name a few. They also want to cut land and water projects and kill road projects along with some Army Corps of Engineers water projects.

According to the report the federal government could end the following programs and save the United States:

• $72,000,000,000 for general revenue transfers to the Highway Trust Fund
• $30,000,000,000 for crop insurance
• $4,820,000,000 for Oil and Gas Royalty relief

Several lawmakers reacted to the report and Rep. Earl Blumeanauer (D-OR) said, “The 2011 Green Scissors Report is a reminder that it’s time for Congress to have a serious, rational discussion about cutting the budget. With painful budget cuts already under discussion that will require American families to make sacrifices, it is only fair, for example, that we also stop the handouts to our richest oil companies.”

Hey, I’m all for cutting budgets and its good to see that the report recommends cutting energy subsidies across the board, but I must ask what would happen to our energy bills if poof, over night they’re all gone? Will we we lose our innovation in alternative energy technologies and be stuck with the status quo? Now how environmentally friendly is that?

The authors write, “What is little recognized is that the twin threats, to the climate and to the economy, are linked in both cause and cure. Unless nations move aggressively to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy, key elements of the transition away from fossil fuels and necessary to save the climate, it is difficult to see how our economy can lift itself from recession or avoid further crises. Solving the climate crisis IS THE WAY OUT of the economic crisis,” (authors’ emphasis).

Now that the stage is set, Lovins and Cohen begin providing case studies of sorts of different companies that have improved their bottom line by investing in energy efficiency and sustainable technologies. For example, Toyota became the largest auto maker in the world through the production of hybrid vehicles and fuel efficient cars while U.S. automakers continued to churn out oversized SUVs when a consumer green shift was taking place.

Conventional thinking around the issue of reducing green house gas emissions has held that averting climate catastrophe will cost the world trillions of dollars during a time countries can’t afford to invest due to the financial crisis. However, the authors argue that climate capitalists will seek out economic opportunities in the context of averting runaway climate chaos that will both mitigate climate change as well as offer profits.

Climate capitalists will be successful, the authors write, because they follow the principles of natural capitalism. The first principle is buying time by using all resources as efficiently as possible. The second principle is redesigning how we make and deliver all products and services using approaches such as cradle-to-cradle concepts, Biomimicry, the circular economy, Design for the Environment, and others.

While the information was interesting, and arguably relevant to supporting the authors’ argument, I found it to be a bit difficult to digest – the cause appeared to be information overload. But I still managed to grasp hold of the big takeaway – if you believe that the world is in fact threatened by climate crisis, then can you afford to not do anything? Lovins and Cohen say no. Those who choose not to plan and invest in a future based on sustainable practices will fail miserably.

The documentary travels to nine different countries including Germany, Sweden, China and the U.S. to take a look at actions taken to solve global warming. The film features green building projects, renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar and highlights energy efficiency strategies. Briggs interviewed several environmental “who’s who’s” including Lester Brown, the founder of the Earth Policy Institute; David Suzuki, Co-Founder of The David Suzuki Foundation; James Woolsey, former CIA Director and founding member of Set America Free Coalition; Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma; and Amory Lovins, Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

The documentary was well done and beautifully produced and did an excellent job on intertwining commentary, with interviews, with animated shorts, and solutions. And Brigg’s solutions are not presented as once and done, a strategy often undertook. He continues to lay out solutions over, and over so that you walk away with some solid personal actions you can take to mitigate your own personal carbon footprint.

So what are some of these strategies?

1. 1. Reforesting the world.
2. 2. Supporting sustainable agriculture that does not depend on fossil fuels.
3. 3. Lifestyle changes like unplugging vampire electronics.
4. 4. Telecommuting.
5. 5. Working without motors.
6. 6. Eating less meat.
7. 7. Purchasing maximum energy efficient appliances and electronics.
8. 8. Integrate green building technologies.
9. 9. Live locally.
10. 10. Use renewable transportation.
11. 11. Convert to 100 percent renewable or truly clean energy in the next few years.
12. 12. Empower politicians to make the best equitable laws for long-term environmental and economic health.

While these are all worthwhile goals, I believe some of them are a bit lofty and unrealistic. But if what many of the experts say is true, especially Amory Lovins who has been preaching for more than a decade that going green will make you money, just adopting some of the solutions or part of the solutions, should help you save money and along the way, you’ll be helping the environment also. That can’t be a bad thing even if global warming turns out to be a bit overblown.

