At the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines on Tuesday, Ames High School senior Sam Ennis was declared the first place winner of the 2nd Annual “Fuel the Future” video contest for Iowa high school students. For his highly creative, entertaining and informative music video entitled “I Got You Ethanol” Ennis was awarded the $1,000 grand prize by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Ennis is pictured here with Andy Anderson of the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, which sponsored the contest.

Second place and $600 was awarded to Clay Central Everly Community School tenth grade students Gabby Huss, Rebecca White and Blair Montgomery for their video entry called “Ethanol for the Economy.” Third place and $400 went to eleventh graders Cassandra Davis, Haley Jewell, Lauralin Berkley, Cody Corchado, and Meredith Brister of Pleasant Valley High School in the Quad Cities for “Dear 25 Year Old Me.”

All the videos can be seen on IRFA’s YouTube channel. Watch “I Got You Ethanol” below and listen to the song here: I Got You Ethanol

Photos from 2012 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

“Companies are interested in producing ethanol from woody biomass such as pine, but it is a notoriously difficult material for fermentations,” said Joy Doran-Peterson, associate professor of microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Their research, published online in Biotechnology for Biofuels, shows that the pine fermented with the new yeast can successfully withstand the toxic compounds and produce ethanol from higher concentrations of pretreated pine than previously published.

Read more from UGA news and see a video about this research below:

Produced with the support of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), “Fuel Better in Sixty Seconds” is a short but sweet summary of why alternative energy is important for the nation and how it is making a difference. “With the election season ramping up and daily conversations occurring in the media around budget cuts and tax policy, it is important that the public be educated on a few facts about alternative fuels,” said Pearson Fuels co-founder Mike Lewis. “The bottom line is that alternative fuels, and biofuels in particular, displace a massive amount of foreign oil every day in this country. Once Americans understand the benefits of alternative fuel, they can demand the same from their government leaders.”

“Many Americans don’t realize the contributions that alternative fuels like ethanol make to the economy and our environment,” said RFA director of market development Robert White. “Pearson did a great job in getting the message across in an educational and entertaining way.”

California-based Pearson Fuels has been a leader in providing alternative fuels to both the public and government entities, opening the nation’s first Alternative Fuel Station in 2003. Located in the center of San Diego and specializing in bringing alternative fuels to the public, Pearson was the first facility of its kind and pioneered the first public E85 station on the West Coast.

Watch the video here.

The day was organized by Plug-in America and included EV events in over 20 simultaneous venues from Honolulu to New York with displays and demonstrations of plug-in vehicles by Nissan, GM, Mitsubishi, Toyota, SMART, Tesla, Ford, Coda and others.

“Only a few years ago, major automakers were literally crushing electric cars. Today, virtually every auto company in the world is selling or developing a plug-in car, and consumers are snapping up each and every one, stimulating our economy while helping the environment,” said Plug In America co-founder Paul Scott.

Among the event’s promoters was Nissan, which encouraged the 7200 Leaf owners nationwide to take part. “One year ago, the Nissan Leaf was just gaining public awareness. Today, thousands of drivers have chosen to go all-electric, with many more to come,” said Brian Carolin with Nissan North America.

Plug In Day will be followed up this Friday with the opening of the critically acclaimed documentary Revenge of the Electric Car in Los Angeles and New York. Filmmaker and electric-car advocate Chris Paine directs the movie, which follows executives including Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in his industry-leading pursuit of zero-emission leadership.

Watch the movie trailer below:

REG President and COO Dan Oh says they were involved in the construction and operations of the plant when it originally was built and opened by SoyMor. “We have worked together since 2003,” said Oh. The plant unfortunately got caught up in the economic issues that hit the renewable fuels industry back in 2008 and had to shut down, but REG felt it was a significant plant that needed to get back in operation, so they worked to make it happen for the local economy. “Think of a gallon of biodiesel in roughly every bushel of soybeans, this is a 30 million gallon biodiesel facility, so that really adds value back to a bean bushel,” Oh said.

