Alternative Energy Roundtable

The Carver Community Organization, Inc. and
EnviroKinetics, Inc. will present the Alternative Energy Roundtable

September 8, 2008
8:00am - 1:00pm
The Centre
Evansville, Indiana

The one-day workshop will consist of: 1) a Panel discussion for industry experts addressing key energy and environmental issues; 2) a Career Development session for High School and College students; and 3) an Exhibition Hall showcasing innovative residential and commercial products, free demonstrations on low-cost energy saving tips for homes, hourly raffles of energy saving products and gasoline coupon give-aways.

The Career Development component of the workshop will focus on exposing students and recent college graduates to environmental and alternative energy opportunities/initiatives at colleges, community organizations and local industries. The career networking session will also include lunch. The luncheon is the first step in a process to increase participation and awareness of the environmental and energy fields and to prepare students for gainful careers in the technical, industrial and energy conservation fields. It will allow an exchange between academia/local industry and students to examine interests and explore career possibilities. EnviroKinetics, Inc. will coordinate outreach efforts to identify technology-oriented students for participation in this segment. To highlight this event, a scholarship award will be presented to high school students who embodies the academic discipline, community participation and vision to continue the path as a future environmentalist and/or scientist.

Carver’s Environmental Resource Center, funded in 1999 by a US EPA grant, is
dedicated to protecting the air, soil and water in Southwest Indiana. The objective of the Center is to assess environmental hazards and develop strategies to promote sustainable communities through increased outreach, education, and participation throughout diverse neighborhoods in Evansville, Indiana.

Carver delivers environmental information and services directly into communities. Through a partnership spearheaded by EnviroKinetics, it works to clean up neighborhoods by promoting the efficient use of natural resources, energy conservation and implementation of environmental protection programs. The public participation programs are the creation of community-based policies, plans, programs and projects that reflect a shared vision of the future. EnviroKinetics has assembled an exciting team of organizations, colleges and universities, industry executives and state and local officials to exchange ideas and discuss sustainable solutions to our current
energy challenges.

Industry experts will share information and knowledge on a broad range of energy conservation initiatives, renewable/alternative energy resources and clean energy research technologies, as well as an overview of the enforcement and accountability of the US Environmental Laws from the Federal and State levels.

Session I
Dr. Joanne Alexandrovich, Office of Ozone, Vanderburgh County Health Department
Laura Ann Arnold, President, Indiana Renewable Energy Association
Donald J. Challman, Associate Director & General Manager
University of Kentucky, Center for Applied Energy Research
Paul D. Medcalf, Corporate Services Manager, Workforce & Economic
Development, Ivy Tech Community College

Session II
Dona Bergman, Director, Evansville’s Office of EPA
John A. Rupp, Assistant Director

The Exhibition Hall is open to the public from 9:00am - 1:00pm. Due to limited seating @ the Alternative Energy Roundtable panel discussion, RSVP is required. For more information, please contact enviroSeries@yahoo.com.
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Sponsors
Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy (CECE), Vectren, IVY Tech, KAY, Morton Energy

White House Internships

The application deadline for the Summer 2008 White House Internship is February 26, 2008. If you know students and/or organizations that may be interested in this information please share this with them. The White House is looking for a well-qualified, diverse group of applicants who would like to intern for President Bush. A White House Internship is an opportunity for current students and recent graduates to experience everyday life at the White House while working with high-level officials on a variety of tasks and projects. Strong applicants should exhibit:

· Sound academic credentials· A demonstrated interest in public service

· Solid written and verbal communication skills

· A history of community involvement

· Strong character and leadership skills

Beyond experiencing the day-to-day operations of the White House, interns participate in a speaker series, tours, community service projects, and various White House events. For more information please visit our website at: www.whitehouse.gov/intern. Applications should be submitted to intern_application@whitehouse.gov on or before February 26, 2008 for the Summer 2008 Internship.If you have any questions please contact White House Personnel at 202-456-5979.

Car Gas Economy, Hybrids, All-Electric and Ethanol

America is playing around with vehicles, oil, moonshine and climate change. Federal car gasoline economy standards are 27.5 miles per gallon and the current energy bill wants to raise that to about 36 mpg. Will not happen. John Dingell is Chairman of the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee and he believes increased standards will hurt Detroit. And he represents Detroit.

Hybrids still use gasoline so such vehicles will reduce but will not eliminate carbon dioxide and smog forming emissions. All electrics still have lithium ion battery technology hurdles to overcome before becoming commonly available. The batteries do not like heat. Think laptops spontaneously combusting around heat.