However, at the end of the day, if you don’t buy into the theory that global warming is going to wreck havoc on our lives, the movie will not convince you – nothing probably will. But if you are personally willing to make a commitment to reduce your carbon footprint, than this movie will definitely help get you on your way.

“The Michigan Agri-Business Association wants to shine a light on the many agricultural businesses that are doing the right thing, and keeping Michigan’s natural resources strong and healthy,” MABA President Jim Byrum said. “Conservation, sustainability and energy efficiency are a way of life for these Michigan businesses, saving both money and resources. These businesses are good for both our industry and Michigan’s future, and we want to highlight their efforts.”

To reduce water use while improving water quality, POET Biorefining – Caro uses a total water recovery system to eliminate wastewater discharge and a waste heat recovery system that recycles both heat and water. It uses the Load Toad DDGS loader to get more product onto each rail car and conducts a recycling program.

David Gloer, GM of POET Biorefining – Caro added, “We produce renewable fuel, so reducing waste and energy use is a natural focus for POET Biorefining – Caro,” General Manager David Gloer said. “It’s a great honor to be recognized by the MABA for those efforts.”

The move to renewable energy is spurred by a high electric bill and sends the family to the Alternative Energy Expo. As the family piles into the car, to avert thieves in their absence, they leave on all the lights, including their Christmas lights. Once they get to the expo, several things catch their eye including solar panels and biofuels where boothmates “switchgrass” and “corn ethanol” get in a fight over who is better.

But what really catches Homer’s eye is the promise of the wind turbine, which he installs in his backyard.

Lisa: Dad, you are leading the way in clean energy.

Homer: Yep. I Al Gore’d it pretty good.

Lisa: The Simpsons are off the grid and so far it’s going great.

Until…

Homer: Who turned off the wind?

Lisa: Dad, if we’re really off the grid than we won’t get power when the wind is still.

Homer: Well, I’m not crawling back to Big Electricity. From now on the Simpson’s are living intermittently.

Ok, so while the message wasn’t perfect you know when a technology has captured the minds of the general public when it shows up in pop culture. Now let’s hope that renewable energy does a better job of capturing the minds of our politicians so it can continue to “show up” in our backyards.

“Careful siting of renewable energy development may play a key role in minimizing impacts to wildlife,” said David Evers, Ph.D., BRI’s executive director and chief scientist. “However, this requires detailed knowledge of where animals breed, winter, and migrate.”

For the past two and a half years, the BRI team has studied migration and movement patterns of birds and bats over the Gulf of Maine and along the Atlantic coast. They discovered that migratory owls will fly hundreds of miles out over the Atlantic on their way south to South America and the Caribbean. BRI believes this could be important in understanding how these owls, and other birds, could be affected by offshore wind turbines.

“Wind developers and wildlife managers in both the U.S. and Europe have called for the collection of preconstruction monitoring data to minimize the potential impacts of facilities on wildlife,” says Kate Williams, director of BRI’s wildlife and renewable energy program. “This can be a hot-button issue, but BRI’s main goal is to provide sound scientific data to decision makers and the public to inform debate on siting and other issues. We don’t have a pro- or anti-wind agenda.”

One of BRI’s goals is to make the information available to policy makers as well as the general public. They will be hosting a two-day workshop about the ecological effects of offshore wind power on November 8-9, 2011 at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

The premise of the book is that the world is running out of oil while at the same time depleting itself of its natural resources. These two issues can combine to cause destruction and complete collapse of a society. The book begins by highlighting some of the societies that have disappeared due to lack of resources whether it be water or trees or others. One of the most famous case studies he uses is that of Easter Island, now owned by Chile, and the irony that although the people knew their future was in jeopardy due to diminished resources, they used them all anyway. Will this be society today?

Hallett is not a fan of biofuels as a solution to our problems. He also believes renewable energy, such as wind or solar, will only become mainstream when it is the only option. He also doesn’t think we will be laughing 30, 40, 50 years from now about how peak oil and climate change were myths.

In terms of the future energy sources, Hallett believes it will be one in which nuclear and hydrogen play major roles. He says that we need a multitude of effective solutions to the problem of transportation. “…Trains, planes, and automobiles all run on liquid fuels, which are refined directly from oil, and it is extremely difficult to develop versatile transportation systems that use alternative systems. If our new energy model is based on the generation of electricity, the problem remains of putting this into vehicles. Electric vehicles will play a role, but I believe that the only viable, long-term solution to this problem is hydrogen.”

