Doyle Urges Legislature to Reconsider Plan to Add E-85 Pumps

Thursday, August 17, 2006

From the Wisconsin Ag Connection:

One day after suspending the state's minimum markup law for ethanol-blended gasoline, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is asking the Legislature to give another thought to requiring more state gas stations to sell the renewable fuel.

"Making sure ethanol remains more affordable than petroleum is a good first step, but we also need to make sure that consumers can have access to ethanol based fuels like E-85," Governor Doyle said. "I urge the Republican legislature to reconsider my plan to double access to E-85 in Wisconsin by providing incentives to station owners to offer this cheaper renewable fuel."

On Tuesday, Doyle said that ethanol based fuel is not subject to minimum markup law enforcement and directed the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection not pursue any actions against sellers of ethanol blended fuel.

So how has that action affected prices on Wednesday? Not much, according to Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association President Bob Bartlett, who says retailers must pass on to consumers to make up their expenses.

"I'm sure it does sound good. Everybody would like to get energy at less cost, and that includes Wisconsin's independent retailers. What this doesn't recognize is the actual cost those retailers have to pay to get the products," Bartlett said.

The average price of a gallon of gas in Wisconsin was $3.17 Wednesday, down .2 of a cent from Tuesday, when Doyle issued the order.

In March, Governor Doyle launched the Promoting Our Wisconsin Energy Resources Initiative to promote energy independence. But three months later, the Joint Finance Committee rejected a vote to provide $335,000 to fund POWER Initiative projects that would increase the number of E-85 fueling stations, increase use of E-85 in local government vehicle fleets, and promote the use of E-85 fuel.

Currently, there are only 35 stations with E-85 pumps in Wisconsin.

State grants aid area bio companies

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

From The Capital Times:

A town of Oregon farm and a Baraboo bio-based plastics firm have received state grants to help them grow.

A $60,000 grant will help O'Brien Farms collaborate with Great Lakes BioFuels LLC to develop a containerized mobile processor that can be moved from farm to farm to process oilseeds such as soybeans and sunflowers into bio-diesel fuel and animal feed. The grant addresses the first phase of the project, the economic feasibility of crushing the seeds and extracting the raw meal.

"Today's energy prices are sparking the race towards energy independence," Rod Nilsestuen, state secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "We want that race to be won here in Wisconsin."

Gov. Jim Doyle's Declaration of Energy Independence challenges the state to generate 25 percent of electricity and 25 percent of transportation fuel from renewable fuels by 2025.

A $115,000 grant will help Teel Plastics develop and test a process for making composite siding products using waste wood flour and agricultural fibers.

Using wood waste to create new bio-based products is expected to help Wisconsin's saw mill industry, benefit the environment, and create new jobs. Saw mills generate millions of tons of wood flour, most of which must be disposed of at considerable expense to manufacturers and the environment.

Video of presentation by Colin Campbell

Monday, August 14, 2006

To learn more about peak oil from one of the world's leading authorities, you might want to attend a video showing at 6:30 p.m. on August 15 of the ASPO founder’s and veteran oil geologist’s speculation on a range of plausible scenarios after the end of cheap oil. Campbell examines the very core of the mechanisms which make our society function.

Escape Coffee House, 916 Williamson St., Madison

Sponsored by the Peregrine Forum, Four Lakes Green Party, and Peak Oil Action Network.

More information from David Williams: dvdwilliams51@yahoo.com.

New humanoid species discovered!

Friday, August 11, 2006

(Oregon, Wisconsin) Homo Automobilicus: a species of soft, atrophied invertebrate that spends much of its life isolated within a two-ton motorized exoskeleton on wheels. Homo automobilicus has lost the ability to move itself more than fifty to one hundred meters; consequently it is seldom to be found out of doors anywhere beyond its lair, suburbianum ridus mowanacreae. Between five and twelve times per day, the exoskeleton of homo automobilicus can be seen speeding along the broad, constantly expanding asphalt-and-concrete trails that lead from its lair to its every destination.

Hans Noeldner

DISCLAIMER: Hans Noeldner is a Trustee in the Village of Oregon, Wisconsin. The views herein do not necessarily represent those of the Oregon Village Board.

