grassland

The Renewable Fuel Standard legislation, first passed in 2005 and updated in 2007, requires billions of gallons of renewable fuel to be added to the country’s transportation fuel supplies. It created the world’s largest biofuels program.

The standard was hailed as a major victory for the climate as well as a way to reduce our dependence upon foreign oil.

The intent of the legislation was to encourage various forms of renewable fuels – especially cellulosic ethanol from plant and wood fiber – to become an increasing part of the fuel mix. That has yet to happen. Instead, corn ethanol has been the backbone of the program.

Back in 2007, the EPA determined that ethanol from corn would lead to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to gasoline. But the next year, a study published in the journal Nature projected that corn ethanol would double greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years because demand for corn would drive farmers to plow up increasing amounts of carbon-rich forest and grassland.

A new study published by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has again concluded that corn-based ethanol may actually be worse for the climate than fossil-based gasoline as well as having other environmental downsides. According to the study, since the fuel standard was passed, farmers have expanded corn production on nearly 7 million acres each year, causing the conversion of lands to cropland. The result is that the carbon intensity of corn ethanol could be as much as 24% higher than gasoline.

The issue is still being debated in Congress, but if these results are verified, the time has come to revamp the terms of the renewable fuel standard.

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Corn-Based Ethanol May Be Worse For the Climate Than Gasoline, a New Study Finds

Trots den höga effektiviteten leder inte vissa patienter som tar läkemedlet till en förbättring av erektion. Detta beror på felaktig användning av medicinen eller på att ED helt enkelt är en följd online apotek viagra av en annan sjukdom. I sådana fall är det obligatoriskt att konsultera och undersöka en läkare.

Photo, posted October 23, 2011, courtesy of the United Soybean Board via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

According to the first-ever comprehensive assessment of net bird populations published in 2019, nearly three billion birds have disappeared in the United States and Canada since 1970. The study, by researchers from the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, found that North American bird populations have lost 2.9 billion breeding adults during that timespan. Forests lost one billion birds, and grassland birds declined 53%.

According to a newer study from Cornell University, it appears that even the common house sparrow is declining. In parts of its native range in Europe, house sparrow numbers are down nearly 60%. Researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology sought to clarify the status of the species in the U.S. and Canada by using 21 years of citizen science data collected through its Project Feederwatch program.

Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales. For the study, which was recently published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, the research team reviewed recorded observations of house sparrows during their non-breeding season. These sightings from nearly 12,500 sites were used and cross-referenced with the National Land Cover database to determine whether the U.S. sightings came from rural or urban locations.

From 1995 to 2016, researchers found that Feederwatch sites reporting house sparrows declined 7.5%, and the mean flock sizes declined 22%. House sparrow populations declined in urban areas, but actually remained stable in rural areas.

The researchers say a lack of green space and nesting sites in urban areas are likely factors in the population declines.

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Study finds even the common house sparrow is declining

Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone

Photo, posted May 14, 2014, courtesy of Jacob Spinks via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Corn Ethanol And The Climate | Earth Wise

The Renewable Fuel Standard legislation, first passed in 2005 and updated in 2007, requires billions of gallons of renewable fuel to be added to the country’s transportation fuel supplies. It created the world’s largest biofuels program.

Web Links

Even The Common House Sparrow Is Declining | Earth Wise

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