Corn Ethanol GHG Update?

The Renewable Fuels Association on Dec 3, 2012, announced that they had sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking the EPA to review the corn and sugarcane greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). They claim that the current estimates for how much the lifecycle of corn and sugarcane ethanol production reduces GHG is understated. This is due to increasing technological advances which better measures and reduces GHG and also that no update has been issued in the past three years.

According to letter, there have been dozens of studies since the three years that show improvements with corn ethanol production. Most studies suggest that corn ethanol is more efficient these days and reduces even more GHG than previously thought to. On the other hand, the studies suggets Brazil's sugarcane ethanol is worse than previously predicted. They argue that is is important to update GHG to better inform the public and help in policy decision making.

To read the full letter:
http://ethanolrfa.3cdn.net/1224de70600ff74bb1_elm6ib8fp.pdf

Cuban Marabu Weeds

All around the globe, alternative fuels are becoming more and more important. Recently, in Cuba, a new type of biomass is being used as renewable energy. The new biomass is marabu weeds, these weeds grow quickly and are invasive to Cuba's sugarcane. A British company, Havana Energy, has recently invested in building a power plant that will use renewable energy from the marabu weed.

This shows that corn ethanol is not the only kind of biofuel out there. People are constantly looking for the next best biofuel but this is dependent on the country. For the U.S. which is the major producer of corn, corn ethanol makes sense whereas Cuba has the fast-growing marabu weed which makes it suitable as a renewable energy source.

To learn more about Cuba's marabu plant as a renewable energy source, visit these links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20641433
http://www.havana-energy.com/

Special thanks to Angela for showing this to us.

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