Senate fiddles while America sizzles

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Petroleum and Natural Gas Watch, Vol. 5, Number 5
August 9, 2006
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin

In the midst of the midsummer heat wave that scorched the eastern United States, the Senate voted 71-25 to allow oil and gas drilling in a section of the Gulf of Mexico now off-limits to such activity. During the news conference afterwards, the bill’s champions decided to contribute some hot air of their own to the atmosphere, especially when they began crowing about the bill’s purported effects on oil and natural gas imports.

Continue reading.

Doyle exempts ethanol from minimum markup law

Says Consumers Should Benefit From Lower Prices of Ethanol at the Pump
Governor Jim Doyle said today that ethanol based fuel is not subject to minimum markup law enforcement and directed the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to not pursue any actions against sellers of ethanol blended fuel.

"Wisconsin is emerging as a leader in ethanol and other renewable fuels, and we need to build on that momentum," Governor Doyle said. "I want to send a clear message to producers and consumers of ethanol that the State of Wisconsin will not do anything to artificially drive up the price. More and more drivers are turning to ethanol-based fuels because they are cheaper, and that is a trend we want to continue."

The minimum markup law, passed in the 1930s, sets a minimum price at which motor fuels can be sold in Wisconsin, but makes no distinction between fuel derived from petroleum and fuel derived from ethanol. Governor Doyle said this has the effect of artificially inflating the cost of ethanol blended fuels such as E-85 and E-10. Ethanol is selling wholesale at $1.37 a gallon (accounting for a federal ethanol tax credit), while the price of petroleum is $2.60.

A report earlier today said that the Badger State Ethanol coalition was told by the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection that it couldn't offer E-85 at a lower price. In fact, the Department did investigate a complaint made against Badger State Ethanol but found that no violation occurred. Nevertheless, Governor Doyle wanted to remove any confusion that might exist and make it clear that the Department will not work to make ethanol blended fuels more expensive.

"Governor Doyle is a great friend of ethanol producers, and more importantly, consumers who will benefit from the lower prices of ethanol at the pump," said Gary Kramer, President and General Manager of Badger State Ethanol. "At a time when the legislature has been hostile to ethanol, Governor Doyle has shown incredible backbone in the fight to make our state and our country more energy independent. I applaud his action today."

"The big oil companies have reaped obscene profits in the last year at the expense of our consumers," Governor Doyle said. "Ethanol can break the stranglehold the big oil companies have on us. If a cornfield in Monroe is competing against an oil field in Saudi Arabia, that's a very good thing for Wisconsin."


Catherine Giljohann
External Relations Coordinator
Office of Governor Jim Doyle
(608) 264-6329
Catherine.Giljohann@gov.state.wi.us

A tank of gas, a world of trouble

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Chicago Tribune Reporter Paul Salopek and photographer Kuni Takahashi trace the fascinating human story of oil from a single gas station in suburban Chicago to the fields where was produced and back again:

[T]o truly grasp the scope of the crisis looming before them, Americans must retrace their seemingly ordinary tankful of gasoline back to its shadowy sources. This is, in effect, a journey into the heart of America's vast and troubled oil dependency. And what it exposes is a globe-spanning energy network that today is so fragile, so beholden to hostile powers and so clearly unsustainable, that our car-centered lifestyle seems more at risk than ever.

"I truly think we're at one of those turning points where the future's looking so ugly nobody wants to face it," said Matthew Simmons, an energy investment banker in Houston who has advised the Bush administration on oil policy. "We're not talking some temporary Arab embargo anymore. We're not talking your father's energy crisis."

What Simmons and many other experts are talking about is a bleak new collision between geology and geopolitics.

Streetcar Campaign sets dates for community events

Friday, August 04, 2006

The Madison Streetcar Campaign will be hosting a series of four "Let's Connect! Bringing Modern Transit to Madison" informational meetings in early September.

These meetings will provide a fun opportunity to learn more about:
- The Transport 2020 and Streetcar Feasibility Studies
- What streetcars are and how they operate
- How cities across the country are improving their quality of life and economic vitality with streetcars, and
- How you can get involved!