And ethanol will create more smog because it produces more nitrogen oxides, a component of smog. The 10 percent ethanol additive decreases mileage by about 3% according to some estimates. Congress wants to use the current energy bill to increase the 2005 Energy Policy Act requirement of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol as the oxygenate additive to 36 billion gallons by 2022. There is also a 54 cent per gallon tariff on imported ethanol to protect domestic ethanol profits. Ethanol is also suffering from overproduction, which has led to a glut and low prices at the same time ethanol refiners are paying more for corn to produce ethanol.

Yet none of these measures will significantly reduce global warming, our dependence on imported oil or smog. And we hate sounding like gloom and doom deep ecology eco extremists. But we thought you should know.

Midwest In Center Of Energy Bill Tax Incentives

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) is considering tax incentives for the energy bill being debated on the Senate floor this week. Vehicles and coal, Midwest staples, are front and center. Fuel economiy standards and coal-to-liquids are getting lobbied from supporters and opponents, along with other clean energy proposals. Automakers want to weaken proposla to significantly increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The legislation proposes about 46 mpg, automakers say they 'could' do 'maybe' 36 mpg and AAEA wants about 40 mpg.

The Coal to Liquids Coalition, a consortium of coal producers, unions, airlines and railroads, wants $200 million in investment tax credits to help in building 12 coal-to-liquid (CTL) refineries. AAEA supports coal-to-liquids mostly for military use, although we want CO2 sequestration from these plants and we support Senator Barck Obama's legislation (notwithstanding his clarification). AAEA also believes CTL producers should be required to finance nuclear plants, solar power and wind turbines as carbon dioxide offsets.
The total energy bill tax incentives package for cleaner energy sources, ethanol, animal fat diesel, CTL, fuel economy standards and more will be about $14 billion over 10 years. (The Wall Street Journal, 6-18-07)

Midwest Ethanol Prodcuers Will Have To Consolidate?

Ethanol is problematic because most American cars can only use about a 10% blend with regular gasoline and it cannot be moved via pipeline like gasoline because of it corrosiveness. Most ethanol is shipped from the Midwest by rail to terminals. So what is the ethanol industry to do? Consolidate? Possibly. There is also the expensive proposition of building specially constructed ethanol pipelines. Brazil is considering such pipelines.

Archer-Daniels-Midlands (ADM) controls about 20% of U.S. ethanol capacity. Small farmer-owned ethanol producers account for about a third of the market with midsize companes make up the rest. Some of these midsize companeis include: Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc, US BioEnergy Corp, and VeraSun Energy Corp. In order to increase market penetration the ethanol industry might have to bulk up by partnering up. There is also the question of purchasing or building an ethanol plant. An acquisition costs about $2.30 per gallon and building a new facility is about $2.00 per gallon. (The Wall Street Journal, 6-18-07)

E85 Biofuel Needs More Cars and More Stations

Wall Street Journal reporter Matt Vella drove a FlexFuel Chevrolet Suburban 1,907 miles on a round trip from New York City to Indianapolis to see if it was convenient to use a car that uses 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. His findings: limited availability of flex fuel vehicles, E85 shortcomings but cheaper gas. He found a high concentration of stations that carried E85 in the Midwest, but stations are rare back East.

He found other pros and cons. E85 is a renewable energy source, it is cheaper and it provides an alternative to imported oil. E85 has a lower energy content and cuts fuel economy by 30%. Vella found that there weren't many 'cool' vehicles because Midwesterners that purchase most flex vehicles drive larger, less fuel efficieint models like the Ford Crown Victoria, Dodge Durango, Jeep Commander and Saturn Relay. And most of the stations are in middle America.
Vella found that the biggest reason people liked E86 was price, not environmental or foreign policy benefits. The highest E85 price was $3.11 in Philadelphia with a low of $2.39 in Moroevill, Pennsylvania. Regular gasoline was $3.50. (The Wall Street Journal, 6-19-07)

Center Establishes Midwestern Office

James Mosley has agreed to be Director of the Center's Midwest Office. This will enhance Center's outreach and increase our ability to address the issues affecting the Midwest. At the top of this list are ethanol, coal and nuclear power.

Mosley is an energy expert and a longtime environmentalist. This is an exciting time for us and the country. Mr. Moseley brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to our little organization. We continue to be small but very powerful.