He continues, “Hydrogen has as distinct disadvantage that it cannot be simply pumped out of the ground or sucked out of the atmosphere. There is no source of free hydrogen, so first, it has to be made. Hydrogen, then, is not a source of energy at all but merely a carrier of energy. Consequently, the future of energy generation does not rest with hydrogen, but the future of energy delivery might.”

Hallett takes us much beyond oil and forgone society and takes an in-depth look at other issues including agriculture, water, aquaculture and how all of these things intersect. You can’t effect one without effecting the other and often times the consequences are unintended, but happen all the same. While at times his views seem dire and without hope, at the end of the book he lays out a new foundation for the world to move forward. One that is not overpopulated, based on dirty fossil fuels, or over uses natural resources. His world is one where people once again learn how to interact and sustainably live with the land rather than live on the land.

“Corn ethanol is not living up to its promise,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “Ethanol production requires tons of petrochemicals and diverts land that could be better used for growing traditional food. This country’s ethanol tax credits have increased food prices around the world and made climate pollution even worse.”

Friends of the Earth note that presidential hopefuls Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum have already come out of the gates with plans to phase out subsidies. In fact, Pawlenty was bold enough to announce this during his first official campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa. On the flip side, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich favor keeping them in place while Ron Paul and Herman Cain want them ended immediately. The ethanol industry has also agreed that the subsides, such as VEETC should be phased out, but to eliminate them immediately would cause undo harm to the ethanol industry.

Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense added, “Ethanol subsidies are a ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars and do little more than line the pockets of big oil companies. Republican candidates have to decide whether they put America’s taxpayers before their personal political gain.”

If early actions are any indication, then ethanol subsidies should be a hot topic in upcoming election (you can agree or disagree in this week’s poll).

So for all of you DF readers who don’t favor ethanol, here is your chance to voice your opinion – Friends of the Earth has a site for you to send letters to your local newspapers expressing your opinions.

Tim Burns, CEO of BioProcess Algae said this project is about both co-location opportunities as well as adding value to carbon. The algae plant will utilize the waste streams of the ethanol plant including waste nutrients and waste water. In addition, the algae plant uses the carbon dioxide from the corn ethanol plant to grow and thrive. Suddenly a product produced from a first generation ethanol plant with what amounts to negative value now has a tremendous positive value to a second generation plant. When people figure out that carbon from things such as a first generation ethanol plant has value, others will be on board, said Burns.

Years ago, Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy, said his company began looking for emerging technologies that could add value to his plant. These included adding things such as inedible corn oil extraction technology, but also the partnership with a second generation biorefinery that could utilize their plant’s waste streams. His company recognized the incredible partnership before any others and this fall his company along with BioProcess Algae will be building their algae farm, the last phase before they begin to produce commercial scale algae biofuels.

In the future, Becker and Burns both believe that every first generation biofuel plant will marry a second generation technology and with these marriages, the biofuels industry will rise to the challenge of producing billions upon billions of gallons of domestic renewable energy for America.

Learn more about the first biofuel marriage here: Domestic Fuel Cast

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

“Our study indicates that when it comes to fuel economy and emissions standards, Californians don’t have to choose between a robust economy and a cleaner vehicle fleet — they can enjoy both,” said Professor David Roland-Holst, author of the report.

The report used an economic forecasting model to project the effects of improved fuel economy and emission standards both enacted by the federal government and under consideration by the state. When compared to California’s economic performance without any vehicle fuel economy or emissions standards, if fuel economy improved by 4-6 percent per year starting in 2017, California would see the following impacts by the year 2025: the addition of 38,000 to 236,000 jobs; an increase in GSP of .82 percent to 1.31 percent; and a reduction of 8 percent to 19 percent of state GHG emissions.

F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, said of the study, “For more than three decades, California’s investments in energy efficiency — through groundbreaking building, appliance, and utility regulatory standards — have reaped substantial economic returns for consumers in our state. These returns have in turn supported the creation of new jobs and businesses. Californians will see similar benefits when it comes to clean cars.”

