Signs of Recovery While it will only be with years of hindsight that we can determine the total environmental impact of the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, there are encouraging signs that the […]
Matthew Simmons Passes Away at 67
This morning I received the shocking news that Matthew Simmons has passed away. Various news reports have been coming in that he was found unconscious in his hot tub in Maine. It is believed that […]
The Beginning of the End?
The Leak Appears to be Sealed Today comes news that there is light at the end of the tunnel over the leak in the Gulf of Mexico: Allen: ‘High confidence’ no more oil will flow […]
Thoughts on an Ethanol Pipeline
Local Production for Local Needs I currently live in Hawaii, and one thing I hope to help facilitate is for Hawaii to become more sustainable in food and energy. We have the natural resources here […]
Fun with Numbers: The New USDA Report on Corn Ethanol
The EROEI of Ethanol Over the past decade, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published several papers in which they investigated the energy return of corn ethanol. The energy return on energy invested […]
The Missing Oil, Death of a Climate Bill, and French Engineering
The Missing Oil I just wanted to briefly touch on three energy stories that were in the news over the past week. The first is that the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico seems […]
Is Matt Simmons Credible?
Introduction I am going to address a touchy subject in this essay, but I simply can’t ignore it any longer. I have noticed that a lot of people are finding my blog through keyword searches […]
Biomass to Fuel via the MixAlco Process
Previously, I described a portion of my role in the early development of the MixAlco Process. Developed in the laboratories of Professor Mark Holtzapple at Texas A&M University, the process has undergone significant further developments, […]
The Ethanol Question I Did Ask
Last December, I received an intriguing request from the Public Relations Director at the world’s largest ethanol producer. Nathan Schock asked if I would be interested in posing a video question that would be answered […]
BP, Exxon, and Peak Lite
My vacation is over, so it’s back to work. I am still working on the followup to the MixAlco story, but there is a lot of material to digest. I am exchanging e-mails with Professor […]