We intend to keep everyone as informed as we possibly can with events in the Portland area, as well as any news pertaining to our company.
Check out the list below for our most up to date news & events.
A grease shortage worries biodiesel makers
At $5 a gallon and competition for feedstock, Oregon’s fledgling biodiesel industry could burn out before it ever gets going
Sunday, June 08, 2008
AMY HSUAN
The Oregonian Staff
There’s a shortage of fryer grease in America.
Thieves pilfer it by the gallon. Investors wage a bidding war for every golden drop. Add to that the soaring price of soy and canola seed, and you can understand why 26-year-old Libby Rodgers, who hopes to launch a biodiesel company, won’t reveal the sources of her blend.
“I don’t want to shoot my mouth off,” says Rodgers, who collects grease from places around Prineville that she won’t name. “I can’t say too much about my feedstock. It is just so competitive.”
Not long ago, restaurants might have paid Rodgers to haul away their oily dribbles. But with a runaway commodity market and growing friction in the food vs. fuel conflict, secondhand grease has become the diamond of gemstones to biodiesel brewers.
Now, the grease crisis has become just one part of a slippery slope that threatens Oregon’s biodiesel bonanza.
Never mind that people don’t eat enough french fries to make enough grease to go around. Skyrocketing prices for soy and canola have no end in sight. Already, the controversy over food being used for fuel has scared off some consumers. And, despite the growth of a biodiesel cottage industry, many still face challenges developing large-scale production and distribution systems to meet the projected demand.
Last week, the price of biodiesel reached a record $5.26 a gallon at some Portland-area gas stations, surpassing the price of petroleum diesel even with tax breaks to consumers meant to spur the industry’s development.
If prices keep climbing, consumers could stop buying, just as the biodiesel bandwagon gains traction. Oregon’s biodiesel industry might burn up before it ever catches flame — turning to ashes the green dreams of environmentalists, politicians and investors.
“I am as skeptical as anyone in this business now,” Rodgers says. Her company, Lookout Mountain Biofuels, is just weeks from certification by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. She worries whether her company — and the state — will be able to sustain the momentum.
“It’s pretty volatile. It’s a really critical time for this industry. If we don’t find other sources, biodiesel will be just another additive.”
What is biodiesel?
Environmentalists and politicians alike have heralded biodiesel as the ultimate renewable energy source. Biodiesel supporters say the fuel reduces reliance on foreign countries by pumping dollars into local agricultural economies. It is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar. And, it has lower emissions and better gas mileage than petroleum, according to the National Biodiesel Board, an industry group.
Biodiesel’s main ingredients are oil from crops like soy, canola or palm, and used vegetable oil from restaurants.
The problem is, none of biodiesel’s renewable ingredients are renewing fast enough to keep up with global demand.
Less than three years ago, Vancouver-based Burgerville would have felt lucky to have the stuff taken off their hands.
The company, with 39 restaurants, generates 4,400 gallons of used cooking and frying oil each month, which used to cost up to $2,400 to remove, says Jack Graves, head cultural officer at Burgerville.
But the demand for biodiesel means a complete flip-flop in the marketplace.
“We’ve been approached by several firms offering to pay for it,” Graves said. “The value is shifting. It’s a matter of supply and demand.”
Burgerville’s grease translates to 3,330 gallons of biodiesel a month. But it’s not just biodiesel producers who are trying to get their hands on it. Other industries need it as an ingredient in dog food and cattle feed. It’s also a component of cosmetics and lipstick, with most of the demand coming from Asia.
“You’re basically putting french fries on your lips,” Graves says.
As its value has increased, so have thefts of yellow grease, which now sells on the commodity market for about $2.50 a gallon, up from 57 cents a gallon in 2000.
Some grease collectors, such as Eugene Chemical and Rendering Works, say as much as 40 percent of their grease is stolen weekly.
Bill Frye, branch manager for Baker Commodities Inc., which collects restaurant grease across Oregon, says the thefts have gotten so bad that the company is buying padlocks for its containers. Some weeks, Frye says, he’ll show up at a restaurant to find an entire 900-pound drum pumped dry. That means restaurant owners don’t get paid for the oil and Frye has nothing to sell to biodiesel producers.
“It’s like going into someone’s house and robbing them,” Frye says. “This is not a high margin industry, so losing a little bit impacts you quite a bit.”
Never enough grease
Tyson Keever, co-founder of SeQuential Biofuels, needs a lot of grease to help carry out the state’s green dream of producing 15 million gallons a year.