Currently, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is in the midst of passing legislation that will set vehicle emission standards for passenger cars sold in the state for model years 2017-2025. States are allowed under the federal Clean Air Act to set their own vehicle emission standards but not fuel economy standards – those can only be set by the federal government. Oftentimes other states follow California’s lead and today, 14 other states currently follow California’s emission policies. EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are expected to announce the new fuel economy standards this fall.

Changes to the new labels are the most dramatic in over 30 years, and provide more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including estimated annual fuel costs, savings, as well as information on each vehicle’s environmental impact. The announcement was made today at electric car maker Tesla‘s headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

“Smart energy policy, advanced engineering, and technology are working together to move the auto industry forward,” said EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld. “The Obama Administration delivered the first-ever tailpipe greenhouse gas emission and fuel efficiency standards. What we are doing today, with the new labels, is helping the American public make decisions that can reduce the burden on their pocketbooks, and the burden on our environment.”

The improvements to the fuel economy labels will give consumers better, more complete information to consider when purchasing new vehicles. Starting with model year 2013, the improved fuel economy labels will be required to be affixed to all new passenger cars and trucks – both conventional gasoline powered and “next generation” cars, such as plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. The new rules, passed in 2010, should improve fuel economy of cars and trucks built between 2012-1016 to the tune of 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program and save consumers an average of $3,000 in fuel costs. Switching to an electric vehicles should reap even more savings at the pump.

“Looking at the true cost of gasoline – not just at the pump, but the cost in terms of our national security, our economy and the environment – electric vehicles simply make the most sense,” said Tesla VP of Corporate Development Diarmuid O’Connell. “Tesla is committed to putting as many affordable electric vehicles on the road as quickly as possible to end our reliance on foreign sources of oil and reduce the economic shocks that are driven by the volatility of oil prices.”

Click here to see versions of the new labels and click here to see side by side comparisons of the new labels versus the old labels.

“This partnership with the Da Vinci Science Center is a great way to teach visitors about the value of energy efficiency and give them information they can use in their daily lives,” said Thomas C. Stathos, director of Customer Programs and Services for PPL Electric Utilities. “Most of the center’s visitors are children, and this exhibit focuses on them. These youngsters can influence energy efficiency in their own homes right now. They are the tenants and homeowners of the future, so it’s important they become educated energy consumers.”

The E-power House, located on the center’s first floor, features a bathroom, bedroom, laundry room, kitchen, and living room. Features include rooftop solar panels, examples of attic insulation, a ceiling fan, and a computer.

“The E-power House is a first-rate addition to the Da Vinci Science Center experience,” said Troy A. Thrash, the center’s executive director and chief executive officer. “Electricity is vital to all we do, for our necessities and life’s conveniences. Using energy efficiently is vital as well and this exhibit shows visitors how they can be smart energy consumers.”

The E-power House is sponsored by PPL Electric Utilities. In addition, their parent PPL Corporation, has been a long-time supporter of the science center and sponsors the Watt’s Up” section of the center where the house is located.

In the first part of the book, Brown lays out the problems at hand including falling water tables and shrinking harvests, eroding soils and expanding deserts and finishes with a discussion about the effect of rising temperatures including the melting of ice and glaciers and food security. He notes that several researchers conducted a study whereby they aggregated the use of earth’s natural resources including CO2 and discovered that we first surpassed the earth’s regenerative capacity around 1980. In 1999, global demands on the earth’s natural systems exceeded sustainable yields by 20 percent and today it would take 1.5 Earths to sustain our current consumption.

Next Brown begins a discussion of the consequences as a result of our foundation in peril. He discusses rising food prices and food scarcity, environmental refugees (think Hurricane Katrina where more than 300,000 people were displaced and many never went back) and failed states such as Somalia and Iraq. During the first part of the book, the big link, or the big disaster, is failed agriculture. He notes that many archeologists have determined that many civilizations that disappeared did so because of food shortages and he believes this is the weak link for today’s civilization.

He uses the 2008-2009 “food bubble” as an example. This was when energy prices hit record highs and food prices also hit record highs. He explained that with countries producing fuel from food crops, such as the U.S. producing ethanol from corn, energy prices/fuel prices are now directly tied to food prices.

