Advanced Search
January 27, 2017
Ag World Cautiously Optimistic on Perdue Pick
On the eve of his inauguration, President Trump announced Sonny Perdue of Georgia as nominee for Secretary of Agriculture. Perdue (no relation to Perdue chicken), was a Georgia state Senator and then later Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. He holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and now owns a private food and product export business along with his cousin, Senator David Perdue (R, GA).
USDA is the largest and most wide-ranging federal agency – responsible for everything from the school lunch and food stamp programs to crop insurance, conservation programs and research, as well as the U.S. Forest Service. The Secretary pick is especially important this year, as lawmakers hope to complete Farm Bill negotiations before the bill expires in September of 2018. In Farm Bill negotiations, regional, more so than political differences, shape the debate.
Read More
EESI Mourns Loss of Family Farm Advocate
On January 22, Katherine Ozer, Executive Director of the National Family Farm Coalition passed away. She was a tremendous advocate for small, family-owned farms, farm workers and sustainable agriculture, having devoted her entire career to the issues facing family farmers.
Headlines
1. 2017 RFS Rules Among Regulations Subject to Additional Review
2. Many Farmers Still Need Training After Lake Erie Algae
3. EPA OKs Gevo Isobutanol as Advanced Biofuel
4. Two-Thirds Of Americans Disagree With Trump’s Focus On Fossil Fuels
5. From Flask to Field: How Tiny Microbes Are Revolutionizing Big Agriculture
Events:
1. 2017 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
Friday, February 10 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Gold Room 2168 Rayburn House Office Building C Street SE and South Capitol Street
Hosted in coordination with the House and Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses.
Please RSVP to expedite check-in
For the fifth year in a row, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) have produced the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which provides the latest industry information and trends from the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural gas sectors in the United States.
2. Electric Transmission Infrastructure 101
The High-Voltage Grid: Its Operations, Challenges, and Benefits
Thursday, February 16 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Room 385 Russell Senate Office Building Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE
WIRES, the House Grid Innovation Caucus, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to an important briefing on the modernization of the nation’s critical network of high-voltage transmission. Designed and built well before the digital age to serve more localized customer loads, the “grid” is struggling to support active and increasingly competitive wholesale power markets that now operate regionally. It is often congested or inadequate to deliver domestic energy resources that are not close to customers. Its aging facilities have acknowledged weather and cyber vulnerabilities. Moreover, the planning and regulation of this fundamental infrastructure is complex, often uncoordinated, and slow to produce results. However, despite the combined effects of the recession and greater energy efficiency, the grid will be called upon to serve 30 percent more electrical demand over the next two decades.
To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]
Please distribute Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests to your colleagues. Reproduction of this newsletter is permitted provided that the Environmental and Energy Study Institute is properly acknowledged as the source. Past issues are available here. Free email subscriptions are available here.
Do you like receiving this newsletter? If so, please consider taking 2 minutes to tell us why SBFF is useful to you! Your review of EESI's services on GreatNonprofits will help us keep bringing you more of what you like. EESI has been named a “Top-Rated Nonprofit” three years in a row, and with your help we want to make it four! Click here to Review EESI.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus dedicated to finding innovative environmental and energy solutions. EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today or mailing a check to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute at 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. You can also learn more about why you should give to EESI for clean energy. If you have any questions, please contact Susan Williams by email at swilliams [at] eesi.org or by phone at 202-662-1887. Thank you for your support!
Advancing science-based climate solutions
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity