Stories

“Iowa’s investment in ethanol production has brought economic development to agriculture, and we need to protect that investment,” Thicke said. “However, it is time to reassess, and consider how future investments in renewable energy can be better targeted to profit farmers and better protect our natural resource base.”

There has long been a debate over whether ethanol is an environmentally sound alternative to gasoline. Critics contend that due to the amount of fossil fuel used to harvest and create ethanol it actually releases more greenhouse emissions than fossil fuels. But a new University of Minnesota study adds health costs to the mix, especially when ethanol is made at coal-fired production facilities.

The exclusive story is no longer the exclusive domain of the traditional media. In many cases, it’s the small, independent media that are breaking stories and driving the news these days.

Although former Gov. Tom Vilsack is likely to be confirmed by the Senate as secretary of agriculture after President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the Organic Consumers Association continues to hold out hope that they can derail the nomination before that happens.
While Vilsack has promoted respectable policies with respect to restraining livestock monopolies, his overall record [...]

During his two terms as Iowa governor, Vilsack endeared himself to both the left and the right. But the Democrat who was both the first to enter and the first to leave the 2008 presidential campaign had his critics.

A coalition of ethanol companies has formed a new organization with the goal of fighting back against groups like the Grocery Manufacturers Association that have been lobbying the government to roll back incentives for ethanol.
The organization, Growth Energy, is planning a national advertising campaign, starting in Wednesday’s New York Times, to defend the industry from [...]

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, told The Des Moines Register that he tried to get John McCain to ease up on the ethanol attacks and frame the debate in a different way that wouldn’t alienate farmers. King thinks McCain’s vocal opposition to ethanol subsidies played a role in the Arizona Republican’s poor performance in Iowa.

COMMENTARY: McCain was like the kid who jumps out from behind a bush and yells “boo” to scare you on the way to school — after jumping out from the same bush and yelling “boo” each day for the past two weeks. As Dionne Warwick would say, you just walk on by.

COMMENTARY: In Friday night’s debate, McCain was like a Buick salesman who did a better job pitching his car than the Toyota guy. Great on points, but we know who gets the sale.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reaffirmed his support of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard on Tuesday. Obama’s Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, opposes the fuel standard that mandates a specific amount of ethanol be used in the nation’s fuel supply.