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A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Based Ethanol
USDA | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Energy NewsTo reflect the full range of recently published literature relating to the contribution of international landuse change to the current GHG profile of corn ethanol, ICF adopted a composite approach that averaged the results of three recently published studies (CARB, 2015; Dunn et al., 2015; and GTAP, 2013) and four scenarios developed from their results that allow for alternative sets of emissions factors and the increased use of double cropping (Babcock and Iqbal, 2014). These seven results are shown in Figure 3-4. Dunn et al.
The coming social storm and what it means to agriculture
Feedstuffs | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Agriculture NewsIn our new Post-post modern era, facts are dispensable. It’s the myth that counts. My point is this: With a new Administration assuming the highest office in just a few days, we are going to witness something like a 180 degree turn from the policies of the last eight years. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing will be debated for the life of our country. Some of the debates will be sensible and well-mannered. Too many of them will descend into unreasoned rage and madness.
Maine governor: HSUS ‘was cruel’ to Hillandale hens
Watt Ag Net | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Rural NewsMaine Gov. Paul LePage recently said the Humane Society of the United States is cruel to animals because it advocates filming undercover videos of animal suffering rather than taking action to stop the suffering from happening. LePage, who is known nationally for his bombast and bluntness, made one comment that addresses something we should all think about. “(Hillandale) hired a gentleman to come in (and) take care of the chickens. So what did he do? He brought his camera and he was watching chickens doing things where they were being hurt. And he never lifted a finger.
Some are taking opioids meant for pets
Boston Globe | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Rural NewsLaw enforcement and veterinary officials are planning an outreach campaign to educate veterinarians about a new frontier in the opioid epidemic: people so desperate for drugs that they take medication that had been prescribed to pets. “The misuse of pet medication has serious safety implications — for people and animals,” said Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan, in a letter that will be printed in the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association newsletter this week.
The 16 questions facing production agriculture in 2017
Farm Forum | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Agriculture NewsMore importantly, the questions facing production agriculture in 2017 seem to be more critical than years earlier. With that said, here is our list of the 16 key questions facing production agriculture in 2017. 1. Are farm financial conditions stabilizing… or just getting serious? 2. Will the jump in producer sentiment meet reality? 3. Another year of above-trend yields? 4. Will La Nina make a splash? 5. Demand and grain exports have been strong. Will it continue? 6. Planting intentions? 7. Is wheat the canary in the coal mine? Or don’t worry about it? 8.
Wyoming Bill Would All But Outlaw Clean Energy by Preventing Utilities From Using It
Inside Climate News | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Energy NewsWhile many U.S. states have mandates and incentives to get more of their electricity from renewable energy, Republican legislators in Wyoming are proposing to cut the state off from its most abundant, clean resource—wind—and ensuring its continued dependence on coal. A new measure submitted to the Wyoming legislature this week would forbid utilities from providing any electricity to the state that comes from large-scale wind or solar energy projects by 2019. It's an unprecedented attack on clean energy in Wyoming, and possibly the nation.
Grid Modernization Created Over 100,000 American Jobs in 2016
Green Tech Media | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Energy NewsGrid modernization investments are creating a construction boom across America -- largely driven by the deployment of solar. According to the Department of Energy's latest report on jobs in the energy sector, employment in the electric power sector rose 13 percent in 2016 as utilities and developers built new power plants, replaced aging equipment, and invested in new technologies to manage an increasingly complicated distribution grid. There are now 860,869 people employed in the electric power sector, an increase of more than 101,000 jobs from 2015.
Bright spots and opportunities for solar in Wisconsin
Midwest Energy News | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Energy NewsWisconsin has stood out nationwide for state officials’ hostility toward solar and other renewable energy sources, as codified in decisions by the Public Service Commission as well as moves by Gov. Scott Walker and state legislators. But there are also numerous bright spots in Wisconsin’s clean energy landscape, including leadership by rural electric cooperatives in renewable development.
Wisconsin's Public Service Commission also cut climate topics from site
Wisconsin Sentinel | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Energy NewsIn addition to the Department of Natural Resources, a second state agency has scrubbed information on global warming from its website. For years, the Public Service Commission featured material devoted to climate change, including strategies designed to reduce Wisconsin's reliance on coal. Then, sometime after May 1, the agency eliminated its global warming web page. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discovered the change when reviewing archived web pages of the DNR and the PSC.
Dirt Roads Help Some Cities, Counties Drive Down Costs
Pew Charitable Trust | Posted onJanuary 17, 2017 in Rural NewsSome roads in Montpelier, Vermont, have gotten a bit rumbly. Faced with decaying pavement and a long list of capital projects to be funded, officials in Vermont’s capital decided in 2009 to grind up some of the city’s streets and combine the asphalt with underlying gravel. Since then, just over of a mile of Montpelier’s streets have been converted, said Thomas McArdle, the city’s public works director. Residents largely have embraced the change, he said, and it’s projected to save Montpelier at least half of what it would have spent to pave and maintain the roads over the next 20 years.