Securing America’s Future : Enhancing Our National Security by Reducing Oil Dependence and Environmental Damage

Center for American Progress / by Christopher Beddor, Winny Chen, Rudy deLeon, Shiyong Park, Daniel J. Weiss
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/08/securing_future.html
[Website]  The United States has an historic opportunity to enhance its national security by reducing its dependence on oil. Policies to accomplish this goal, including more efficient fuel economy standards, investments in hybrid and electric vehicles, development of natural [...]

Peer Review Lifecycle Analysis under EISA Questions and Answers

US EPA, Renewable Fuel Standard Program
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/420f09032.htm
[From E&E News PM article by Allison Winter, subscription required] U.S. EPA released a peer review of the analysis that underlies its controversial rules for the expanded U.S. biofuels mandate, sparking more debate over how the agency should measure ethanol’s impacts on climate change.
The peer review of EPA’s “lifecycle analysis” [...]

Energy and Water : Preliminary Observations on the Links between Water and Biofuels and Electricity Production

Government Accountability Office
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09862t.pdf
[Summary] Water and energy are inexorably linked — energy is needed to pump, treat, and transport water and large quantities of water are needed to support the development of energy. However, both water and energy may face serious constraints as demand for these vital resources continues to rise. Two examples that demonstrate the [...]

Calculation of Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Renewable Fuel Standard

Congressional Research Service
http://opencrs.com/document/R40460/
[Summary] The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140), significantly expanded the renewable fuel standard (RFS) established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005, P.L. 109-58). The RFS requires the use of 9.0 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2008, increasing to 36 billion gallons in 2022. Further, [...]

Biofuels and Certification

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Henry Lee and Charan Devereaux
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19188/biofuels_and_certification.html
[Abstract]  Liquid biofuels can provide a substitute for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Many countries have mandated the use of biofuels, by creating targets for their use. If not implemented with care, however, actions that increase biofuel production can put upward pressure [...]

Selected Issues Related to an Expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)

Congressional Research Service
http://opencrs.com/document/R40155
[From summary]  The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140) requires ever-larger amounts of biofuels produced from feedstocks other than corn starch, including sugarcane, oil crops, and cellulose, and promotes the development of these fuels. EISA requires the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels annually in 2022, of [...]

Smart Choices for Biofuels

Worldwatch Institute / Sierra Club / by Jane Earley and Alice McKeown
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/biofuels.pdf
[From introduction] Over the next decade and beyond, U.S. national, state, and local policy must focus on developing sustainable biofuels—rather than just more biofuels  — that can play a role in the emerging new energy economy. These fuels should be seen as part of [...]

90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study (executive summary)

US DOE, Sandia National Laboratory
http://hitectransportation.org/news/2009/Exec_Summary02-2009.pdf
A government report says the U.S. can massively increase second-generation biofuel production without killing the environment or water supplies [Green Inc via WSJ Environmental Capital]

Climate Change and Health Costs of Air Emissions from Biofuels and Gasoline

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (February 2, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812835106) / by Jason Hilla, Stephen Polasky, Erik Nelsonc, David Tilmanb, Hong Huod, Lindsay Ludwige, James Neumanne, Haochi Zhenga, and Diego Bonta
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/02/02/0812835106.full.pdf+html?sid=5818ad0c-02ce-427a-acad-7c1cd66e87c6
Open access article
[Climatebiz.com posting] A new study from the University of Minnesota finds that biofuel made from corn can be as harmful to [...]

Energy Policy Act of 2005 : Summary and Analysis of Enacted Provisions

Congressional Research Service
http://opencrs.com/document/RL33302
[Abstract.]  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), signed by President Bush August 8, 2005, was the first omnibus energy legislation enacted in more than a decade. Major provisions include tax incentives for domestic energy production and energy efficiency, a mandate to double the nation’s use of biofuels, repeal of restrictions on [...]