SeQuential, Oregon’s largest producer of biodiesel, plans to increase output from 1 million gallons a year to 5 million by August. Workers are just putting the finishing touches on the company’s new plant in Salem.
But while the company doesn’t have any problems selling every last drop of biodiesel from its 34 retail pumps throughout Oregon, it does, however, face a problem that many biodiesel producers are facing: How to get enough grease?
Each Oregonian produces only about one gallon of used grease each year. If all the state’s used grease went to biodiesel production, SeQuential would have only half what it needs.
“Supersize the meal,” Keever says, “we need the grease.”
In addition, biodiesel producers, fearing a backlash by consumers confused by the conflict over crops raised for biofuels, are increasingly returning to restaurant grease as a sole ingredient. More than 90 percent of SeQuential’s biodiesel comes from wasted vegetable oil.
On Swan Island, Jon Norling, a lawyer who started making biodiesel on the side, is finishing his own plant, which will pump 1.4 million gallons of biodiesel as soon as next week. He, too, hopes Portland Biodiesel will be entirely dependent on recycled vegetable oil. It’s not only the best raw material for environmental reasons, it’s also the cheapest feedstock available.
“That’s the only way we can survive,” Norling says.
Over the past year, the price of canola seed tripled, from 9 cents a pound to 30 cents, says Brent Searle, an economist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
“It’s close to $4 a gallon just for the feedstock,” Searle says. “And the export market has gone nuts.”
Oregon has limited regions for growing soy and canola, which are considered invasive to some areas. The commodities face stiff competition with markets overseas, China being one of the biggest buyers of oil and soy products.
Kent Madison, of Madison Farms in eastern Oregon, grows canola for biodiesel for the Portland Water Bureau’s fleet. He says he’s able to do it because of a contract that ensures a small profit to him, which gets him out of the commodity market.
For most farmers, profit margins for canola haven’t been high enough to attract them.
“When I plant a seed and raise it, I don’t know what I’m going to get paid for it in the end,” Madison says. “The contract with the Water Bureau guarantees us the cost of production. When the public is willing to pay a premium, we’ll raise biodiesel.”
Making more diesel cars
Over the past three years, biodiesel has gone from the fuel of renegade tree-huggers to the mainstream. Urban professionals use it to power their Mercedes Benzes. Families use it to fill up their Volkswagens. Farmers tap it for their John Deere tractors.
The city of Portland requires 5 percent of all diesel sold in the city to be biodiesel. Oregon lawmakers last year began requiring 2 percent of all diesel sold in the state to be biodiesel, accounting for 5 million gallons a year.
They hope to increase that to 5 percent as soon as Oregon producers can make 15 million gallons a year.
Starting next year, a federal mandate will require at least 500 million gallons of biodiesel to be produced — and consumed — in the U.S., a growing but small fraction of the 60 billion gallons of regular diesel consumed each year.
Though only about 4 percent of passenger cars and trucks in the U.S. run on diesel, that number is likely to climb to 11 percent by 2012. Carmakers, to meet the growing popularity of diesel engines in the U.S., plan to release dozens of models starting this year. Diesel engines get about 30 percent better gas mileage than gasoline engines.
Biodiesel advocates have high hopes that new technologies will supply the demand beyond used vegetable oil or crop oils. Scientists are experimenting with algaes and other types of fast-growing crops, says Amber Pearson Thurlo, a spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board.
“There’s new, exciting feedstock being developed to help the supply,” Pearson Thurlo says. “But it will be a couple of years out.” Until then, a shortage of expensive raw materials poses big challenges for the fledgling industry.
In Washington, the nation’s largest biodiesel refinery announced it would scale back after less than a year. Imperium Renewables opened a new plant August 2007 at the Port of Grays Harbor on the Washington coast, close enough to ship in vegetable oil from across the seas and to ship biodiesel out. Much of the biodiesel it produces goes overseas to Europe, home to the largest biodiesel industry in the world.
“There’s been a bandwagon effect,” says Bill Jaeger, professor of agricultural and resource economics at Oregon State University. “There’s so much capacity now and not enough feedstock to fill the capacity. That means you can’t cover the cost of the plant and some businesses will close.”
Though most biodiesel users fill up out of environmental or philosophical reasons, cost is becoming more of an issue as biodiesel prices rise. The state gives a tax credit for biodiesel burners up to $200 a year.
With a tightening economy, price will either drive demand or squelch it, Jaeger says.
