http://www.wikio.com/search=EPA Wikio - EPA http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63197506 Iowa Governor Chet Culver has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ignore Texas Governor Rick Perry’s request for a waiver from renewable fuel standards. Perry’s request for the waiver came after a $100,000 contribution to the Republican Governor’s Association by East Texas poultry magnate Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim . In a letter to the EPA, Culver noted : As the Governor of Iowa, I stand in opposition to the State of Texas’ request for a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Although this position was expressed earlier in a letter I supported with a bi-partisan group of my colleagues from the Midwestern Governor’s Association (MGA), I write today to underscore the importance of this issue. A waiver of the RFS would not cause an immediate or near-term reduction in corn prices or food prices, but it could 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. The primary factors contributing to rising food prices include: oil hovering around $140 a barrel; increasing global demand for grain and meat in nations like China and India; adverse weather events including consecutive drought years in Australia; a weak U.S. dollar encouraging exports; and agricultural policies around the world that have limited the productivity of farmers from Europe to Asia. A recent study from Texas A&M University concluded, “The underlying force driving changes in the agricultural industry, along with the economy as a whole, is overall higher energy costs, evidenced by $100 per barrel oil.” The fact is that ethanol is helping to reduce gasoline prices at the pump. A recent report from Iowa State University’s Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) estimates that the growth in ethanol production and use has caused gasoline prices to be $0.29 to $0.40 per gallon lower than they might otherwise have been. A variety of causes determine consumer food prices which cannot be easily explained by singling out one specific factor. Responsibly increasing the domestic production of ethanol, and promoting the development and commercialization of advanced biofuels as the RFS does, are critical to controlling consumer energy costs and assuring our national energy security. I urge you to deny the waiver requested by Texas. The Associated Press has also picked up on this story . Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:17:11 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63197506 2008-07-06T17:17:11Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63196065 An immigration article in today’s NY Times demonstrates the Times’ left-wing bias on all issues immigration. (See my previous blog post about the official NY Times position on immigration.) The tone of the article is that businesses are being hurt... Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:14:50 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63196065 2008-07-06T17:14:50Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63191101 people stop respecting it. What one Californian who disobeyed the evacuation order said: "We know fire officials don't have the manpower to secure our properties," Gafill said. "There are a lot of people in this community not following evacuation orders. Based on what we saw during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on ourselves and our neighbors." Anyone willing to tell Gafill he's wrong? Of course he isn't. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:00:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63191101 2008-07-06T16:00:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63199058 The American Meat Institute is upset about high corn prices and wants to cut the EPA mandate for renewable fuels in half. Texas Governor Rick Perry and a group of Republican politicians have sent a letter to the EPA requesting the cutback. This would drastically limit corn’s role in the fuel market, making corn cheaper [...] Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:55:47 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63199058 2008-07-06T14:55:47Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63185691 Images from a rain-soaked British grand prix at Silverstone Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:21:46 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63185691 2008-07-06T14:21:46Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63177397 Mosquitoes pose a bit more of a threat than simply stings and itches. They can transmit West Nile virus, which affects the central nervous system. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:44:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63177397 2008-07-06T07:44:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63163235 As this was being written Caribbean heads of government were meeting in Barbados. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:27:17 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63163235 2008-07-06T07:27:17Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63168315 The new Vehicle gas emission test will come into effect from 15 of this month onward, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Champika Ranawaka said. A Revenue license would not be issued to vehicles which do not comply with the environmental standards on vehicle emissions, the Minister added. Obtaining an emission test certificate will cost less [...] Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:27:40 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63168315 2008-07-06T04:27:40Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63164874 What we know for certain is that if we are not actively involved in our future, our future may not happen. Democracy imposes this responsibility on us. Are we up for the challenge? Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:10:38 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63164874 2008-07-06T01:10:38Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63153630 SAFE noise limits have been discarded so Australia's largest gold mine can expand to within 200m of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:25:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63153630 2008-07-05T23:25:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63145620 As a UFO investigator, former meteorologist Puckett acknowledges or debunks stories of unidentified flying objects in the sky, landing on the ground and hovering over homes. He believes he and others are closer to proving that we aren't the only ones living in this universe. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:07:27 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63145620 2008-07-05T23:07:27Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63144311 Penalties and payments in a botched 2001-2002 northern Idaho highway project that sent tons of sediment into Lake Coeur d'Alene's Mica Bay have now topped at least $1.7 million after the state Transportation Department was forced pay another $325,000 fine for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:35:23 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63144311 2008-07-05T19:35:23Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63132413 BOISE, Idaho -- Penalties and payments in a botched 2001-2002 northern Idaho highway project that sent tons of sediment into Lake Coeur d'Alene's Mica Bay have now topped at least $1.7 million after the state Transportation Department was forced pay another $325,000 fine for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:29:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63132413 2008-07-05T18:29:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63124943 A reader question from Lisa L. I love this article [on reusable water bottles]. I wonder if you could explain in more detail how safe our tap water is to drink without a filter, just out of the tap. I... Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:17:32 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63124943 2008-07-05T15:17:32Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63118799 Recent events at the former Irish Steel plant in Haulbowline, Co Cork, are a matter of dispute, but what matters to residents is that one of Ireland's most toxic sites is made safe as quickly as possible Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:16:36 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63118799 2008-07-05T15:16:36Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63105977 ENVIRONMENTAL authorities have launched an investigation into what caused dozens of dead and dying fish to float to the surface of the water at a popular Melbourne fishing spot. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:35:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63105977 2008-07-05T09:35:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63147318 Admit it- you're cranky on the Fifth of July- Here's some over-the-top environmental snips to get you repsyched to wack the current nest of government wingnuts EPA Didn't Know Anybody Was Still Drinking Water Cheney Celebrates Earth Day By Breathing Oxygen Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:14:02 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63147318 2008-07-05T08:14:02Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63094295 By Mark Todd, Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio Jul. 5--MONROE TOWNSHIP -- Clean-up crews could begin removing thousands of scrap tires from a Sweet Road property within a few weeks, according to an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:00:11 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63094295 2008-07-05T08:00:11Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63086693 Zero Tariff On Car Parts Bru Direct, Brunei Darussalam - 3 hours ago However in terms of car parts , most of it will be reduced to zero within a three-year period. The EPA is aimed at enhancing economic cooperation between the ... Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:50:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63086693 2008-07-05T04:50:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63086152 Bush wants you to pay more for gas. Well at least that is the conclusion I have arrived at since bush decided to ignore the EPA plan that would have reduced the amount of gas Americans need to buy, by increasing fuel efficiency, and saving the US at least 2 trillion dollars. These [...] Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:14:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/EPA?rinfoid=63086152 2008-07-05T01:14:00Z