Andrea Ros's Page
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- Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?
- Yes
- Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:
- minimal....i ride a bike? :) and use as little oil and electricity as possible.
- What excites you about this campaign?
- i really believe the only way for this planet to survive is by using the wind and sun's energy.
- What do you want to do to help?
- get people involved and on board
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Last December, Congress amended the national Renewable Fuel Standard, setting a goal that the U.S. will produce a whopping 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. It's no surprise that much of this renewable fuel will be ethanol.
Given the rapid industrialization of Asia, global demand for fuel ethanol is steeply increasing and is expected to do so in the foreseeable future. In order to satisfy this big demand, let alone meet the Renewable Fuel Standard, there is a growing concern that the standard U.S. practice of mass producing fuel ethanol from corn won't be feasible. There simply isn't enough corn acreage available in America to meet the future domestic and international demands for fuel ethanol.
Scientists contend that the answer to this problem is cellulosic ethanol, a technology that is now under furious research and development at many universities, national labs, and private industries across the globe.
This is an interesting technology, because it makes ethanol from cellulose feedstocks such as ordinary trees, perennial grass and cropland residues instead of food crops such as corn or sugar cane.
Scientists contend that cellulosic ethanol, once it is perfected, can significantly reduce America's imports of foreign oil, while creating a big variety of "green collar" jobs including farmers, truck drivers, business professionals, engineers, and scientists.
Before cellulosic ethanol becomes a commercial reality, there are many technology hurdles to overcome. Crop scientists and chemical engineers are furiously studying the genetics, the molecular structure, and other biological aspects of trees and plants in order to improve the efficiency of cellulosic ethanol production.
Last year, our country embarked on a once-in-a-generation effort to study the underlying science needed to improve processing efficiency. In the meantime, scientists are making great headway. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded $125 million to establish the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin, to study the science of processing cellulosic ethanol.
Also, Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University recently partnered with the Mascoma Corp. (a Massachusetts company), to build a cellulosic ethanol plant in the Michigan Upper Peninsula.
Last May, at a scientific lecture in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Dr. Niels Lagvad of Danish Biogasol Corp. (www.biogasol.com). It was revealed that this company now has a proven, turnkey system to mass produce ethanol from a big range of perennial grasses and hemicellulosic feedstocks. He referred to the process as a "bolt-on, second-generation ethanol plant" which, in essence, attaches to the back end of a conventional plant making ethanol from food crops. "Second generation ethanol" refers to the use of non-food feedstocks to make ethanol, whereas, "first generation ethanol" refers to traditional methods that use food crops such as corn and sugar cane.
The immediate U.S. market for this Danish technology is to retrofit American corn-to-ethanol plants. In this concept, corn stover (corn leaves, stalks, and cobs) and distillers' grain (a voluminous, natural by-product of the corn-to-ethanol process) would be used as inexpensive feedstocks for ethanol production. The technology is now in the demonstration phase; a full-scale plant is planned for 2010 in Boardman, Ore., as part of a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Pacific Ethanol Corp.
Danish Biogasol also markets the same technology to electric power plants, regardless of whether the electric plant is fueled by coal, nuclear, natural gas or oil. Why this terrific market? Electric plants routinely produce massive amounts of waste heat. This waste heat is harnessed by the ethanol plant, which in turn greatly reduces the cost of ethanol processing. Imagine a line of semi-trucks, all loaded with massive bales of locally grown perennial grass, driving to the local electric plant - which makes fuel ethanol too.
I am excited to imagine where this technology is headed because America is blessed with abundant trees and native grass. I believe we're in for some hopeful times ahead: new jobs from locally made auto fuel with no imported oil.
I've founded a group here at the Pickens Plan called "Musicians fo a Better Future". We're just starting out, and we'd like to arrange performance events in as many cities as possible around the world to promote clean, renewable domestic energy. We need people in North Carolina to get on board. You could help us get the word out.
Most of the people we'll need to make this happen aren't musicians either. We'll need organizers, promoters, media reps, event staff and so much more. Please have a look at our group and see if this might be something you'd like to do.
Thanks for your time,
Rev. Jake
Please see this: An Open Letter to the President and the Congress of the United States;
Please sign this Petition...
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/STAY08/index.html
Be well,
Bruce
I am interested in getting the word out to all of my friends and neighbors and whoever will listen. I live close by in Union county near Monroe.
Thanks for inviting me to be your friend. I too believe that the answer to our energy problems is to aggressively pursue renewables to help supply the energy we need to the grid and help supplant the use of foreign oil. The Pickens Plan makes a lot of since.
I think wind and solar are part of the solution. Please visit my website for information on how to adopt solar without the large upfront investment required for traditional solar electric systems.
Jack Harrell
www.jointhesolution.com/affordable_energy
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