At Jay’s Garage in Southeast Portland, Rodney Wojtanik, 40, watches the price gauge going up and up for biodiesel. Past $50 to $55 a tankful, and up from there.
Wojtanik hasn’t decided to stop buying biodiesel yet. The Portlander still feels strongly that biodiesel is better for the local economy than petroleum. Instead of switching, he considers driving less and taking fewer trips this year.
“It’s painful, very painful,” Wojtanik says. “I struggle with this question every day.”
Oregon, nation would benefit from climate legislation
by John Miller
June 8, 2008
As a local resident, businessman and parent, I share the concerns of many who are alarmed about the unprecedented threat posed by global warming to our environment, economy and our children’s future.
The impact in Oregon is real. A glance at old photographs of glaciers on Mount Hood is shocking — some have completely melted away!
Scientists estimate a 50 percent reduction in the average Oregon snowpack by the 2050s, meaning less water for farms, fish, recreation and drinking. In some streams, salmon and steelhead are already experiencing stressful and even lethal water temperatures above 70 degrees.
Many in Congress support reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But what’s the best method? A carbon tax, new government spending on clean energy sources, or voluntary reductions?
I believe that a cap-and-trade system is best because it puts a clear limit on carbon emissions and gives us targets. This approach caps the total amount of global warming pollutants generated.
That cap will be gradually reduced, and polluters who reduce emissions below their cap can sell their unused allowances to others, creating incentives to reduce emissions without government spending and new taxes.
Such a solution was on the table last week in the U.S. Senate. The Climate Security Act (CSA) — co-sponsored by Sens. Lieberman, Warner and Boxer — would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 70 percent by 2050, beginning in 2012. We would cut emissions gradually by about 2 percent every year to reach the goal.
But because of a filibuster, the Senate didn’t act on the legislation. And if Congress delays even two years, we’ll need to cut pollution at twice that rate.
Economic analyses of the CSA conclude that we can afford to fund new investments in clean energy technologies while growing our overall economy. In fact, President Bush’s Department of Energy predicts the CSA would not impact economic growth. Further, the CSA would decrease oil imports by more than 8 million barrels a day by 2025, saving more oil than we currently import every day from OPEC countries.
The CSA would also help create opportunities for Oregonians to continue to drive innovation by adding to the “green collar” jobs already created in wind, solar and biofuels. Salem is already home to Oregon’s only commercial biodiesel production facility that truly produces energy by using locally collected, used cooking oil as its primary feedstock.
The Willamette Valley is a magical place for growing things, and Oregon universities are on the cutting edge of energy research. Our local farmers and foresters can provide cellulosic feed stock for ethanol instead of the wasteful shipping of corn around the country chasing subsidies.
Our congressional delegation has a wonderful opportunity to push this legislation.
John Miller of Salem is president of Wildwood/Mahonia, a group of Salem-based companies involved in agriculture, urban design and development and biofuel production. He can be reached at john@wildwoodco.com.
Taking visitors on an ‘eco-adventure’
The Metolian, a 640-acre resort planned in Central Oregon, will employ sustainable building practices
POSTED: 04:00 AM PDT Friday, June 6, 2008
BY SAM BENNETT
Ground zero for ecotourism in Oregon may be a 640-acre site two and a half hours southeast of Portland.
A proposal by Dutch Pacific Resources LLC will create an “eco-adventure” development called The Metolian – a sustainably built resort with several hundred single-family homes and cabins for rent or purchase, located in the Deschutes National Forest near Suttle Lake.
“This could have great potential benefits for Oregon, ecologically and economically,” said Shane Lundgren, a partner in the Sisters-based development firm. “It’s a great platform for Oregon to promote itself as a leader in sustainable development both nationally and internationally.”
Dutch Pacific Resources has hired Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects to work on conceptual planning. The development will have approximately 300 single-family homes and 175 rental condos and cabins.
The Metolian will cater to what Lundgren calls the “REI consumer” – a health- and environmentally conscious traveler or second-home buyer who wants more than the usual pampering offered at high-end spas, and greater outdoor options than an 18-hole golf course.
Typical eco-adventure resorts focus on encouraging visitors – through mountain climbing, rafting or safaris – to explore nearby natural settings.
Metolian visitors will be able to select from numerous outdoor activities in a pristine setting with views of Mount Jefferson. Activities include hiking, trail running, rock climbing, biking or forest stewardship in the summer, and cross-country skiing, ice-skating, snow-shoeing or downhill skiing in the winter.