Listen to or download interview with Dan Oh here. REG President Dan Oh

Representatives of the Minnesota soybean industry were on hand today for the grand opening, including Jim Willers, who is a farmer from Beaver Creek and a director on the United Soybean Board, as well as a member of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. After touring the plant, Willers said he was impressed with the shape it is in after being shut down for three years. “I found out that it was in excellent condition when they closed it down and the start up was way better than they thought,” he said. “It’s a state of the art facility and in six months they’re going to be a BQ-9000 plant.”

Listen to or download interview with Jim Willers here. Minnesota soybean farmer Jim Willers

Watch the ribbon cutting below and see photos in the REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant photo album

“Changing the kinds of fuels we use and the way we use them is critical to assuring the Navy and Marine Corps remain the most formidable expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known,” said Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus in a press statement leading up to the air show. “The Department of the Navy will be taking another visible step toward testing biofuel in our aircraft when all six of the Blue Angels perform using the same 50/50 blend of drop-in biofuel we’ve used in so many of our other aircraft.”

The event marked the first time an entire unit has flown on a biofuel mix.

Capt. Greg McWherter, Blue Angels commanding officer/flight leader said of the show, “As public representatives of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the Blue Angels take pride in leading the country’s efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase our energy security.

McWherter, who says there is no discernible differences from the cockpit, stressed that the goal of the program was to demonstrate that there is no difference in performance between the biofuel blend and standard-petroleum-based JP-5.

In another semi-related story, the USDA is looking for Eastern Washington farmers to grow camelina as part of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). The program is designed to incent growers to grow emerging crops for biofuels.

More accurately, Gordon along with his colleague Bret Pursuit, demonstrate how many appliances it takes in Scott’s 2200 square foot home to incur a utility charge, or “spin the meter” forward – what happens to most of us folk not benefiting from solar energy.

“As a leading solar installation firm in California, HelioPower is committed to educating consumers on the benefits of solar,” said Gordon. “In ‘Solar Overload‘ I’m able to show just how many appliances it takes to activate a utility cost from my residential solar power system. Over the five years I’ve had the solar panel system my family has saved $10,000 in utility bills. We are able to demonstrate how that happens when you see the many appliances it takes to spin the meter forward.”

So how much did it take? At 2 pm on a sunny afternoon, he turned on two refrigerators, two DVRs, one laptop, a 21″ monitor, and one cell phone charger. Guess what? The meter was still spinning backwards. He also added 56 light bulbs, one attic fan and five ceiling fans set on high. Still not running the meter forward. Now take a guess and see what happens when he adds a microwave, electric clothes dryer, energy efficient washing machine, and a pool pump.

Rfa’s Robert White has his bike here and took part in the ride. At the end of this video clip you’ll see him wave as he rides by me on the street.

2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Photo Album

So just how big are these blades? I walked from tip to tip and it took me 39 seconds walking at a normal pace. Here is a video of my journey. BTW – the song is called “Wind Energy Song” and was written by Monty Harper. Here are some of the lyrics:

This is the sun shining down on Earth.

This is the warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the wind blowing in beneath the
air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the rotor spinning in the
wind blowing in beneath the
air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

I also took photos as I was driving (don’t try this in the car!) and I have pictures of a wind farm off of 1-80 Iowa. Did you know that Iowa is the second leading state for wind power generation behind Texas? The state is also the leader in renewable energy – 20 percent of Iowa’s power comes from renewable resources. Take that California! I also took pictures of a wind farm in off of 1-74 in Illinois. Click here to see my Summer 2011 photo album.

Here is a little navigational help: all specific sessions can be accessed from the “webcasts” page. From this section, you can find specific sessions based on where they were held. For example, the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the main plenary session is housed under the “auditorium” tab while the 15 panels are stored by themed room names including technology, sustainability, markets and investments.

According to UNICA Corporate Communications Director Adhemar Altieri, the YouTube channel provides a historical record of the Ethanol Summit and serves other useful purposes. “It disseminates the information presented at the event to a much larger audience than could be accommodated at the event venue in two days and it allows event participants to view sessions they could not attend in person. With five theme-specific rooms offering sessions simultaneously, this is the only way to take it all in.”