“The question is not whether the food bubble will burst but when,” says Brown. “While the U.S. housing bubble was created by the overextension of credit, the food bubble is based on the overuse of land and water resources. It is further threatened by the climate stresses deriving from the excessive burning of fossil fuels. When the U.S. housing bubble burst, it sent shockwaves through the world economy, culminating in the worst recession since the Great Depression. When the food bubble bursts, food prices will soar worldwide, threatening economic and political stability everywhere. For those living on the lower rungs of the global economic ladder, survival itself could be at stake.”

Now, understanding the role food plays in our future, Brown offers up a response that he calls Plan B – what the Earth Policy Institute believes needs to be done to save civilization. “It is a monumental effort to be undertaken at wartime speed,” writes Brown.  The plan has four components: stabilizing climate, restoring the earth’s natural support systems, stabilizing population, and eradicating poverty. The plan calls for a 80 percent reduction in CO2 by 2020. This, Brown says, can be achieved through three actions. First raise the efficiency of the world energy economy while restructuring transportation. Second, cut emissions in the energy sector by replacing fossil fuels with wind, solar and geothermal. Third, end deforestation while engaging in a massive campaign to plant trees and stabilize soils. (I wonder if he is a fan of biochar?)

When Brown offers up ways to achieve the goals, for the transportation sector, he is not a fan of biofuels. Rather, he would like to see a movement to vehicles run with electricity (aka electric vehicles), that is created from wind, solar and geothermal energy. He is also a proponent of pubic transportation such as rail and advocates for conservation.

In the end, Brown answers the question, “What can I do?” While recycling and conservation are good places to start, he says for success people need to become more politically active and concludes, “Saving civilization is not a spectator sport.”

“We are excited to congratulate Laura Howard for designing a symbol that has the potential to become a revolutionary logo representing the next generation of plastics – plastics that protect and preserve our environment and are made from renewable resources,” said Frederic Scheer, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast. “The new bioplastic symbol will be used in a similar fashion to the recycling symbol as it will be stamped on products, and it will serve as an identifying mark of bioplastic material.”

Scheer continued, “Petroleum-based plastics can have a devastating impact on our environment. Approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year.  At these quantities, we could wrap the entire planet several times over. Bioplastics offer a more respectful option for our environment, and we believe that this new symbol will help provide consumers with the tools they need to make more environmentally intelligent purchasing decisions.”

The “Make Your Mark” campaign was designed after the 1970 contest that produced the now unmistakable “recycle” logo. The bioplastics logo design campaign received over 1,500 design entries and 2.8 million public votes. The top 200 designs were then judged a panel that included Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of the recycling symbol, Dr. Michael Thielen, Publisher of bioplastics MAGAZINE, and Karim Rashid, world-class industrial designer.

“Cereplast’s bioplastic symbol could likely gain traction much faster than the recycling symbol I designed, as communication in today’s digital landscape runs at lightning speed compared to forty years ago,” said Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of the recycling symbol and “Make Your Mark” judge. “I am honored to be a part of this historic competition that has produced a symbol that will represent the environmental benefits of bioplastics.”

“I believe this positive step will help the Service proceed on a scientifically sound basis to pursue the conservation of endangered species and facilitate the development of a renewable energy source at the same time,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director.

John Anderson, AWEA’s Director of Siting Policy said, ”It is the industry’s expectation that development of the regional HCP will streamline the permitting process, allowing effective conservation of wildlife and easing the Service’s administrative burden, while also allowing for more wind energy to be deployed nationally. This is a shining example of how industry, the Service, states and other stakeholders can work collaboratively to develop an overall conservation strategy that is in the best interest of the affected species.”

Under the HCP, wind developers will acquire an Incidental Take Permit (“Take” in this instance means harming, harassing or killing endangered or threatened species), which will exempt otherwise lawful activities (i.e., construction and operation of a wind energy facility) from the prohibition of take under the Endangered Species Act. The Service has awarded states in the Service’s Midwest Region an Endangered Species Act grant of $3,362,364 to develop a broadly constructed HCP designed to address the potential impacts of wind energy with the wind industry’s commitment to provide 10 percent of matching funds.

The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit, will lead the strategic conservation work accompanying the HCP.

