Games Politicians Play

In a bid to keep 1st generation biodiesel technology competitive with the more desirable 2nd generation variety, politicians have voted to keep a $1/gal tax credit for biodiesel made from food, but deny the credit […]

The Diesel Tree

Naturally, something like a “diesel tree” is going to catch my attention. (The scientific name for the tree, as best as I can ascertain, is Copaifera langsdorfii, and is native to South America). I have […]

LCA on Renewable Diesel

Thanks to a reader for this tip. Argonne National Laboratory has just published a Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biogasoline, biodiesel, green diesel, and petroleum diesel: Life-Cycle Assessment of Energy and Greenhouse Gas Effects of Soybean-Derived […]

Unintended Consequences

The Politics of Biofuels In response to a recent query from an independent student newspaper in the UK, I wrote up this editorial piece on the politics of biofuels. The original can be found here. […]

The NYT on Food versus Fuel

The New York Times weighed in today with an article on the food versus fuel issue, with emphasis on what’s going on in the 3rd world: An Oil Quandary: Costly Fuel, Costly Calories Definitely worth […]

Update on Book Publication

Nate Hagens at The Oil Drum just wrote a review of a paper by Professor Charles Hall, who like Nate and myself also contributed a chapter to the renewable energy book that will be published […]

Jatropha in NYT

An interesting jatropha story in today’s New York Times: Mali’s Farmers Discover a Weed’s Potential Power It will be archived pretty soon, but here are a couple of excerpts to chew on: But now that […]

Biodiesel Misconceptions

Sometimes I am astonished at the misconceptions people have. Take this article: Old cars become green machines The story is about a woman who has a number of cars that have been modified to run […]

Biodiesel’s Green Diesel Nightmare

I have been saying this for months, and others are starting to realize the same thing: Renewable Diesel: Biodiesel’ s Nightmare I first heard of this process last October at an NREL presentation (they called […]

A Disjointed Energy Policy

Hypothetical question: If a group of farmers in Iowa cut a deal with Tyson Foods to produce 2nd generation renewable diesel via a hydrotreating process, would Congress step in to stop them from receiving the […]