Notes of Interest
Corn Ethanol : Solar Power Discovery : California GE Crop Rules : Russian Land Rush
Zimbabwe Maize Shortage : USDA GE Food Rules Criticized
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Challenges for cost-effectiveness of ethanol from corn: Many articles are circulating about a major financial crisis for ethanol producer, VeraSun Energy Corp. According to the article posted November 1, 2008, on cnnmoney.com, VeraSun, the nation’s second largest ethanol producer, is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after dramatically fluctuating corn costs. Low ethanol profit margins and the lower availability of trade credit in today's market have also contributed to VeraSun's significant losse,s and the company is currently working with lenders to secure operating funds while it undergoes extensive restructuring. http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/01/news/companies/verasun.ap/index.htm
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An exciting new discovery at MIT has the science world buzzing as it may hold the key to inexpensive renewable energy storage. The article “'Major Discovery' from MIT Primed to Unleash Solar Revolution” by Anne Trafton describes the new theory. “ Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Daniel Nocera, Professor of Energy at MIT, and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night ... The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity--whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source--runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.” Previous catalysts have always been comprised of less-abundant and more-expensive materials, thus rendering them less feasible for market production.
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A press release by Californians for GE-Free Agriculture announces, “A landmark piece of legislation protecting California’s farmers from liability was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on Sept. 27, 2008. The bill, AB 541 (Huffman, D-Marin/Sonoma), was sponsored by a coalition of agriculture organizations and food businesses, and it is the first bill passed by the California legislature that brings much-needed regulation to genetically engineered (GE) crops. AB 541 indemnifies California farmers who have not been able to prevent the inevitable – the drift of GE pollen or seed onto their land and the subsequent contamination of non-GE crops. Currently, farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of harassing lawsuits brought by biotech patent holders, most notoriously Monsanto. AB 541 provides protections for farmers from such liability. The bill also establishes a mandatory crop sampling protocol to level the playing field when biotech companies investigate alleged patent or contract violations.” This bill may serve as a model for future legislation across the nation. http://www.calgefree.org/speakout.html
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The Collective Farms of Russia have been attracting investors from all over the world, according to a report in The New York Times by Andrew E. Kramer. “Today roughly 7 percent of the planet's arable land is either owned by the Russian state or by collective farms...” A new reform now allows foreigners to own agricultural land in Russia, and this has created a bit of a land rush and the potential for an agricultural revolution. Earlier reformers hoped that the collective farms would eventually break up into family farms. But according to Kramer, “the new business model rests on a belief that Russia's long painful history of collectivization is destined to end in large corporate factory farms.”
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News from Zimbabwe and reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that this year’s maize production will fall short of the national requirement by about a million tons. Zimbabwe has been experiencing dramatic and often violent land reform, unemployment is estimated at more than 80 percent, and the country has become increasingly reliant on international food aid with outside agencies providing aid to over 4.1 million people. Food imports are far too costly, and rising costs are placing severe strains on the availability of maize in all of southern Africa. A network of Non-Governmental Organizations have developed in the past five years, and the UN hopes that together they can help to train communal farmers and to boost yields, and fertility and return to a time where small farmers are providing at least two-thirds of the nations cereal crops.
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On October 6, 2008, Jane Rissler of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a highly critical statement on the USDA's proposal for new rules governing genetically engineered crops including those used to produce pharmaceutical and industrial products. Rissler believes that the rules do not do enough to protect the US food supply from cross-pollination or seed mixing between food crops and pharmaceutical crops. She stated, “If these proposals are enacted into law, American consumers must accept the possibility of drugs in their breakfast cereal or other common foods. Moreover, these rules likely will lead to contamination scares, which will hurt the food industry.” She went on to criticize the fact that the USDA is only allowing 45 days for public comment on this major proposal in what she deems a rush to enact the rules into law before the Bush administration leaves office. Find out more details from the UCS on their website http://www.ucsusa.org/
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