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Senate bill would boost use of ethanol
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU

Washington, D.C. � Refiners will be forced to dramatically increase their
use of fuel ethanol over the next decade under legislation being introduced
by key U.S. senators.

The bipartisan legislation, proposed by the chairman and top Republican of
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, would require use of 18
billion gallons of biofuels by 2016 and 36 billion gallons by 2022.

http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070327/BUSINESS01/70327019/1001&lead=1
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OPINION

Future of energy must include buildings, their uses
By KEVIN LAIR
IOWA VIEW

Where will our energy come from and what impact it will have on our
environment? Those questions are garnering great interest far and wide. Of
course, this kind of universal topic is driven by what it will cost us, or,
more significantly, how can we profit from it.

While there are ways such complex topics can be simplified, at some point,
we have to address that energy/environment issues involve a high level of
interdependence. This requires working systematically in new ways and not
merely reducing them to bottom-line interests that do not adequately help us
adapt to our changing environment.

http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070327/OPINION01/703270358/1035/archive
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MONDAY, MARCH 26

S.E. Iowa town sending sewage into Little Fox

PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

The Van Buren County town of Milton has sent partially treated sewage into
the Little Fox River to prevent local basements from flooding, the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources reported.

Heavy rains forced the city to bypass its treatment plant beginning Saturday
at 8:30 p.m. when then city lagoons started overflowing. City workers feared
the lagoon walls would break under pressure.

The city is sampling the water to make sure it meets permit limits. The
Little Fox River is a tributary of the Des Moines River.

As of Monday morning, the city had discharged 410,000 gallons of sewage.

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OPINION

Keep eyes on prize: Growing an industry
Reserve Power Fund dollars for research.

The Economic Growth Committee in the Iowa House is scheduled to start
digging into a pile of bills today related to nurturing the state's
renewable-energy industry and setting up Gov. Chet Culver's proposed $100
million Iowa Power Fund.

Fortunately, on this issue, legislators "get it." They recognize that Iowa's
ethanol, soy-biodiesel and wind-energy industries have staked the state to
an early lead in renewable-energy production and know-how. They realize it
will take more government investment as seed money to maintain that lead.

http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070326/OPINION03/703260302/1035/archive
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Genetically engineered crops need more oversight
By GREGORY JAFFE
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER

March 26, 2007
2 Comments

Genetically engineered crops are back in the headlines, for all the wrong
reasons:

- Twice in the past six months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced
that rice planted in the United States (and then exported to our trading
partners) contained small amounts of an unapproved genetically engineered
rice variety.

- Last month, two federal judges admonished the USDA for not adequately
evaluating the potential impacts of genetically engineered alfalfa and
creeping bentgrass.

http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070326/OPINION01/703260306/1035/archive
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SUNDAY, MARCH 25

Ethanol industry races to establish national identity
The fuel industry is using its ties to auto racing in a new ad campaign to
establish a nationwide identity - and consumer appetite - for the biofuel.

By PAULA LAVIGNE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

If cars fueled with ethanol can zip around a track at 230 mph, then
certainly a little corn-based gasoline can get you to work on time.

The nation's ethanol producers hope to communicate that message by tying
their product to the growing popularity of auto racing. It's one of many
tactics the industry plans to employ in its initial attempts to advertise
ethanol directly to consumers.

http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/BUSINESS/703250324/1029/archive
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Butanol shows promise

A reader asked about the future of butanol:

"Biobutanol is an alcohol (like ethanol) with properties that make it
attractive as a liquid transportation fuel. Biobutanol has no special
fuel-handling or vehicle-modification requirements. DuPont and BP have
partnered to develop and commercialize biobutanol. ...[It's] complementary
to ethanol and not a competing technology."

- Douglas Haefele, senior research scientist, crop genetics research and
development, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Johnston.

Discuss energy issues with our Biofuels Brain Bank at
www.DesMoinesRegister.com/Biofuels.

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LTE
Vonk and others lost their jobs for doing them

David Yepsen got it wrong again on the factory-farm issue. ("Let's Start
Fresh on Iowa's Smells," March 18 column). He thinks it's good that Gov.
Chet Culver fired Jeff Vonk as director of the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources, and that Culver appointed four new people to the DNR's
Environmental Protection Commission. Both of these moves are good for
factory farms and corporate agriculture, but they're bad for the environment
and people of Iowa.

Vonk advocated for common-sense solutions, like local control and strong
clean-air and clean-water standards. In reality, he lost his job because he
did his job, which was to protect our environment and natural resources.

Existing commissioners on the EPC had also done an excellent job of standing
up for clean water and sensible policies that preserve and protect the
environment. Why did Culver kick them off the EPC? Because they also stood
up to factory farms and the corporate ag lobby.

Our members, nearly 4,000 strong, and tens of thousands of other Iowans want
Culver to stand up to factory farms and stand up for clean water, clean air
and a decent quality of life. Is that too much to ask?

- Hugh Espey,
executive director, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement,
Des Moines.

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Conservation must figure into solution

Finally someone has said it. My gratitude to G. David Hurd for challenging
public policy and consumer behavior by interjecting conservation into the
debate over oil dependence and global warming ("Reduce Energy Use To Cut
Dependence on Foreign Oil," March 6).

I would expand his prudent strategies to include use of and investment in
public transportation options. Energy efficiency and buses aren't as sexy as
research dollars and biofuels, but they are effective tactics available to
us here and now. Be part of the solution today.

- Beth Wilson,
Des Moines.

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