"New Report Urges Western Governments to Reconsider Reliance on Biofuels" New York Times

"Turning plant matter into liquid fuel or electricity is so inefficient that the approach is unlikely ever to supply a substantial fraction of global energy demand, the report found. It added that continuing to pursue this strategy — which has already led to billions of dollars of investment — is likely to use up vast tracts of fertile land that could be devoted to helping feed the world’s growing population."


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/science/new-report-urges-western-governments-to-reconsider-reliance-on-biofuels.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0#

"A Sustainable Solution for the Corn Belt" New York Times Op-Ed Mark Bittman

"It’s easy enough to argue that one of the most productive agricultural
regions in the world could be better used than to cover it with just two crops
— the two crops that contribute most to the sad state of our dietary affairs,
and that are used primarily for animal food, junk food and
thermodynamically questionable biofuels."

"In recent years, many Iowa farmers have believed that if they weren’t
100 percent “in” corn, they weren’t doing a good job. Because of the pressure
to plant, many of them have expanded their cultivated areas beyond where it
makes sense, creating erosion and runoff problems. Iowa is among the
major contributors to the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone,” a direct result of
fertilizer runoff into the Mississippi water system, and half of Iowa’s topsoil
has been lost."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/opinion/a-sustainable-solution-for-the-corn-belt.html

"E.P.A. Postpones Setting Standards for Biofuel Blends" New York Times

"The market is saturated with regular corn ethanol, while production of cellulosic,
or so-called advanced, biofuel — made from nonfood parts of corn plants or
other biomass like wood waste — has fallen short of what the mandate requires refiners to use."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/business/energy-environment/epa-postpones-setting-standards-for-biofuel-blends.html?_r=0

"EPA Delays Renewable Fuels Decision" 24/7 Wall St.

"In a brief statement on Friday the EPA said:

Finalization of the 2014 standards rule has been significantly delayed. Due to this delay, and given ongoing consideration of the issues presented by the commenters, EPA is not in a position to finalize the 2014 RFS standards rule before the end of the year. Accordingly, we intend to take action on the 2014 standards rule in 2015 prior to or in conjunction with action on the 2015 standards rule."

Read more: EPA Delays Renewable Fuels Decision - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/energy-economy/2014/11/23/epa-delays-renewable-fuels-decision/#ixzz3JwZu3YiX

"Don’t Ask How to Feed the 9 Billion" New York Times 2014 Mark Bittman

"Poverty isn’t the only problem, of course. There is also the virtually
unregulated food system that is geared toward making money rather than
feeding people. (Look no further than the ethanol mandate or high fructose
corn syrup for evidence.)"

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/opinion/dont-ask-how-to-feed-the-9-billion.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

"An ethanol surprise in Iowa?" The Hill

"A higher ethanol mandate also would turn more food into fuel, putting upward pressure on grocery prices in the United States and limiting the amount of grain used to feed people around the globe. Studies by the European Union show food prices would be 50 percent lower in Europe by 2020 and 15 percent lower throughout the world without EU biofuel policy support. Research also shows there will not be enough food to feed the world’s populations by 2050 as long as food is diverted into fuel.

The costs of hunger, price hikes, and poorer transportation fuel might be worth it to an administration desperate to retain control over the U.S. Senate. Citizen voters nationwide, regardless of party affiliation, should decry any increase in the ethanol mandate for 2014—and beyond. Cronyism and political bribes are no solution for a democracy in deficit."

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/220594-an-ethanol-surprise-in-iowa

"Repeal the Renewable Fuel Mandate"

"Under the RFS, the average grocery bill for families has grown by $2,000 annually. Lower-income families, who spend a greater percentage of their paycheck on groceries, have been hit especially hard -- so much so that poverty advocates are now demanding that U.S. corn feed mouths rather than fuel tanks. According to Oxfam America, the grain required to fill an SUV's gas tank with biofuels is enough to feed one person for a year."

http://www.voiceofthevalley.com/community_news/news/article_60bc6a32-0c9f-11e4-beb8-0017a43b2370.html