But Bates believes the real value of biochar lies in that it has a unique ability to condition soil. Bates explains that if it is turned in a nutrient pile and then tilled into the ground, it immediately becomes colonized by soil microbes. These microbes attract fungi, which connect to the roots of the plants, carrying nutrients to the place they are most needed. Biochar is also a water solution – it provides a reservoir and conduit for soil moisture, soaking up water from oversaturated areas and moving it to dyer areas (it can also be used to purify water). Bates says that one gram of charcoal has the surface area of one small house, or 1,000 to 2,500 square meters, because of all its micropores. In terms of soil health, after several years, biochar helps soil return to its natural state and eliminates the need for inputs such as nitrogen or phosphorous – another major environmental benefit.

There is also a connection between biochar and biofuels. When converting biomass to biofuels, not all of the biomass is consumed. At this point, the remaining biomass can be burned and turned into biochar and then the biochar can be tilled into the biomass fields to aid in soil sustainability. In this example, biochar becomes both a biofuels and agriculture solution.

There are several views of biochar one being those who truly believe that biochar alone can reduce CO2 emissions faster and more completely than any other solution. Bates writes, “…humans can alter the atmosphere to take us back to pre-industrial carbon levels – without risky, short-lived, and costly geoengineering gambits such as space mirrors, sulfur aerosols, and fish-suffocating plankton blooms. All we have to do is plant trees, build terra preta soils, and organically store carbon in our planet’s terrasphere instead of in its atmosphere.” Terra preta soils are very dark, fertile soil found in the Amazon Basin that were created using a mixture of charcoal, bone and manure.

It sounds so simple doesn’t it? Bates defends his view through a historical look at terra preta soils and biochar through the ages. He then provides research and offers a plan to begin sequestering carbon through carbon farming. Oh, and I should mention that biochar supporters believe one ton of biochar can sequester 3 tons of CO2 for at least 1,000 years or more.

Ultimately Bates believes that at this late hour there is still hope and his solution, “It would likely involve some combination of biochar, carbon farming, tree planting, and redesign of the built environment and energy systems to be carbon-negative. I cannot imagine any alternative that excludes those strategies that would remain viable for very long.”

So there you have it. It’s Earth Day on Friday and many people like to plant trees. This year, when you plant your tree, add a little biochar. Who knows. If enough people plants trees using biochar, it just might save the world.

Also on the list at number 18 was Zotos, a hair care brand. According to the EPA’s site, nearly 60 percent of the company’s electricity is generated from on-site wind energy. The reason Zotos stands out is while most companies purchase renewable power from electricity companies, they actually generated their power from wind turbines located right on their campus. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the Zotos Wind Project is considered one of the top on-site wind projects currently being undertaken by a manufacturing company in the United States.

“It was a  sizable investment to purchase the wind turbines, but it was a small price to pay when compared to the major benefits it creates for the community of Geneva, NY, and our environment,” says Anthony Perdigao, Zotos Chief Sustainability Officer.

With approximately 6.5 million kWh of electricity produced annually, the Zotos wind turbines will provide more than 50 percent of organization’s energy requirements and are expected to reduce overall CO2 emissions by 50 percent in 2011. Zotos’ energy goal is to utilize 100 percent renewable energy by 2012.

Earth Month 10 Tips for 2011:

1. 1. Switch to Cleaner Electricity for Your Home. The production of electricity is the leading cause of industrial air pollution.
2. 2. Plant a Tree. A single tree can absorb up to 2,000 pounds of CO2 over its lifetime, while also providing shade and animal habitat.
3. 3. Send e-cards. Go online and send an e-card instead of printed greeting cards to save paper and CO2 emissions associated with mailing and shipping.
4. 4. Use all-natural decoration. Buy colorful fruits and vegetables as centerpieces throughout the home. Then when they ripen, find a new recipe to enjoy them with.
5. 5. Use the real thing. Instead of using paper and plastic dinnerware, use real plates, bowls, and silverware. Not only does it decrease waste, but it looks nicer, too.
6. 6. Seal your house up. Caulking and weather stripping around doors, windows, and other cracks can prevent air leaks and save on your heating and cooling bills.
7. 7. BYOB. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. It takes one 15- to 20-year-old tree to make enough paper for 700 grocery bags.
8. 8. Pay bills online. If every family in the United States viewed and paid bills online, the country would save almost 1 billion pounds of paper and avoid 3.9 billion pounds of GHGs.
9. 9. Practice green gift wrapping. Use old maps or newspaper and reuse gift bags.
10. 10. Live every day like it’s Earth Day. Take a pledge as a household to practice sustainability every day of the year.