In addition to the 2011 Ethanol Summit, the YouTube channel also houses the 2009 event.

The first ad is called, “Building Better Fuels Today and Tomorrow,” and opens with the statement, “There are those who speculate America’s day has passed…”

“This is an important opportunity for us to provide real world examples of advanced biofuels delivering ready to use fuels for cars on the road today as well as commercial airliners and our national defense structure,” McAdams added. “No waiting for the day when costly changes are made on car assembly lines or gas stations.”

Ditlev Engel, President and CEO of Vestas said, “Consumers around the world see climate change as the greatest single challenge, and 90 percent of consumers want more renewable energy. This shows a real global desire to reduce carbon emissions. It gives corporate decision makers something to think about and act upon.”

The Global Consumer Wind Study 2011 is the largest undertaken of its kind with 31,000 respondents participating in 26 countries. The goal of the survey was to learn more about consumer demand for products made with renewable energy. Consumers were asked how energy decisions made by companies affect their purchasing decisions. In addition, consumers were asked about their perceptions of climate change. The annual study was commission by Vestas and conducted by TNS Gallup.

“The Global Consumer Wind Study provides insight into the role of renewable energy, in particular wind, in relation to the products and services consumers buy,” added Engel.” This in turn should drive the adoption of renewable energy sources by the corporations that sell these products and services.”

The Corporate Renewable Energy Index, with 176 respondents, was based on data from CREX, commissioned by Vestas and conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The companies using the most renewable energy are News Corp., Plum Creek Timber, Kohl’s Corporation, and Whole Foods Market, who uses 100 percent wind energy and has been named Global Wind Energy Champion.

The custom boat is piloted by “Burnin’ Vernon” Barfield, a boat racer from Kansas who hosted the race in Garnett. “We’re running a bone stock engine on that particular boat and it has been testing out about 81-82 miles an hour,” said Barfield, pictured below showing off the boat to some young fans.

RFA partnered with NBRA earlier this year to help dispel concerns about the use of ethanol fuel in boat engines. “We’ve stuck with pump fuel, right out of the same pump that everyone else is using to put in their cars. We mix in our oil, and that’s what we run in our two-strokers, been running it all year and I personally have had no problems whatsoever,” said Barfield. “The only thing that I’m seeing, which is a pleasant surprise, is just a little more speed.”

Barfield says he believes that with proper maintenance, boat engines run just fine on ethanol-blended fuel. “I think it’s just an unfair scenario that everybody likes to blame ethanol because he’s the new kid on the block,” and he thinks over time every one will embrace ethanol “because it keeps Americans working.”

Listen to my interview with Vernon Barfield here: Burnin' Vernon Barfield

Each race in each class is just three laps around a relatively small course, which takes a total of about three minutes. Takes a look in the video below:

See photos from the race here: NBRA Ethanol Boat Race

“We have fuel testing to make sure we’re running ethanol because of the contingency prize money,” said NBRA president Dan Crummett. “We are testing all the fuel before the race and then the top three entries in any class are tested when they come in to make sure they are running ethanol.”

The simple fuel test is done with a vial marketed by Mercury Marine that uses water to allow the ethanol to come out of suspension with the fuel to be measured. Most of the racing fuel is purchased at local gas stations since regular unleaded in most areas contains 10 percent ethanol.

The NBRA races include a number of different classes with light, single person boats than run as fast as 96 miles per hour. “We race stock and modified outboards with hydroplanes and runabouts,” said Crummett. Ethanol is a sponsor for all the NBRA races being held around the country this year to show its performance in marine engines. Crummett says most of the issues that boaters experience when using ethanol-blended fuel are maintenance related. “Any fuel will degrade over not a long period of time once the oil is mixed in it,” he says, which is why it’s so important for boaters to avoid leaving fuel in the tank for an extended time without running the engine.