Meetings will be held in community meetings spaces along each of the three corridors under consideration in the Streetcar Study, as well as downtown Madison.

- South Side - Thursday, September 7th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Catholic Multicultural Center at 1862 Beld Street
- East Side - Wednesday, September 13th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Hawthorne Library at 2707 East Washington Avenue
- Downtown - Thursday, September 14th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Central Library at 201 West Mifflin Street
- West Side - Tuesday, September 19th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the WARF Building (UW Madison Campus) at 614 Walnut Street

At each meeting, the presentation will begin at 6:30 and last roughly one hour. If you can't make the one in your neighborhood, feel free to attend one of the others.

Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Sincerely,
Madison Streetcar Campaign

Email us at streetcar@1kfriends.org or ward@1kfriends.org
608-259-1000 x103 - Madison Streetcar Campaign at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

The Madison Streetcar Campaign is a partnership of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Downtown Trolley, Inc., and the Dane Alliance for Rail Transit.

Will Mexican Oil Soon Be Tapped Out?

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

From a story by Marla Dickerson in the Los Angeles Times:

MEXICO CITY — Output at Mexico's most important oil field has fallen steeply this year, raising fears that wells there that generate 60% of the country's petroleum are in the throes of a major decline. . . .

Though analysts have long forecast the withering of this mature field, a rapid demise would pose serious challenges for the world's No. 5 oil producer. The oil field has supplied the bulk of Mexico's oil riches for the last quarter of a century, and petroleum revenue funds more than a third of federal spending. . . .

It would also be bad news for the United States, for which Mexico is the No. 2 petroleum supplier, behind Canada. And it could exacerbate tight global supplies that have kept oil at record prices. . . .

The Coming "War" with Canada

Curt Cobb speculates on an intriguing battle between Canada and the U.S. for Canadian natural gas:

But there is something else even more foreboding about the leveling off of gas production according to Douglas Reynolds, a resource economist at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks who has studied the North American gas situation closely. Reynolds predicts that North American production will begin to fall precipitously sometime after 2007. And, unlike the gradual downslope that the declining production numbers for a depleting oil well or an entire oil-producing nation trace on a graph, Reynolds expects the falloff in North American gas production to resemble a cliff. When gas wells begin to decline, they decline swiftly and often with little warning.

Which brings us back to the coming "war" with Canada. There will be no quick fixes for natural gas shortages in North America. None. Eventually, natural gas from Alaska and the MacKenzie Delta in the Northwest Territories will arrive by pipeline. But that could easily be 10 years from now. Imports in the form of liquid natural gas (LNG) could offer some relief, but the timelines for building the necessary special purpose ports and ships could be equally long.

Read his full analysis on his blog Resource Insights.

Natural gas inventories decline. Blip or the beginning or a trend?

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

A Blip, or Beginning of a Trend?

by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin

Petroleum and Natural Gas Watch, Vol. 5, Number 4

July 31, 2006

Unbeknownst to many Americans, the demand for natural gas during the winter months, with rare exceptions, greatly exceeds real-time domestic extraction volumes. This gap is overcome by tapping into the surplus natural gas injected into vast underground caverns during the warmer months. Historically, storage volumes increase from April through October and decrease during the heating season (November through March).

The most recent storage update from the Energy Information Agency, covering the week ended July 21, packed an unwelcome surprise, when it reported a net withdrawal of natural gas to the tune of seven billion cubic feet (bcf). According to AmericanOilman.com, this was the first time this decade that EIA reported a weekly decline of natural gas in storage inventories occurring between mid-April and mid-October. That week in July typically sees a build of 61 bcf.

Even though current storage volumes are running 20% above historical norms, this surprise development pushed spot market prices above the $7.50/MMBtu mark for this first time in four months.

At first blush, the market’s reaction seems hasty and overwrought. Even if weekly injections between now and Thanksgiving lag behind historical volumes by 50%, there still would be more than enough natural gas to ride out a severe winter. So why are energy traders and speculators so quick to bid up prices?

Continued

Bush just keeps on ignoring railroads

Monday, July 31, 2006

Dave Zweifel writes in The Capital Times on the importance of railroads, but lack of federal attention in transportation plans:

The federal government's Transportation Department has just issued a "white paper" on reducing traffic congestion in the country and guess what? It doesn't include a word about how improvement of either passenger or freight rail in America might be able to help.