Want to make these tips stick? Green Mountain Energy suggests that you engage in the eco-activities as an entire family.

“This latest investment in Agilyx represents a significant milestone for our company,” said Chris Ulum, chief executive officer of Agilyx Corporation. “With these funds and strategic partners at our side, we are well positioned to help our customers and the communities in which they operate improve the diversion and recovery of waste plastics, and create new local sources of crude oil. By providing this alternative while the world’s insatiable appetite for oil continues, our solution can offset the use of fossil crude oil and create new cleantech jobs in the process.”

The company currently has a fully permitted and patented waste plastic conversion technology that recycles waste plastic into synthetic crude. The process is scalable, versatile and environmentally friendly according to the company. The company is working in conjunction with other companies to help them manage plastic waste streams. Today, Agilyx has an operational facility near Portland, Oregon that is the largest commercial waste plastic to synthetic crude oil facility in the U.S. To date, the company has sold more than 120,000 gallons of its crude oil produced from 1 million pounds of plastic that would otherwise have been incinerated or landfilled.

“Waste Management wants to maximize the value of the materials it manages,” said Tim Cesarek, managing director of Organic Growth at Waste Management. “Agilyx’s technology complements Waste Management’s advancement of thermal chemical conversion technology platforms and provides us with a viable option for processing contaminated and difficult to recycle waste plastics while creating a high value commodity.”

Manoelle Lepoutre, Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development for Total S.A. added, “As a major plastics manufacturer and as an oil refining company, Total is pleased to support the further development of Agilyx, whose technology offers a scalable economic option to recovering waste plastics.”

He writes, “Understand that the real impetus behind the cooked numbers and doomspeak of the global warmers has little to do with the state of the environment and much to do with shackling capitalism and transforming the American way of life in the interests of global wealth redistribution (“social justice”).

Bell acknowledges that climate change is real – only that it is not man-made- and says that no one can reliably predict what Earth’s global climate will be in a decade or longer. What he sees as the real problem is the global energy supply dilemma, one that he believes has no simple solution.

Throughout the book, Bell lays out his case for his way of thinking beginning with “outing” those who are “cooking the climate books.” This includes Al Gore as well as the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In other words, he “sets the record straight.” From there, he highlights those that he believes are political hijackers of science – meaning policy makers who have molded climate science research to support their own agenda – mainly cap and trade. (I fondly call this crap and raid.) Bell argues that all forms of cap and trade are scams.

Next, he helps us get a real grip on “green energy.” Bell believes that the world’s readily accessible oil and gas deposits are dwindling and the the world must exploit all reasonable alternatives. However, “alternative energy sources” such as wind, solar and corn-based ethanol, are in his view, not reasonable alternatives. Bell argues that as the public has been hoodwinked by climate change and they have also been hoodwinked by the promises of green energy. He writes, “Many are beginning to realize that most green expectations are oversold and color-blind.”

So what’s the problem with green energy? First, Bell says it is currently uncompetitive, especially when compared to current energy sources. Second, he argues that green energy is actually browner than people realize. Third, they will not present a major supply-side solution to our energy challenges. Rather than support these types of energy sources, Bell supports nuclear power and the creation of technologies that will produce cleaner energy from coal and other fossils.

If you could pull out an overall message in the book, its that the public needs to be better informed; yet, he struggles with who should we trust to give us the truth. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Bell, if you learn one thing from the book it’s that you shouldn’t take any information about climate change or energy solutions at face value.

Growth Energy is calling this year’s nominees “Bio-Heroes” in a blog post today.

“Critics of biofuels would go to great lengths to distort the truth and smear the records of supporters. One doesn’t have to look far to find the silliness to which some would stoop. Friends of the Earth, one such group determined to embarrass themselves into irrelevance, went so far as to try to attract media attention to their poorly uninformed and sadly named “Biofool of the Year” award,” reads the post. “At Growth Energy, instead of heaping ridicule on leaders that want to break our country’s addiction to foreign oil, we choose to laud them, and ask others to support their efforts.”

This year’s nominees are Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), General Wesley Clark, Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the editors of Domestic Fuel – Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman. Vote for your favorite here.

The award was established by FOE “to recognize leaders that promote dirty biofuels” – especially corn ethanol – and was won last year by then House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN). The first year it was Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant. This year’s nominees also include Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), General Wesley Clark, and Secretary Tom Vilsack. It’s a great honor to be included in such company.