Listen to my interview with Dan Crummett here and watch him demonstrate the ethanol test in the video below: NBRA President Dan Crummett

See photos from the race here: NBRA Ethanol Boat Race

“We applaud ASTM International and the ATA and CAAFI for their efforts to advance the world’s newest and most sustainable fuels for aviation,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme. “The aviation industry has demonstrated a strong leadership position in fuel supply diversification and sustainability, and today’s announcement is a major step in its efforts to commercialize advanced low-carbon biofuels.”

He continued by noting that Solazyme is honored to be working with the US Navy and DLA-Energy to drive forward the certification and approvals needed for advanced biofuels to play a major role in aviation. “The successful flight demonstration of the Seahawk helicopter on a 50/50 blend of Solajet®HRJ-5 and petroleum-derived jet fuel marks a significant milestone in this process, and reinforces the Navy’s commitment to securing our nation’s energy supply,” added Wolfson.

Solazyme has a partnership with Honeywell UOP to refine the fuel and has been working with them since 2009 on various US military contracts. The drop-in fuel requires no modifications to current engine technology or military logistics infrastructure.

“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.

This is not the first time poop has been studied to make fuel. Companies have tried to use the waste from large scale cattle farms and from zoo animals. But this project is a bit different. Chandran is working with Ashley Murray, founder and director of Waste Enterprisers, and Moses Mensah, a Chemical Engineering professor at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, to develop an innovative technology to transform fecal sludge into biodiesel and create the “Next-Generation Urban Sanitation Facility” in Accra, Ghana.

“We are delighted to be awarded this project,” Chandran says. “And we are especially pleased that the Gates Foundation has recognized the critical importance of sustainable sanitation by investing in our pioneering project. Thus far, sanitation approaches have been extremely resource- and energy-intensive and therefore out of reach for some of the world’s poorest but also most at-need populations. This project will allow us to move forward and develop practical technologies that will be of great value around the world.”

Chandran has been working in Ghana for two years as the faculty advisor for the Columbia University Engineers without Borders Ghana team. He and his team have a goal of developing a bioprocess technology to convert the organic compounds present in fecal sludge to biodiesel and methane. In essence, this would convert the waste-processing facility into a state-of-the art biorefinery.

Not only would this biorefinery produce economical fuel but would also minimize the discharge of fecal sludge into the water system contributing to better human health and sanitation. Chandran hopes that once the project is proven successful, it could be integrated into a social enterprise business model that would improve economics and health in areas around the world.

Chandran concluded, “This project also affords a new path in engineering education, both in the United States and Ghana. By training tomorrow’s engineers in sustainable approaches to ‘resource and energy recovery’ rather than ‘wastewater treatment,’ a sea-change can be achieved in the way we perceive of and manage human waste. In fact, the term ‘wastewater’ is already archaic. Wastewater is, after all, just water with a different chemical and biological composition.”

Mark is a Growth Energy board member. He says the organization saw the long term agreement with NASCAR as a great opportunity to help get in front of American consumers who will feel more confident about putting higher blends of ethanol in their cars after seeing how well it performs in the race cars. They’ve accomplished that through American Ethanol, a partnership with the National Corn Growers Association. The local NASCAR Nationwide Series STP 300 race on Saturday provided his company with an opportunity to make a special contribution to the effort. He says NASCAR is very popular with his employees and the farmers who send in about 150 trucks of corn a day to the plant. Mark Marquis Interview

You can hear Mark’s introduction of Kenny and Kenny’s remarks in this video clip:

Marquis Energy Appreciation Day Photos

While the country does not current have any energy crisis, according to EU MD of E. On Renewables Michael Lewis, and Ben Goldsmith, co-founder of WHEB Partners, the government must “plan very rapidly to avoid one” and the UK “must use every from of renewable energy conceivable.

“I think we do have a cross-party consensus, that we can use to put certainty into the market that we will drive investment in, and fill that energy gap before we do have a crisis,” said Irranca-Davies.

Goldsmith added that the only way renewable energy projects will be built is if the asset class becomes institutionally credible, which it is not currently. To do so, the industry must deliver great returns.

