2006.03.02: March 2, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Journalism: Speaking Out: Energy: Alternative Fuels: The Capital Times: Margaret Krome says: Fuels must change, but so should consumption

Peace Corps Online: State: Wisconsin: February 8, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: Wisconsin: 2006.03.02: March 2, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Journalism: Speaking Out: Energy: Alternative Fuels: The Capital Times: Margaret Krome says: Fuels must change, but so should consumption

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Margaret Krome says: Fuels must change, but so should consumption

 Margaret Krome says: Fuels must change, but so should consumption

"It was good to hear President Bush address alternative energy in his State of the Union message last month. But later he struggled to explain why the federal alternative energy program was cut in his fiscal 2007 budget. His emphasis on solving our energy problems with new technologies is an important start, although one that holds promise only if he and Congress actually fund it." Journalist Margaret Krome served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.

Margaret Krome says: Fuels must change, but so should consumption

Margaret Krome: Fuels must change, but so should consumption
By Margaret Krome

I can tell by the glint in his eye that our son has a new campaign under way. Always a subtle and tactical advocate, he's working on his parents to buy an old van, convert it to burn biodiesel fuel and then brew up biodiesel from old restaurant oil.

Inspired less by Willie Nelson's BioWillie diesel fuel than the practical experience of friends who have done this, I am sure that Martin could make it work. And however amusing it would be to drive a vehicle that makes the air smell like french fries, I don't discount as foolish any creative efforts to solve our nation's 20 million barrel-a-day petroleum addiction or reduce global warming.

It was good to hear President Bush address alternative energy in his State of the Union message last month. But later he struggled to explain why the federal alternative energy program was cut in his fiscal 2007 budget. His emphasis on solving our energy problems with new technologies is an important start, although one that holds promise only if he and Congress actually fund it.

Some new technologies make more sense than others. For example, the energy conservation of most grain-based ethanol is moderate at best. Some people say corn-based ethanol takes more energy to create than it makes, but that overstates the case because conversion processes have become more efficient and ethanol's distillery grains have additional energy value as feed for livestock. But it's still an inefficient process, and like any crop grown repeatedly, requires large petrochemical inputs for pesticides and fertilizers. Also, large acreage investments in grain-based ethanol feedstocks would take a heavy toll on the land from soil erosion, nutrient runoff into water bodies and loss of wildlife habitat.

There is greater hope for ethanol blends based on using resource-conserving crops like switchgrass. But these are not panaceas either. First, biologists worry that cellulose harvested for ethanol on the scale proposed would constitute a significant biological loss to natural systems that use the cellulose as part of nutrient cycling and ecosystem food chains. Also, even cellulose-based ethanol's efficiency, while greater than that from grains, still isn't high.

I have a private passion for photovoltaic cells, windmills and, like my son Martin, new fuels. But there has been limited policy support nationally. For example, in last year's energy bill, Bush opposed including a national requirement that utilities generate 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, even though experts predicted a negligible impact on utilities' bottom line. But even if new technologies received optimal support, experts say that they alone cannot correct the nation's energy deficit, if we consume energy at current rates.

Conservation has been the neglected part of the energy policy equation. The problems we seek to address derive from human behavior. As a first measure, policymakers need to create incentives and regulations that will result in significantly reduced consumption of fuels.

Interestingly, many industry leaders now recognize that, given the volatility of climate and fuel, their investments would profit from the greater predictability that arises from mandatory emission reduction standards. But there has been poor voluntary compliance by industry when it comes to energy regulations, so policymakers must use sticks as well as carrots.

The single most important area for increased fuel efficiency is in motorized vehicles. A crucial tool to reduce fuel consumption, tightening the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards, for example, hasn't happened as a voluntary matter. Similarly, utilities need to be pressed to encourage residential conservation, and industry needs similar policy signals.

State and federal policymakers rightfully are exploring many options to address our short-term and long-term power needs. But it will always be more popular to discuss developing new energy sources, with the potential that they offer for new markets, than to address the harder but essential need to reduce consumption. Both are needed.

Margaret Krome of Madison writes a semimonthly column for The Capital Times. E-mail: mkrome@inxpress.net
Published: March 2, 2006

Copyright 2006 The Capital Times





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PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order #10924, establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency: "Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed--doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language. But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps--who works in a foreign land--will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace. "

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Story Source: The Capital Times

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Cameroon; Journalism; Speaking Out; Energy; Alternative Fuels

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