July 27, 2009Exciting times ahead!
Also, just for fun, here’s a cartoon illustrating how ethanol is made. July 23, 2009Ethanol in the news!
Y’know, for a blog that’s supposedly all about ethanol, it’s been a while since we posted any news updates about it. Our fascination with electric cars and satellite solar power swept us away from ourselves for a moment, we suppose. But here are some ethanol tidbits dredged up from the Corn Car News Ticker. - Massachusetts-based biofuel company Qteros reported a massive increase in their cellulosic ethanol yield, thanks to a “superbug” called Q Microbe, essentially the yeast and enzyme parts of the typical bioconversion process. Can we call it something other than “superbug,” please? After the avian and swine flu scares, naming this lifesaving microbe after a media codeword for “unstoppable pandemic” seems unwise. - US ethanol production is driving the global market for the stuff; America “accounted for 44% of the total world ethanol production in 2008.” This is credited to federal tax benefits and subsidies that make biofuel prices competitive, and an international drive towards cellulosic, non-food-crop biofuels. If any other industrialized countries want to step up their game, they can refer to our list of contenders for King Ethanol and get some pointers. - Meanwhile, automakers have lobbied the US Environmental Protection Agency to stall on mandating higher blends of ethanol in gasoline until they do more conclusive testing of its effect on vehicles. The current 10 percent blend is set to rise to 15 percent, which the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers says might cause problems for “vehicle emissions, performance and durability.” Funny how selective they are in worrying about performance and durability, especially with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors among the doubters. Not that a call for more testing is inherently bad, but it’s something they could have applied to themselves a bit more judiciously. July 14, 2009China update: still kicking our asses
For example, China built the world’s largest solar panel manufacturing industry and exported nearly everything they made to the West, but 80% of the equipment in China’s first solar power plant is required to be made in China. Their government also denied wind turbine contracts to every multinational company that submitted a bid, often for unclear reasons. But what comes off at first as just more Chinese bureaucratic arrogance is, in fact, heavy investment in domestic renewable energy industries. Whether they’ll agree to reductions in greenhouse gases is anyone’s guess, but they’re certainly committed to greener energy consumption at a national level. Which is more than can be said for America. Like the labor movement, the energy debate is being hampered by stupid bickering. In response to President Obama’s call to update the grid by installing new power lines where solar and wind farms can be built. The best spot for these is widely considered to be the Midwest, where there’s tons of empty land waiting to be put to use. So of course, an influential coalition of East Coast governors and power companies…is…trying to block a mandate for transcontinental lines” because they don’t want their constituencies to miss out on the economic opportunities of solar/wind farm construction. And this isn’t even considering energy companies who like a weak grid because it means they can charge more in remote areas, or the Cato Institute types who suggest a “free market” solution, whatever that would be. One of our readers made a good point on this subject; this divergence between American and China officially shuts up anyone who claims that “the Chinese and the Indians don’t take investing in renewable energy seriously.” They do. And they’re banking on U.S. complacency to allow them to dominate a burgeoning renewables market. In other words, we’d better get started on that Urinator. July 8, 2009Post-Independence Day Newsreel!
First off, genetically-modified corn crop Corn Amylase has proven to be a boon for ethanol producers - specifically grown for fuel, it “borrows a heat-resistant protein from deep-sea bacteria to produce a kernel easily converted to ethanol without adding expensive enzymes.” It’s also been deemed safe for human consumption by the FDA and EPA, although Frankenfood skeptics are still wary of what would happen if Corn Amylase got mixed up with conventional grain to wreak havoc on processed foods. Can’t say there’s a big chance of that happening, given the separation between ethanol and food processing facilities, but after the Starlink Incident in 2000, the concern is understandable. Syngenta, the makers of Corn Amylase, intends to only grow the stuff in “closed-loop” settings, thereby removing it from any contact with traditional grain supplies. Stepping away from corn fuel, the makers of Google’s G1 phone - not content with Google merely being a major investor in Tesla Motors - are developing an autonomous, self-driving car with “a glass-walled-like seating area on four hidden wheels” and no steering column, brake pedal, or driver’s seat. And since such a sleek, modern futuremobile needs a fitting name, they’re calling it the…ATNMBL? Really? Wow. Slicker than owl shit, those Google folks. The reason for this curious concept is the designers’ opinion that “today’s car industry is brainwashed by its own car culture,” which is an interesting point, but also an uphill marketing battle. Corn Car agrees with Neil Young about the car culture not being an inherently bad or wasteful thing, and that it can be tailored to fit environmentally safe ideas. Whether or not the ATNMBL fits that theory remains to be seen, but selling it as “a space for living” isn’t a good start - Americans have enough of those already. And finally, McDonalds’ food might not be environmentally safe, but their company is getting there. They announced plans to open their first green restaurant this month in - of all places - Cary, North Carolina. A green McDonalds restaurant means not only eco-friendly materials, but electric vehicle charging stations. Not a bad idea at all, and I can see this really catching on with Sonic, whose car parks could be turned into charging stations so customers could order and eat while refueling. Plus, we love their chili cheese tots. |
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