The offshore wind industry could create 80,0000 to 100,000 jobs but a skills shortage is a major obstacle that must be overcome. The panel suggested ways to do this including more education with secondary aged school children and more promotion of science and technology as a well-paid career.

Also considered in the white paper as an energy source was nuclear. Lord Smith added, “Renewables and nuclear both need to be part of the picture – if you’d asked me 15 years ago I’d have said no to nuclear power, largely because of all the waste issues. But climate change has made a realist of me.”

“All we wanted to do was become the farmer of this product and grow and harvest algae. What we have discovered is that we’ve moved faster than the downstream markets have developed,” said Becker.

The event was held in Shenandoah, Iowa, the home of the only co-located first and advanced biofuels plant and also the former headquarters of GPRE before growing and moving to Omaha. Today, GPRE is publicly traded, is the fourth largest producer of ethanol in the U.S and owns and operates nine ethanol plants in six states. Directly employing nearly 600 people, the company expects revenues for 2011 to reach the $3 billion mark.

But maybe why GPRE is so excited about this project, is that they are demonstrating to the world that carbon has value. “What this represents is a true intersection between first generation technologies and advanced technology. What we are showing today to the world is not only does carbon have value, but carbon and other by-products from this ethanol plant, like warm water and heat, can create a product that will give Americans food, feed and fuel,” said Becker.

GPRE and BioProcess Algae have discovered as they reach commercial stage, that they will have to help create the markets for algae fuels and by-products. This month, they are beginning feed trails with Iowa State University that they hope will show the value of a high protein animal product for animal feed. In addition, they are looking to produce products for the food markets including antioxidants, pigments, Omega-3s, and protein. In the energy markets, they are looking at producing biodiesel, a biocrude product as well as producing ethanol from the algae.

So what is the vision of the project? Becker concluded, “It’s still very early days of the technology, but if successful, our vision is to create a process that captures carbon dioxide from every ethanol plant in the United States, use that input to grow and harvest algae, reduce the production plant’s carbon footprint from neutral to negative, and takes the output from the reactors, the algae, and produces next generation fuels, ethanol and energy.”

Click here to view the Flickr photo album from the BioProcess Algae/GPRE Grower Harvester event.

Never thought there would be a biofuels angle to the Royal Wedding, but as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left Buckingham Palace for the royal residence Clarence House, they drove off in a “convertible Aston Martin Volante DB6 MKII in Seychelles blue is owned by his father HRH The Prince of Wales” that runs on 85 percent ethanol.

“In June 2008, at the specific request of The Prince of Wales, who is keen that his cars should be run on sustainable fuel, the Aston Martin was converted to run on E85 bioethanol, made from English wine wastage,” reads the update on the Royal Wedding website.

They even have a Royal Wedding YouTube video of the couple leaving in the car:

Vilsack stressed several key issues and one was the need to revitalize rural America and create innovative and creative jobs to bring our bright, young people back home. Today, 16 percent of our country’s population comes from rural areas like Shenandoah, Iowa, the home of the biofuels project, and 44 percent of our military comes from these areas.

“I am a great believer in American ingenuity,” began Vilsack. “I’m a great believer in the capacity of the American farmer and rancher to literally meet any challenge.”

Vilsack believes that projects such as BioProcess Algae will spread across the country and rural communities. “There’s phenomenal innovation and phenomenal growth opportunities to be able to do something for your country that needs to be done and that’s to wean ourselves off of our dependence on foreign oil,” continued Vilsack. “It’s an opportunity for us to create jobs in small towns. It’s an opportunity for American agriculture to continue to respond to the challenges it has met time after time in the country.”

Vilsack highlighted that rural America is the source for our food, most of our water and an ever increasing amount of our fuel. The algae component of the biofuels project uses carbon dioxide, waste heat and waste water from the corn ethanol plant, recycling nutrients and resources in a more efficient way. Both the corn ethanol process and soon the algae fuel process will provide food, feed and fiber.

There are four components that Vilsack believes are the secret for success in revitalizing the rural economy: significant investment dollars, innovation, networking, and a sense of place. Vilsack said these are the reasons why the USDA was supporting this project.