Once more, the powers-that-be in Washington are determined to put all the nation's transportation eggs essentially in one basket more and bigger highways with a small sop to improving some airport traffic control systems.

Second largest oil field in decline

Thursday, July 27, 2006

By G.R. Morton from the Web site of DMD Publishing Company:

The second largest producing field in the world is the Cantarell complex in Mexico. It lies 85 kim from Ciudad del Carmen. The field was discovered in 1976 and put on production in 1979. . . .

The implications of this upcoming decline are tremendous to the world. This field produces half of what Ghawar [in Saudi Arabia] does and it won't be doing that much longer. The effect on the energy supply will be felt and there is no way for that not to happen. On Aug. 3, 2004, the OPEC president stated that OPEC has no more spare capacity. They are pumping all out and can't satisfy the demand for oil. If fields like Cantarell begin declining, the problem of supplying the world with oil will only get worse.

PSC energy assessment flunks reality check

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

RENEW Executive Director Michael Vickerman delivered the following statement to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin on July 26 on behalf of the Madison Peak Energy Group and RENEW.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Watch, Vol. 5, Number 3
July 25, 2006
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin

The draft Strategic Energy Assessment issued by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission is a particularly fine example of a government report that is interesting only for what it leaves out. Covering the years 2006 through 2012, the SEA purports to bring to light “issues that may need to be addressed to ensure the availability and reliability of Wisconsin’s electric energy supply.” Unfortunately, from a planning perspective, what the report does not address is far more critical to Wisconsin’s electricity future than what is presented in the report.

Take, for instance, the impending global Oil Peak, which many respected petroleum geologists believe will occur between 2006 and 2012. One searches in vain for any reference to a phenomenon that promises to subject the nations of the world to a profoundly wrenching and traumatic transition as supplies of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel become less available and more expensive. How should Wisconsin, which is bereft of any fossil fuel reserves and therefore must import all its coal, oil and natural gas, go about preparing for an energy-constrained future? It’s a question worthy of public discussion and debate, but one the PSC, notwithstanding the first word in its name, lacks the stomach for, or so it would appear.

Read the full commentary at RENEW News and Views.

Peak Oil Group Educates at Hybridfest 2006

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Ethan Johnson of the Madison Peak Oil Group points to the peak on a peak oil curve as he talks to a visitor at Hybridfest 2006, a celebration of hybrid cars in Madison on July 22.

Bloomington, Indiana passes peak oil resolution

Monday, July 24, 2006

Should Madison and other cities in Wisconsin follow the example of Bloomington?

On July 19, the Bloomington, Indiana City Council passed a resolution acknowledging that the global peak of petroleum production is “an unprecedented challenge” for society, and recognizes that the city must prepare for its inevitability. Bloomington is the 7th largest city in Indiana, home to Indiana University, and has a population of 70,000 residents plus a 40,000 student population. The resolution supports a global depletion protocol, such as the one drafted by Colin Campbell and Richard Heinberg.

Read the full story at Energy Bulletin.

Come to Hybridfest, Saturday, July 22

Friday, July 21, 2006

The Madison Peak Oil Group and RENEW Wisconsin will have a display at Hybridfest, held at the Alliant Energy Center. According to a story in the Capital Times by Jeff Richgels:

Hybridfest will feature more than 100 hybrid cars with participants registered from more than 20 states and Canada, Robbins said. Details are available at www.hybridfest.com for the event that runs in conjunction with the Dane County Fair from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. Parking and admission are free.

Test drives will be available, hybrid owners will be on hand to talk about what it's really like to drive a hybrid, and there will be speakers talking on a variety of topics.

Dolan said Toyota also is sending a "real expensive" exhibit piece - a cross-section of a Toyota Highlander hybrid cut in half showing how its hybrid synergy drive works.

The hybrid vehicles that will be on display include the Saturn VUE Green Line that hasn't hit the market yet and the new Toyota Camry, which Dolan said has been proving extremely popular since they started arriving at Smart in mid-May. The regular Camry has been the best-selling passenger car in the U.S. for eight of the last nine years.

Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century

Thursday, July 20, 2006

According to social critic James Howard Kunstler, the author of “The Long Emergency,” Americans are woefully unprepared for the end of the cheap oil era. Kunstler observes the American way of life—now virtually synonymous with suburbia---runs only on reliably cheap oil and gas. As oil gets more expensive Kunstler thinks we’re going to have to make other arrangements.

Nick Vander Puy from the Superior Broadcast Network caught up with James Howard Kunstler, near Stevens Point, Wisconsin after his keynote address at late June’s Midwest Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair.

Connect with Superior Broadcast to view and listen to Kunstler's speech.

Push bioenergy development beyond corn

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The Marshfield News-Herald editorialized in support of initiatives to produce ethanol from cellulose:

A study by University of Minnesota researchers shows that only 12 percent of the nation's motor vehicle fuel could be supplied by corn-based ethanol -- if every kernel in the nation went into its production.

Because corn is a major feed source for beef and other animals, converting it all into fuel would make meat either more costly or less available, or both.

And ethanol adds to greenhouse gases, just as petroleum does.

But as Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, points out, ethanol isn't only from corn anymore.

The Governor's Consortium on Bio-Based Industry urges Wisconsin to be the first state in the nation to build an ethanol plant that uses wood products as its raw product, which Still notes "could be a natural fit for communities in northern Wisconsin."

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is developing a biofuels curriculum for its paper science students, and not only could ethanol made from wood fiber be a natural fit for northern Wisconsin, it could be a revenue-producer for papermakers.

Biofuels such as switchgrass and jatropha also show more promise to be energy-efficient than corn-based ethanol.

"It is already clear that large-scale use of ethanol for fuel will almost require cellulosic technology," said Steven Koonin, chief scientist for BP, the energy company whose gasoline is sold by Baltus Oil Co. stations in the Marshfield.

Cellulosic isn't an everyday word. Cellulosic biomass includes cellulose and hemicellulose, which make up about two-thirds of the dry mass. Most of the rest is lignin.

While converting grains to ethanol requires the use of petroleum, lignin -- a renewable resource and byproduct of the production process -- fuels the conversion in cellulosic technology.

The greenhouse gases produced by burning lignin are offset by the carbon dioxide absorbed as the tree or other switchgrass grows. One model shows an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases with the use of cellulosic ethanol compared to gasoline.

Production of ethanol from corn is a short-term answer to alternative fuels, because the plants can be built quickly to convert sugars to alcohol through fermentation. In a brewery state like Wisconsin, that's old technology.

Cellulosic technology is developing, so it's not ready to replace corn-based ethanol yet.

But pooh-poohing ethanol in the face of evidence that it's not the fuel, it's the source of the ethanol, that leads to greenhouse gas concerns and net-energy problems doesn't get us any farther down the road toward a more independent future.

The largest problem is that the "world's scientific and engineering skills have not yet been focused coherently on the challenges involved," BP's Koonin said, adding, "It is now time to do that through a coordination of government, university and industrial R&D efforts, facilitated by responsible public policies."

By 2025, one-fourth of the state's transportation fuels should be alternatives to petroleum, the Governor's Consortium on Bio-Based Industry recommends.

It'll take government/university/industry collaborations to develop the technology, as the BP scientist suggests. Setting an aggressive goal, as the consortium has done, is one of a series of responsible public policies required to achieve real progress.

Wisconsin is an ideal place to make that happen.

Entrust Our Energy Destiny to Big Oil?

Petroleum and Natural Gas Watch, July 17, 2006, Vol. 5, Number 2
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin

Lately, I’ve been wrestling with a nagging question: What are Exxon Mobil and the other oil majors going to do with the Everests of cash that will pile up in their vaults when U.S. gasoline prices reach $5.00 a gallon?

Drill for more oil? Certainly a reasonable expectation, but unlikely given what happened a generation ago, when oil companies large and small plowed their profits back into finding new fields rivaling Prudhoe Bay or the North Sea in productivity. Though the sums they spent were impressive, the results weren’t.

Continue reading on Renew-Energy-Blog.org.