Environmental News Roundup

Recommend...del.icio.us Digg it Furl Netvouz Netscape Newsvine reddit Yahoo MyWeb March 13th, 2006 at 03:59pm Chase Martyn

A popular interest group announces its new president, Iowa water is too polluted to eat the fish, and alternative fuel gets talked up (twice!) after the jump.

In an email to its list today, the League of Conservation Voters announced that its new President will be Gene Karpinski. Here’s what they say about him:

Gene comes to us after over 20 years as the Executive Director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). He is also very familiar with the workings of our organization, having served on LCV’s board and political committee over the last 12 years. His role as LCV President will begin in early April.

He has blogged at the Huffington Post, but not very frequently. And he clearly earned his stripes in environmental causes, so hopefully that means the LCV picked more than just a name.

Also, the Register reports that our water is polluted enough to call for a health warning against eating its fish. It’s something about high levels of chemicals.

And the Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier has the second article in a three-part series on E85 fuel — that is, fuel with high ethanol content — and how it’s apparently catching on. Flex-fuel cars (that is, cars that can run on traditional fuel and E85 fuel) still only account for a small percentage of purchases, and E85 fuel accounts for an even smaller percentage of total fuel sales, but everyone is optimistic:

Ethanol industry officials say a lack of knowledge nationwide about the fuel, comparatively few E85-compatible vehicles on the road and the lack of stations carrying it are obstacles to mainstream success.

Consumer research released in December said 70 percent of people didn’t know what ethanol was or would consider using it. A recent well-publicized study said ethanol is good for America since it creates more energy than it takes to make it. For people who want to lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil, this could help the industry.

Even so, though, auto makers and dealerships are pushing flex-fuel really hard:
“Vern Laures Auto Center in New Hampton regularly advertises in the Farm Bureau Spokesman, a paper geared to Iowa farmers. A recent ad featured E85 cars and trucks with an ear of corn and a headline stating, ‘Wheels that will save $$.’”

And in somewhat related news, AP reports that Iowans may start selling a byproduct of biodiesel production. Glycerin, they say, settles at the bottom of the tank during the production process, and it’s commonly used in soap a number of other common household products.

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