He concluded, “I want to congratulate the folks at BioProcess Algae and I want to congratulate the ethanol industry and the advanced biofuels industry for coming together in this operation because it’s a model for the rest of the country and it sends a strong unmistakable message the ethanol industry and the biofuels industry is here to stay and is going to play an important role in shaping not just opportunity for America but very specifically a wonderful opportunity, an unlimited opportunity for the bright young people who want to live, and work and raise their family in the greatest part of America.”

Click here to view the Flickr photo album from the BioProcess Algae/GPRE Grower Harvester event.

This song is a parody of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” with lyrics tailored especially for corn farmers and ethanol producers. Here are some of the words:

I keep on growing, this corn of mine
I keep telling the truth about the lying
I know that ethanol is worth the fighting
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Now many say it’s just a foil
That there’s no way to get off the oil
But a farmer can’t be stopped from trying
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

Enjoy!

The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon. The group played a variety of songs from blues to folk to rock, and entertained with a couple of original parodies designed with the ethanol audience in mind. Here’s some of the lyrics to their latest Pink Floyd parody to the tune of “Wish You Were Here” – and a short video clip to enjoy.

Hey, so you think you can tell,
Heaven from Hell
Blue skies from rain?
Can you tell a Corn field from a Tar Sand Hell,
a Seed from a Drill – Do you think you can tell?

So, feel free to send a link to this post to your friends and neighbors who are interested in ethanol for a look at what’s ahead for the industry. Just click on the player below to begin the feed.

Post Update: Here’s the recorded version of our live feed from this morning.

2011 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

2011 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

Students were challenged to create the best video highlighting the importance and benefits of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, to local communities, Iowa and the nation and the four winning videos were featured at the recent 5th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. The winners were selected by a panel of five judges who combined extensive film, television, marketing, and renewable fuels expertise.

Treynor High School students Spencer Hawk, Alex Severn, Garrett Gibson and Conrad Sain won the $2,000 grand prize for their video entitled “Fuel of the Future” – a hilarious and clever parody of an action movie trailer. The are pictured here receiving their award.

Photos from the IOWA RENEWABLE FUELS SUMMIT

“The judges were blown away by the creativity and effort the students put into their renewable fuels videos,” said IRFA Biofuels Manager Grant Menke. “IRFA congratulates not just the winning students, but all those who participated. This was a great opportunity for students to learn about the benefits of renewable fuels and to share that knowledge with their peers and all Iowans.”
The contest was made possible by the Iowa Office of Energy Independence through funding from its Iowa Power Fund Community Grant program and the sponsorship of Faegre & Benson.

The other top winners were:
Linn-Mar High School student Sam Fathallah from Marion won the $1000 second place prize for his video called “What is Biodiesel?”
Roland-Story High School students Andrew Smith and Kendall Gustafson, both from Story City, won the $600 third place prize for their video entitled “Bio Fuel.”
South Hamilton High School student Marcus Hemphill of Jewell earned the $400 fourth place prize for his video called “The Biofuel Network.”

Most of the winning videos and qualifying entries can be viewed on IRFA’s YouTube® channel at www.youtube.com/IowaRenewableFuels.

Watch the winning video here:

Yesterday’s Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines concluded with a piece that aired on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” in June 2010 about how the last eight presidents have gone on television and promised to move America towards a more energy independent future. The segment was filled with Stewart’s trademark humor, but it is sobering to think about how long this country has been touting energy independence and yet still be facing so many hurdles, skeptics and downright enemies who continue to impede that progress.

Stewart showed clips of all of the past eight presidents, from Nixon to Obama, talking about moving “beyond a petroleum-based economy,” first playing clips of both Obama and George W. Bush saying almost the exact same words. He follows up with Clinton, Bush 42, Reagan, Carter, Ford and Nixon making similar statements and talking about ideas like solar, natural gas, fuel cells and even “gasohol.”

Funny, but unfortunately, way too true. Take a look.

The Canadian Canola Growers Association sponsors the car.