Just say NO to more ethanol in gas

Alarming news from the AP:

Ethanol producers asked the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to boost the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline, but automakers argued the increase could damage car engines and fuel lines.

The ethanol producers want the EPA to increase the amount of ethanol that refiners can blend with gasoline from a maximum of 10 percent to 15 percent, which could boost the demand for the renewable fuel additive by as much as 6 billion gallons a year.

“Increasing the ethanol blend up to E15 is a common sense solution to our economic, energy and environmental challenges,” said retired Gen. Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy, a coalition of ethanol companies.

The group argued that a number of studies, including one by the Energy Department, has shown that a 15 percent ethanol blend “has no adverse effects on a car’s performance, maintenance, or emissions controls.”

EPA press secretary Adora Andy said in a statement that the agency will review the request and “will act based on the best available science.”

But automakers and the producers of outdoor power equipment say the science has not yet shown that the higher “midlevel” blend of ethanol will safeguard engines, fuel lines, emission controls and other components.

“There has not been sufficient testing of motor vehicles and non-road power equipment … to determine whether any midlevel ethanol blend would meet current federal air quality protection requirements or be safe for consumers to use,” said a coalition whose members included automakers, boat owners, motorcycle manufacturers and oil refiners.

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I’ve seen what it does to my vehicle gas mileage, and I’ve seen what it does to my riding mower. I don’t like more ethanol in my gasoline!!!!

Clone Wars – on the dinner table

Consider this a food safety alert. Or not. Depends on how you feel about it.

Content is courtesy of Retail Wire’s Daily Delivery. Here are the highlights:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked that cloned animals be held from the market until January.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on record stating that there is no difference between meat and milk from cloned animals and those of the originals. Even so, ranchers have followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring for food products.

The U.S. Agriculture Department, which is managing the process of moving clones and their offspring into the food supply, has asked that clones continue to be held out of the market until January. It did not make the same request of the offspring of clones. The result is that offspring of some of the 600 clones in the U.S. may already be in the food supply.

Siobhan DeLancey, a spokesperson with the FDA, told Reuters, “It is theoretically possible” that meat and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have found its way into the consumer market.

Supporters of the cloning technology say that meat and milk from clones and their offspring is impossible to tell from other animals.

Bruce Knight, USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, sought to put the issue into perspective. “They would be a very limited number because of the very few number of clones that are out there and relatively few of those clones are at an age where they would be parenting.”

Some groups expressed concern that the offspring of clones, regardless of the number, may be in the food supply.

Charles Margulis, a spokesperson with the Center for Environmental Health, told Reuters, “It worries me that this technology is out of control in so many ways.”

A number of leading meat packers, other food companies and retailers have pledged to avoid using milk or meat from cloned animals. Among those are California Pizza Kitchen, Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Smithfield Foods, Supervalu and Tyson Foods.

Susan Davidson, director of corporate affairs at Kraft Foods, said safety was “not the only factor” the company considers when deciding whether to use a commodity.

“We must also carefully consider additional factors such as consumer benefits and acceptance … and research in the U.S. indicates that consumers are currently not receptive to ingredients from cloned animals,” she said.

I’m not so sure I disagree with Ms. Davidson. Aren’t there enough problems with the food supply already?

Drought update 5/29

It’s that time of the year again, and let’s hope things go much differently than last year (previous coverage).

According to today’s U.S. Drought Monitor, two counties in NeMiss are abnormally dry (D0 drought), and the rest are 100 percent drought-free. The map has the eastern edges of Itawamba and Monroe counties as being in a DO drought, a classification given to areas that show dryness but are not yet in drought OR for areas recovering from drought. Click here for the map.

This time last year, the entire state was in some stage of a drought, with 38 percent of the state in a D3 extreme drought. The highest classification is a D4 exceptional drought.

Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are still hurting, though. See the map.

Suburu reps teach NeMiss eco class

And people think Toyota is the only car company trying to be green. Pshaw. From the Suburu/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Program blog (full text):

Heading 9 hours down south from West Virginia, we landed in Tishomingo, Mississippi for a program at Crow’s Neck Environmental Education Center. The center uses hands-on, outdoor education activities to create in-depth learning experiences which foster responsible stewardship of Northeast Mississippi’s natural and cultural resources.

About the program:

Currently in its 9th year, the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, 3 teams of professional outdoor educators, have reached over 9 million people in 48 states with the Leave No Trace message.

Toyota donates $1 million to Everglades

Toyota Motor Co. is giving more than $1 million, plus five vehicles to Everglades National Park to support environmental education programs.

Here’s some of the press release:

The donation will benefit more than 10,000 students annually via a number of initiatives including day program field trips and camping trips for grade school students; the K-12 Miccosukee Indian School program; in-park teacher workshops for day and camping programs; in-park special programs for other school groups and student organizations; and in-school teacher workshops.
This donation is part of a recently announced $5 million contribution from Toyota in support of five National Parks and the National Park Foundation to enhance environmental leadership and educational programs at parks around the country. The company is also donating 23 vehicles to the National Parks.

Toyota’s contributions are among the first corporate contributions to be matched by the Department of the Interior’s Centennial Initiative. The Centennial Initiative calls for $1 billion over 10 years to strengthen basic park operations via a public-private funding vehicle for new projects and programs. Qualified corporate-funded programs at national parks across the country are eligible for some level of government matching.

Renasant going green with your green

Renasant Bank is launching its RENEWAL campaign today, which is Arbor Day.

Here’s the deal: Customers who switch to the bank’s eStatement program will get a tree planted in their honor by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Instead of getting your account information via mail – and thus killing a few more trees in the process – you can get everything electronically.

Renasant hopes customers take advantage of the FREE program, which will last until next Arbor Day. And it hopes to plant 10,000 trees over the next year.

For more information, drop by any Renasant Bank. They’ll be the folks wearing green, I hear.