IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

State leaders 'ahead of the curve' in creation of green jobs ...
Representatives of environmental groups and labor unions praised the
work of Iowa, and specifically Gov. Chet Culver, for its success in
attracting green jobs to the state. Gov. Chet Culver in Husum,
Germany, last September for Europe's largest wind energy show. At a
panel discussion on the potential of investing in the clean energy
economy sponsored by the Blue Green Alliance, Iowa was singled out as
being ahead of the curve in working to attract companies that create
jobs and promote renewable energies. "Iowa has captured five wind
turbine manufacturing factories in recent years, factories that could
have easily been built in Minnesota," said David Foster, executive
director of the Blue Green Alliance Action Fund, a coalition of the
Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers of America working to promote
clean energy economic development.

Labels: biofuel, Chet_Culver

Proposal breaks with Bush administration, Midwestern leaders ...
Republicans unanimously passed a platform on Monday that calls for the
federal government to end a mandate that gasoline contain a set amount
of ethanol, but Iowa Republicans say they oppose the proposal. Under
the agriculture section, the platform talks about food versus fuel
concerns and states that the "U.S. government should end mandates for
ethanol and let the free market work." The move is a major change from
the 2004 platform, which supported expanding the use of ethanol as a
way to reduce dependence on foreign oil and increase revenue for
farmers. It's also a move away from the Bush administration's views on
ethanol towards those of the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee, Sen. John McCain.

Labels: biofuel, Iowa GOP

The Iowa Democratic Party has put up a new web site taking on John
McCain on Iowa issues. For now, it's weighted heavily on ethanol
subsidies (which McCain opposes) and the farm bill (which he voted
against). You may hear that a couple times in the video. Brooke
Borkenhagen, the spokesperson for the IDP, says it will be adding
issues like energy, taxes and health care in the next couple months.

Labels: biofuel, IDP

In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen
Johnson, Gov. Chet Culver is urging the agency to deny the request of
Texas Gov. Rick Perry to waive the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard,
which helps to subsidize ethanol. Culver said waiving the Renewable
Fuels Standard would not help reduce corn prices or food prices, which
was one of the reasons cited by Perry for making the request, but it
would have a very negative effect on the development of advanced
biofuels and on future national energy security. "Critics have been
blaming ethanol for the recent rise in food prices, but in fact a
complex set of factors have contributed to those increases in the U.S.
and around the world," Culver's letter said.

Labels: biofuel, Chet_Culver

Senator Jack Kibbie (D-Emmetsburg) wants to try and fool Iowa motorists in to using Ethanol in our vehicles. The Senator wants to remove the "ethanol" labeling from gas pumps across Iowa. So much for consumer protection. "My goal is to increase the use of ethanol in Iowa," said Kibbie Aren't there better ways to accomplish this besides trickery?

Labels: biofuel

It was a big day for Iowa supporters of renewable fuels, with the first-ever Iowa Corn Indy 250 held at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. An estimated crowd of more than 35,000 attended the race, and it was watched by a nationwide television audience on ABC. Lead sponsors of the event were the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, highlighting the fact that Indy league cars are all fueled by pure ethanol.

Labels: biofuel

As the Iowa General Assembly brings this year's session to a close (presumably in the next week or two), we are likely to see the creation of an Iowa Power Fund that disturbs me greatly. Don't misunderstand me, I'm as big a proponent for renewable and alternative fuels as the next guy. However, Chet Culver's little pet project that he campaigned for is possibly going to pass the Iowa Senate and Iowa House without any mechanisms for proper oversight or any real direction for how the money will be doled out or for what purposes. This could end up being a gigantic tax payer funded government slush fund. Remember the last time an Iowa Democratic Governor got a gigantic fund to play around with? Yep, the General Assembly gave Tom Vilsack the Iowa Values Fund and almost since its inception, critics on both sides of the aisle have sent up red flags about how the money is spent, if the results have been suf ficient, and whether there is enough documentation to back up the transactions and results of the projects that were funded by the Values Fund. The biggest critic, ironically, was Ed Fallon who was right on in his criticism of Vilsack and former Economic Development Director Mike Blouin. The truth is, the Values Fund has not lived up to its billing. It has only created a fraction of the output it was expected to unleash and there has been alot of shadows surrounding the oversight of the board.

Labels: biofuel, taxes

Biofuels are clearly getting a lot of attention lately, and some speculate that ethanol and biodiesel will bring much needed income and spur revitalization in rural communities. Ethanol might be good for the price of corn at the moment, but it looks like it's not going to be helping residents of rural America as much as one might think. ... the people who live near ethanol plants are the ones who may suffer more problems with asthma and other diseases caused by increased air pollution. ... Biofuels could be a valuable asset for rural areas, but only if jobs and profits aren't exported to urban centers. In addition to existing incentives for biofuel production, there should be incentives for local ownership in order to capture the full benefit for struggling communities.

Labels: biofuel