We have made serious progress toward energy independence, but progress means little if we reverse course on renewable fuels. We have the opportunity to create jobs and clean the air if we take advantage of our existing renewable fuel capacity in 2014.
I still remember the day my parents first installed cable television in my childhood home in Colorado. It was in the early 1980s when the man came to our door with the faux-wood cable box. This installation happened to correspond with the early years of MTV”s existence, and as a pre-teen this literally rocked my world.
Below are post-conference highlights from the 2013 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Land use change is an issue often associated with the biofuels boom. For a brief period, the criticism of biofuels policy was that increasing the value of farm commodities might create economic incentives for farmers all around the world to grow more food commodities. The ever-improving quantification of international, indirect land use change is now showing that we can meet our goals for biodiesel production, and encourage more farmers to produce more food around the world, while still reducing greenhouse gases relative to sole reliance on fossil fuels.
Someone asked me recently why there was so much confusion in Europe over the best feedstocks to use for biofuels and why there isn’t more unanimous support for crops that produce food and fuel? While it does not directly affect the US biodiesel market, it is an issue I have been watching with concern, because many stakeholders that should be supporting renewable fuels seem to be confused or are confusing the issue for others. Here is the response I crafted for my concerned colleague, and I decide to share it with you, because it may be important for everyone.
Below are highlights from February 7 from the 2013 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Below are highlights from February 6 from the 2013 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Below are highlights from February 5 from the 2013 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Domestic sources of energy are our most valued assets. Our economy depends on energy. National security, public safety, commerce, and food production rely on energy. It is well recognized that we need to reduce reliance energy imports, primarily oil. We need to become energy independent in order to reduce volatility of energy prices that hinder our economy today, and in order to secure a long term future for this country.
For the first time in history, our nation is making meaningful progress in the drive for energy independence. This is thanks in no small part to strong federal policy that has made developing American-made fuels a priority. The federal Renewable Fuels Standard – 2 led the U.S. into a record year of biodiesel production and use, at just more than 1 billion gallons in 2011. This is genuine progress in the quest for energy security, and it brings with it jobs, economic development and additional fuel refining capacity that this nation sorely needs. These benefits are tangible and real.
