Biodiesel

New Maui Water Study

At the request of the Ulupono Initiative, Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, Jackson School of Geosciences has studied Maui’s water availability. A Systems Approach for Investigating Water, Energy, and Food Scenarios in East-Central Maui concludes: “The water availability for different scenarios is based upon the precipitation, surface water, and groundwater on the Eastern (Haleakala) portion of Maui. Most of the 330 million gallons per day (MGD) of average surface water runoff is already used for some purpose (see … Read more

County’s New Demands Cause Pacific Biodiesel Headaches

Pacific Biodiesel will continue collecting cooking oil and grease and continue supplying Biodiesel to Maui Biodiesel refining operations to move to Big Island. Here’s the press release issued by Pacific Biodiesel America’s oldest biodiesel production plant has vacated the Central Maui  Landfill.  While continuing operations in the collection of used cooking oil and trap grease  waste, Pacific Biodiesel has closed its prototype facility.  Built in 1996, Pacific Biodiesel’s  Maui plant has been widely recognized as … Read more

Nat’l Biodiesel Board’s Life Cycle Paper

In May of 1998, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the results of the Biodiesel Lifecycle Inventory Study. It compared findings for a comprehensive “cradle to grave” inventory of materials used; energy resources consumed; and air, water and solid waste emissions generated by petroleum diesel fuels and biodiesel in order to compare the total “lifecycle” costs and benefits of each of the fuels. This 3.5-year study followed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private industry-approved protocols for conducting this type of research. Below is a summary of the study.

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Stephanie Fried Biodiesel Testimony

Testimony of Stephanie Fried, PhD Testimony of Stephanie Fried, Ph.D. Environmental Defense OPPOSING HB 1718 HD1 relating to special purpose revenue bonds for BlueEarth Maui Biodiesel, LLC, for construction of a biodiesel refinery on Maui. FRIDAY, March 30, 2007 3:00 P.M. Conference Room 308 Aloha Representatives Oshiro, Lee, and Finance Committee Members I am enclosing some information on the palm oil which will likely be used in the proposed “biodiesel” plant. HECO announced its intention … Read more

Biodiesel

Key conditions for sustainable Biodiesel: Use waste and byproducts or locally grown feedstock that doesn’t displace rain forests Decentralize – small plants using local feedstock and selling locally Biofuel LifeCycle Paper Sierra Club National Biomass Policy Sierra Club National Ethanol Policy Biodiesel Crop Implementation in Hawaii (pdf) Dr. Stephanie Fried Testimony (Lots of info and links) Cruel Oil: How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest and Wildlife (pdf) If we want to save the environment, we … Read more

Biofuel Links

Massacres and Paramilitary Land Seizures Behind the Biofuel Revolution Armed groups in Colombia are driving peasants off their land to make way for plantations of palm oil, a biofuel that is being promoted as an environmentally friendly source of energy… U.N.: Not so fast with ethanol, other biofuels Unchecked growth could see new problems offset climate gains, report says. “Unless new policies are enacted to protect threatened lands, secure socially acceptable land use, and steer … Read more

Kelly King of Pacific Biodiesel Comments on HECO/BlueEarth Biofuels Plan

Commentary. Regarding the response from HECO/BlueEarth Biofuels to Bill Kamanu’s letter of concern about their proposed 40 to 120 million gallons per year biodiesel refinery, maybe the title should have read “Biofuels Here Won’t Harm Environment Here”. There have been countless articles – from the Wall Street Journal to the Asia Times – written about the devastating effects of the importation of large quantities of palm oil. Some of these articles indicate that Europe, which … Read more