Wednesday, July 9, 2008

News and Notes - July 9, 2008

** BioNews will not be published Thursday and Friday, July 10-11, 2008**

Feature Article

All about the Pickens Plan
http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

Billionaire oil man T. Bone Pickens is putting his money where his mouth is and has launched an aggressive new campaign aimed at getting this country off oil. His plan focuses mostly on wind and natural gas, but includes other sources of biofuels and bioenergy as well. He promotes the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel and using wind to produce the necessary electricity for the country. By producing electricity from wind, we can shift the current natural gas used to produce electricity (22% of all US electricity) to vehicles. His plan also recognizes the investment and problems that the plan will need to face. Upgrading power grids, footing the multibillion dollar bills and other obstacles remain. In ten years, his plan projects that we could reduce our oil imports by 1/3, solely with natural gas and wind.

US News

Cleveland, Tennessee Based Kudzu Ethanol Preparing For Production
http://www.wdef.com/news/cleveland_tennessee_based_kudzu_ethanol_preparing_for_production/07/2008

South Carolina Bioenergy Research Collaborative plans to build pilot cellulosic facility in Aiken
http://www.aikenstandard.com/0708SRNLBiofuels

Poplar trees hold promise for fuel
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/07/07072008_Poplar-trees-hold-promise-for-fuel.cfm

U.S. Joins G-8 Plan To Halve Emissions U.S. Joins G-8 Plan To Halve Emissions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070800285.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Florida entrepreneur launches plan for 120 million gallon sugarcane ethanol operation on former US Sugar land
http://www.pr-inside.com/melamed-would-use-land-to-harvest-r692213.htm

High energy prices bringing revolution to American agriculture
http://www.county29.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16030&Itemid=99999999

Green Solution To Biofuel Production: Enzymes From Plants
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080707100206.htm

No corn for oil
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/07/09/Opinion/No.Corn.For.Oil-3389242.shtml

Pique Oil: Big Ethanol, Sick of Criticism, Lashes Out at Big Oil
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/07/08/pique-oil-big-ethanol-sick-of-criticism-lashes-out-at-big-oil/

Ethanol plant planned for Union County (South Carolina Barley-based Plant)
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/BUSINESS/80708046/1001/NEWS

Mascoma advances plans for Michigan plant
http://ethanol-producer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4385

Michael Pollan on What's Wrong with Environmentalism (discusses biofuels)
http://www.alternet.org/environment/90785/?ses=bfdf5cc1677a7462ec5db43d2c5bb8ef

Switchgrass sprouts as biofuel replacement
http://newsok.com/article/3259293/

UMass researchers find ultrasonic energy converts cellulose to sugar four times faster
http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2008/07/09/umass-researchers-find-ultrasonic-energy-converts-cellulose-to-sugar-four-times-faster/

International News

Top (China) govt official defends nation's biofuel thrust
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-07/09/content_6831296.htm

High oil, food prices threaten global economy: G8
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/High_oil_food_prices_threaten_global_economy/rssarticleshow/3212042.cms

EU calls UK biofuel report 'one-sided'
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/07/08/afx5191313.html

GM (genetically modified crops) push will be hard to resist: Burke
http://news.smh.com.au/national/gm-push-will-be-hard-to-resist-burke-20080708-3914.html

UK blamed over Mumias Sugar’s Tana delta row
http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news0707200810.htm

Colombia finds biofuels bonanza in sugar cane
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5872635.html

Govt’s subsidy-based biofuel programme set to take shape (India)
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Govts-subsidybased-biofuel-programme-set-to-take-shape/332200/0

Ethiopia: Al Amoudi's Firm to Secure Large Plot for Bio-Fuel
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807080460.html

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