A range of biofuels companies and other interests, such as the biotech industry, leaned on EPA to withhold the indirect land-use change aspects of the rule and instead just publish its proposed methodology for review, alleging the science was incomplete.
But environmental groups lobbied the other way, stating that calculating emissions from land-use changes is needed to prevent future biofuels ventures that do not help curb levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
Nathanael Greene of the Natural Resources Defense Council praised the agency for moving forward, though he cautioned that it remains to be seen how EPA addresses the issue specifically.
"It is about time that we are digging into the substance of this and collecting the input that EPA definitely needs to take the proposed rule and turn it into something that is really workable and final," said Greene, the group's director of renewable energy policy.
"They have done some really rigorous scientific and economic modeling, and that makes me optimistic that the results will be valid estimates of the land-use emissions, but it is just too soon to know."
But Paul Winters, a spokesman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said EPA's decision to move ahead with measuring effects of indirect land-use changes is not a setback. "We are confident that EPA will show that biofuels do reduce greenhouse gases compared to gasoline," he said.
"The industry will respond to the proposed rule during the comment period and will use that to try and achieve consensus that the EPA's methodology is reflecting the real value of biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," he added.
Governors call for task force Meanwhile, governors who support ethanol wrote President Obama on Feb. 19 to urge the creation of an interagency panel on the issue of lifecycle emissions of transportation fuels.
"This high-level task force led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would be charged with helping to resolve the debate over the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels," says the letter from the Governors' Biofuels Coalition, which is chaired by North Dakota's John Hoeven (R).
The 2007 energy law provides EPA flexibility on a number of areas, including the ability to revise downward the production and emissions levels in the mandate.
Argyropoulos noted that EPA would have to continually analyze whether the production levels can be met. Commercial cellulosic production has not begun ramping up, although some facilities are slated to come on line.
"It could be very, very promising, but there really aren't any commercial-scale biorefiners out there right now," he said of cellulosic ethanol. The expanded renewable fuels standard in the 2007 law calls for cellulosic ethanol targets beginning next year with 100 million gallons and escalating yearly, hitting 1 billion gallons in 2013 en route to 16 billion in 2022.
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Add CommentI am Ghazanfar Khan, Born 4th time in this world. I am Only 900 years old this time I am planning not to die ever again. I have found a computer graphic card about which is 786 trillion years old. Is it a god graphic card? Well science has to find it out first only then we will declare it god ok.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhaatt
I am untruthful?
I am not reasonable?
87 years ago I found X58 Mobo, 200 million years old, actually it is a complete computer system found absolutely intact. Everything works perfectly and faster then any other computer because this X58 Mobo is equipped with Core i7 965 clocked at 3.2 Giga Hertz, 2000 Mhz DDR 3 Ram with very tight timings. A 2 Giga Byte DDR 5 Memory handled Graphic Card, 8 Channel Sound Card and each and everything necessary for massive computing.
Yes believe me it is a miracle that it came to existence because all the material was available on earth even before that period. I am a scientist. Science says that if a frog is turned into a prince with a kiss then its not true but if a frog turns into human in million years then it is science. Evolutionary Science to be exact. It evolved and each and everything took the best possible shape to support each other and work in perfect harmony. It evolved because of time.
I had some Nitrogen Oxide in hand so I decided to overclock the computer and this rig fro 3.2 Gigz to 6.5 Giga Hertz. Everything was working fine then I thought that I would require a good Graphical User Interface in order to take full advantage of power hungry beast. I looked at Darwin’s evolution and man they never let you down they just handed me over full functional copy of Windows 7 though Microsoft is in the development process of it but evolution said nothing is required, no work is required, leave those thousands of idiots working in Microsoft and develop one software in many years. We evolutionists are here; have your copy of Windows 7 With Service Pack 4 pre installed and enjoyyy.
I am absolutely lucky that I have got such a great mechanism without the need of anything and knowledge because evolutions theories were helping me. I deny that the processor was made to work at 3.2 Giga Hertz. It was I who took it from 3.2 to 6.5 Gigz. Nothing in between it. There is absolutely no, no and no requirement of sense, knowledge, fabrication process, computer languages and other things associated with it.
Conclusion: It is declared by me and evolutionsts no AMD and no Intel required. computer is far simpler in design and functions when compared to 50 million different species.
Fastest super computer made by human costs around 130 million dollars and is about 500,000 times faster than what we use at home… this super computer houses in area more than 5000 square feet But there is another fact… A honey bee computes 100,000,000,000 times faster than this fastest super computer of human being..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEvolutionists see the creation of man on this link then cell design , Atom, Immune system, Respiratory System, Brain, Blue Planet Earth, Creation of Universe and other videos…
http://www.harunyahya.com/en.m_video_index.php
Allah has told us that not even a single creature or thing is created useless meaning everything has its own purpose of existence. It is the thinking of disbelievers that all of the things and their own life meant no purpose/reason.
After That research on Quran
www.QuranEnglish.com hear Translation of Quran (Complete 114 Chapters)
Quran is accepted as the most difficult book ever to be translated and because it’s the final revelation to human beings so its un-editable as promised by our Creator/Lord. Not a single word has changed in 1400+ years and number of facts stated in the Quran are increasing with the advancement of science. Today 80% of the Quran is proven to be absolutely scientific. The religion spreads peace though human leaves the guidance and becomes enemy to humanity. Spread the only religion in existence and earn the reward in a shape which neither you nor can I imagine…
Those who ask/pray anyone else other then Allah/Creator of all what we see and what we don’t (The only deity) are wrong doers.
Quran Chapter No 112
Say Allah is only one and there is no one beside him.
Allah requires absolutely nothing. (meaning that Allah is beyond any/all need)
Allah has no parents and no son or daughter.
There is no one greater than or equal to Allah by any means.
Producing ethanol has one major drawback : It still needs fertilisers made from fossil fuels, so it produces CO2 and affects Climate Change. If you must create CO2, then sequester it via Biomass pyrolysis. The technology is there, all that is needed is to scale it up.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSee : www.eprida.com for more details...