Here is what FOE has to say about us:

This dynamic duo are a pair of bloggers who lead the group ZimmComm New Media and provide a big platform for the ethanol industry’s talking points. Each day, on a series of blogs – hosted by the Zimmermans (DomesticFuel, AgWired ) or by the corn ethanol industry itself (CornCommentary) – Cindy and Chuck critique anyone who may disagree with the ethanol industry’s line while practically cutting and pasting press releases from industry lobby groups. The Zimmermans are unabashedly pro-industry, with clients such as Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Biodiesel Board and Syngenta. What’s more, many of their employees are previous employees of the biofuels industry lobby groups like Growth Energy. Now — Friends of the Earth has nothing against a pro-industry website (in principle), but the problem with the Zimmermans is that on the surface they pretend to be “reporters,” when in fact they act as industry hacks.

Just a couple points of clarification. First, we have no employees. We have freelance writers who contribute to our websites and other freelancers who do other work for us. One of our freelancers did work for Growth Energy, she now works for Protec Fuel and while she continues to do work for us in other areas, she does very little posting at this time. Another freelancer, Joanna Schroeder, worked for EPIC when we got to know her, but she now has her own company and does work for a variety of clients, including us. You can find our more about us and our company on the About page.

We support and believe in the use of biofuels for our country, as well as other forms of alternative energy – and even utilizing more of our country’s own oil reserves. We are diametrically opposed to organizations and individuals who criticize and attack the people who produce this nation’s food, fiber, AND fuel. If that makes us biofools, then we are proud to be!

Today, approximately 1 percent of the Earth’s freshwater is easily accessible. In the United States alone, 36 states are already experiencing or expect to experience water challenges that include pollution and shortages. Globally, 70 percent of all water used goes to agriculture followed by water used to create energy. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, on at least one-third of the world’s cropland, water rather than land is the binding constraint – a real challenge as the world looks to feed 9 billion people by 2045-2050.

The goal of the Keep It Fresh campaign is to educate communities about today’s water challenges using interactive online tools as well as onsite activities. The campaign is designed to raise awareness about the crisis-level water shortages, create personal action around water conservation and advocated for improving local water situations.

“We are proud to partner with the Campus Consciousness Tour featuring Wiz Khalifa for the ‘Keep It Fresh’ campaign to raise awareness about our clean water crisis and the economic opportunity provided in protecting our fresh water supply,” stated Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All. “Access to clean water isn’t a future problem, it’s a current problem facing many of us, particularly, many of our nation’s low-income communities and communities of color. I am excited about this partnership’s potential to create change through action.”

The campaign chose Wiz Khalifa as a spokesperson because of his positive environmental stance on current issues facing America coupled with his unique ability to reach young adults throughout the country. As part of the promotions surrounding the campaign, people can register to win prizes including a free IPad2 and custom SIGG bottles on their Facebook fan page as well as the Keep It Fresh website.

Rob Dewar, President of SIGG North America concluded, “SIGG is proud to be partnering with Green For All in its mission to improve drinking water availability and awareness about the necessary steps needed to insure continued access to this basic necessity.”

A third party consulting firm, (S&T)2 Consultants Inc. has produced data that shows estimated world ethanol production for 2011 will reduce global GHG emissions by 105 million tonnes. This equals a reduction of approximately 287,000 tonnes per day.

“This is very promising news,” explained Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA. “These figures clearly show that biofuels are playing a critical role in reducing harmful GHG emissions around the globe. Biofuels can curb our global addiction to oil – especially considering today’s rising oil prices – and in the wake of the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Cancun, this data is proof that biofuels are vital in the fight against climate change.

Of special note:

• • World ethanol production is currently replacing the need for a million barrels of crude oil per day which would otherwise create 545,000 tonnes of GHG emissions daily.
• • In 2010, world ethanol production was 85.7 billion litres and is estimated to have reduced GHG emissions by 101 million tonnes – a GHG reduction of more than 276,000 tonnes per day.
• • GHG emission reductions of 101 million tonnes represents the equivalent of 18.7 million cars being taken off the road or the total GHG emissions reported by Austria in 2005.
• • In cooperation with F.O. Licht the GRFA are predicting global ethanol production in 2011 to grow by over 3% to 88.7 billion litres. This increase in production will result in a 9% growth in GHG reductions.