Daily News—10/20
Malaysia seeks standards for calculating the environmental impact of growing palm oil for biodiesel
From left: Tan Sri Yusof Basiron hitting the gong to mark the opening of the conference. With him are Datuk Sabri Ahmad, MPOC council member Datuk Er Kok Leong and Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia wants to standardise the way palm oil’s impact on the environment is calculated, senior officials said yesterday, as it seeks to counter criticism that the industry fuels climate change.
Next year, the European Union (EU), a top biofuels consumer, will impose a target to only accept biodiesel that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 35% versus fossil fuel, which risks cutting out palm oil which the EU considers to save only 19%.
“We are willing to let the EU scrutinise our system,” Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) chairman Datuk Sabri Ahmad told Reuters on the sidelines of a regional conference.
“We should be the ones coming up with the standard, since we know palm oil best and we have nothing to lose.”
Will the rest of the world accept a standard that Malaysia may calculate? Environmentalists who blame deforestation on biodiesel have to go back to when it was done, and why, probably to harvest the wood. By reclaiming that land for palm-based biodiesel growth, the land is being saved, not destroyed. The history of the land use has to be taken into account, which now, it is not.
Just how energy-efficient is biodiesel?
Last week, we told you new research shows how green biodiesel is. I finally got a chance to catch up with National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe to talk a little bit about this important study… and what it will mean as the Environmental Protection Agency considers a new Renewable Fuels Standard, RFS-2.
In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, you’ll hear how Jobe believes the information that biodiesel now produces 4.5 units of energy for every unit of energy spent on it will prove to the EPA and skeptics that biodiesel is truly one of the greenest fuels out there. He says the information couldn’t come at a better time and was included with the NBB’s comments about the RFS-2
A good interview and some facts and numbers here to help support the case of biodiesel. It really is a greenest of fuels, and you can hear in their voices that these people believe in what they are doing.
Southern USA catfish ponds could be growing algae for biodiesel
Rising feed prices for catfish farms and the rising Chinese market are bad news for those in the South, as more than 320,000 catfish ponds could be up for grabs. But where one door closes, another opens, as a possible glut of open-air ponds could provide a boon for those looking to raise algae for biodiesel.
To explore the possibilities, the National Algae Association Mid-South Chapter is presenting a workshop on November 18-19, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel, downtown. This association press release says the key speakers will include Barry Cohen, Director of the National Algae Association; Terri Chiang of Biomass Partners, LLC; and Ron Putt of Auburn University:
The workshop’s focus will be highlighted by a motor coach trip to Saul Fish Farm, a leading aquaculture facility in Des Arc, Arkansas where attendees will go on a walking tour to get a first-hand glimpse of the scope and potential for algal open pond production. Rodney Saul, owner of Saul Fish Farm will describe his procedures for growing algae for aquaculture applications. While at the farm, attendees will hear from additional speakers and interact in open forums on algal growing techniques, harvesting, and extraction methods.
I wish I could personally contact the people in these biodiesel stories to join BDN Forums. We need more posters, the more the better, so help spread the word if you would be so kind.
North Carolina: State Fair promotes and runs on biodiesel
The Green N.C. exhibit across from the Kerr Scott Building at the State Fair gives ideas about how to make other environmentally friendly choices. Visitors can see a biodiesel classroom and admire art made from recycled materials.
Raleigh, N.C. — The North Carolina State Fair is a celebration of agriculture, and organizers want to make the event an occasion to give back to Mother Earth.
Last year, the State Fair advertised its efforts to be more environmentally friendly: Biodiesel fueled the midway. Organizers collected used cooking oil from vendors to make more biodiesel.
Future projects include using livestock manure to generate energy and using solar power.
“We were definitely trying to increase the effort and step it up last year,” fair spokeswoman Natalie Alford said.
Recently, we saw an article about how the biodiesel awareness is increasing, and the state fair is a good place to see how biodiesel works, from the midway to the recycling of WVO, make sure your state fair has something to do with biodiesel, if you have any say in the matter. We are all evangelists for the information on biodiesel.
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