Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - September 16, 2016

Alternative Jet Fuels Tackle Rising Aviation Emissions

Aviation accounts for two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Two percent may not sound like much, but if aviation were a country, these levels would make it the seventh largest emitter in the world. Moreover, these emissions are expected to rise significantly in coming years. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration estimates U.S. aviation emissions will rise by 100 percent by 2050 under a “business-as-usual” scenario, due primarily to increases in air travel.

Stakeholders are taking these projections seriously, at the national and international level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued an endangerment finding for aircraft, indicating that greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft are hazardous to public health. This finding requires the EPA to begin crafting regulations for aircraft emissions. At the global level, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will be making decisions to finalize a market-based measure, designed to help stabilize future emissions at projected 2020 levels, at their meeting beginning September 27 in Montreal. Biofuels will be able to play a large part in meeting these standards and reducing overall aviation emissions.

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Remembering My Friend and Mentor, Bill Holmberg

by Carol Werner

While knowing the day was coming, I was still stunned and grief-stricken when I received the call on September 8 that our very dear friend Bill Holmberg had died.  There have been many wonderful tributes written about this very special, unique and irreplaceable person.  There are so many positive and strong adjectives that can be applied to Bill, his character, how he lived his life, and his absolute dedication and passion for doing the right thing for people, his country, for our planet.  Having known Bill since the late 1970's, he has been an incredible mentor and friend.....and he never would take no for an answer.  

While he was a highly decorated Marine Colonel whose valor saved lives....Bill took lessons from his wartime experiences, which many of us saw in his dedication to find other ways to solve problems as well as meet the needs of communities in developing countries.  After Bill retired from the US Marine Corps, he continued his public service as an official at the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy.  It was at the Department of Energy where my husband Jack met Bill in his quest to organize an appropriate community technology fair -- ACT '79 -- on the Mall for five days in April 1979.  The support and partnership that grew out of that continued to be an ever constant, deeply valued friendship and part of our lives ever since.  We worked together in organizing the Sustainable Energy Coalition, in working together on the New Uses Council as well as his Biomass Coordinating Council of ACORE and, of course, all of the bipartisan Environmental & Clean Energy Inaugural Ball organizing committees.  And we worked together when he joined Sen. Ben Nelson's staff to help pass the Renewable Fuels Standard.  And the list goes on and on.  But Bill had a vision of how we could become a more environmentally sustainable society and economy -- locally and globally.  He taught so many of us about the values of a bio-economy and how systems needed to work together.  He was always learning....and always listening....and always working to find solutions.  He was a font of knowledge and he would teach and encourage questions so that we would all think more carefully about what made sense.  He knew we had to move away from fossil fuels and that we had to be true stewards of our land and our natural resources....of this web of life upon which we all depend.  And he brought a deep understanding of the linkages between security, oil and climate change. Bill worked to bring people together at the highest levels, as well as in all sorts of communities and venues around the country and around the world.  

Bill never, ever gave up....it is now up to the rest of us to carry his vision and commitment forward.  I am so grateful that Jack and I have been friends of Bill for so many years.  Here's to you, Bill! 

Mark Holmberg's tribute to his father can be found here.

The Washington Post's obituary can be found here.

 

 

 

Headlines

1. Midwest Governors, Ethanol Lobby Pick Fight with EPA

2. California Governor Signs Bill Benefiting Biomass Power 

3. Panel Debates Budget vs. Policy on Wildfire Management

4. Report: BETO Algal Biology Toolbox Workshop

5. National Building Museum Exhibits Sustainable Tallwood in "Timber City"

 

Upcoming Event: 

EPA Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel - Public Teleconference

The U.S. EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board staff office has announced plans to hold a public teleconference of the SAB biogenic carbon emissions panel on Oct. 12 as part of its continuing review of the framework for biogenic CO2 emissions from stationary sources first released in November 2014 and updated this February.

 

 

 

To Contact the Editor: Rebecca Chillrud at [email protected]

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