The site is located on a heavily logged section of land previously owned by a timber company in the Metolius Basin, about 14 miles west of Sisters. The resort will be a few miles from Three Fingered Jack, half a mile from Suttle Lake and a few miles from the Pacific Crest Trail.
Funding from resort revenues will provide an economic base for ecological restoration projects not only on site but around the basin, according to Lundgren.
The Metolian will be built and operated to incorporate the latest sustainable design principles – another draw for environmentally conscious visitors. The eco-resort’s green infrastructure may include solar collectors, wastewater natural purification and reuse, heating from wood collected on nearby U.S. Forest Service land, naturally ventilated homes and swimming pools that use wetlands for water purification, rather than chemicals.
Lundgren said the development might also fund a wildlife bridge, so deer and other forest animals can cross nearby Highway 20.
“We have outlined an extensive list of appropriate concepts and systems for everything from minimization of water and energy demand, to potential off-grid and regenerative systems,” said Steve Poland of Ankrom Moisan. Poland said the developers have conveyed “a clear need and intent to make this development a very forward-looking demonstration of sustainable design, construction and operation.”
Dutch Pacific Resources has hired Morgan Brown of Idaho-based Whole Water Systems as a consultant on the project. Brown said “natural pools” are “going gangbusters in Europe,” using wetlands as adjacent landscaping features in order to cleanse the water used in the pools.
Jason Eckhoff, the Metolian’s hospitality manager, said the Metolian could become a template for eco-resorts.
“We want to be at the cutting edge of this trend, which we all believe is here to stay,” said Eckhoff. “The research we’ve done shows that the consumer is really looking for ways to connect with the environment, and this is at the forefront of tourism now. People want an opportunity to share with their entire families their vision for making this world a better place.”
Lundgren said the Metolian may begin as a sort of hybrid – partially on the grid, until the technology is available for the resort to be net zero, and ultimately “running the meter backward” by feeding excess electricity back into the grid. “We hope to be net-zero water and power by 2030,” he said. One natural heating source could be biofuel created by excess forest ground cover that is converted to fuel pellets.
The development could also demonstrate Oregon’s leadership in sustainable practices and a new form of forest stewardship. Like other Oregon forests, woodcutting, four-wheeling and animal poaching have been practiced in the Deschutes National Forest. “I feel strongly that by creating a constituency of conscientious members that we can raise the bar on interactions occurring in the Metolius Basin,” he said.
Lundgren added that eco-resorts, such as Explora in Chile, serve as an example of some of the goals he is aiming for, in terms of visitors connecting with nature. Other eco-resorts can be found in Africa, but Lundgren said his resort will go a step further by incorporating the latest sustainable building technologies.
“Customers are looking for more experiential travel and resorts that take advantage of natural surroundings,” said Eckhoff. A typical morning at the Metolian, he said, could involve a hike and a yoga class.
Lundgren and co-manager James Kean bought the property in 2005, since which time they have been planning for the Metolian. The site was previously used for logging, but in December 2006, Jefferson County mapped the property for use as a destination resort.
The project manager is Jon Skidmore.
The design is in the conceptual phase, so it’s too early to know exactly what the lodge, homes and condos will look like. But Lundgren and Poland said the designs should be simple and straightforward, rather than ornate.
To reduce the development’s footprint on the 640 acres, Lundgren said he would like to see clusters of homes that are no larger than 3,000 square feet.
The project, he said, has generated much interest from potential investors. “The minute you start talking about it, you wouldn’t believe the energy and the people who are drawn to it. We’re getting tons of traction with a lot of smart people.”
He anticipates construction will begin in 2010.
Troubled waters for Columbia crossing
INTERSTATE BRIDGE
Sunday, June 01, 2008
I applaud the three Metro councilors who oppose building a new bridge over the Columbia River (”3 suggest toll rather than new I-5 bridge,” May 27).The majority of drivers crossing the Columbia on Interstate 5 are commuters who live across the river to avoid the state income tax and land-use planning. I have nothing against Clark County or the state of Washington, but a new bridge would subsidize this kind of behavior.
Public policy and infrastructure need to encourage people to live near where they work. A toll on the Interstate Bridge is a step in the right direction.
GERSON ROBBOY Northeast Portland
While considerable attention is given to anti-car, anti-congestion, anti-Washingtonian, environmental considerations, I am surprised how little consideration is given to Washington commuters and the benefits they provide to Portland, the metropolitan area and Oregon.
Washingtonians working in and commuting to Oregon contribute considerable direct and indirect benefits to the local economy, quality of life and ability of government to spend. They are employers and employees; they spend money on this side of the river; they pay taxes and they get virtually nothing in return.
I would imagine if as few as 25 percent of those people and their dollars left for the Vancouver side, the economic impact to Portland, the metro area and the state would be devastating.
How much abuse do you expect these people to take before the cost of relocating exceeds the cost of the commute?
Also realize that making it more difficult to cross I-5 may divert more traffic to Interstate 205, and that will make for an even greater negative impact.
It seems to me that we owe them some direct benefit for their taxes paid. Consider financial incentives (for carpooling with four or more people, express buses, express light rail) in the mix of solutions.
BRAD LEVY Gresham
Three Metro councilors have proposed that Interstate 5 travelers pay a toll to cross the existing, paid-for Interstate Bridge between Vancouver and Portland.
The Interstate Bridge isn’t the Oregon Zoo — people can’t simply “choose” to cross in the same sense that one can say “The Oregon Zoo is too expensive, so I just won’t visit it.”
To prove the point, I would suggest that the Metro councilors place a “toll” on any person (especially Metro employees and the councilors themselves) wishing to access the Metro Regional Center or any other Metro-owned facility.
Then, the Metro Council should report back as to how many Metro employees quit their jobs because they have “chosen” not to take the daily required trip to their workplace, or were fired for not showing up to work because of transportation issues.
It’s easy to force one’s choice on others while not accepting the challenge themselves.
ERIK HALSTEAD Southwest Portland
Metro Councilors Robert Liberty, Carlotta Collette and Carl Hosticka should be commended for thinking beyond the “larger Interstate 5 bridge is better” paradigm. If we really want to get serious about addressing global warming, we need to encourage less vehicle travel, not more.
By proposing to charge tolls on the existing bridge and using the funds for earthquake improvements, safer on-ramps and greater mass transit, the councilors are building a more sustainable bridge to the future.
MARK RALSTON Southwest Portland
To delay the construction of the solution for the Columbia River Crossing is to increase the cost of that solution exponentially. This issue has been talked about and studied enough. How many more decades does anyone think it will take to arrive at the conclusion that it needs to be fixed?
Most citizens realize that already. The Metro councilors who want to wait and do more studies are simply sidestepping their elected duties to wrench out the truth. This needs to be done now.
To the elected officials of all the involved agencies, for the sake of the citizens of the West Coast, please take your responsibility to fulfill our infrastructure needs to heart.
NOLAN CHARD Milwaukie
More than a decade ago, I decided to escape Portland, my hometown, and its inexorable progression toward auto-hating, overpopulated urban density, removal of key arterial streets and grossly overinflated property values and taxes promulgated by Vera Katz and her ilk.
I found to my great pleasure that Southwest Washington still holds dear the values of suburban life, with ample greenspaces and large lots in which children can play.
Now I learn, with no surprise but great dismay, that certain Metro officials want to put the brakes on the much-needed new Interstate 5 bridge.
A letter to the editor (May 27) hit the real issue — Metro Councilor Robert Liberty is garnering votes on “his side of the river.” Another letter correctly emphasized that this is an “interstate” bridge, part of an interstate freeway system — not the pawn of the city of Portland, Metro or any other local entity.
Frankly, I don’t care if Portland builds a wall around itself and bans cars altogether, but let’s call this Metro posturing what it is — a feeble, chauvinistic attempt of a few elected officials to aggrandize their power and influence at the cost of the greater good.
ROGER VAN HOY Washougal, Wash.
Camelina may offer options for dryland production
BURLEY, Idaho - Alternative crops tend to grab headlines when commodity prices are low and producers are interested in finding crops with a better profit margin. It’s a harder sell when grain prices are near historic highs, but one alternative crop is gaining attention thanks to it’s adaptation for dryland production.
Camelina probably isn’t dominating the conversation at coffee shops, but researchers are starting to give this oilseed a closer look.
Juliet Windes, University of Idaho Extension crop management specialist at Idaho Falls, said she’s been impressed with what she’s seen.
“I think it could be competitive in areas with cold temperatures and a short growing season,” she told grain growers during the annual UI cereal school in Burley this winter.
An area like Soda Springs, where growers have been locked into continuous grain rotations for up to 20 years, comes to mind. Pivot corners may be another good option.
Montana planted about 50,000 acres of camelina last year. Oregon could provide a market for biodiesel made from camelina. The Portland City Council began requiring a 5 percent biodiesel blend for all diesel fuel sold within city limits starting in July 2007. That rises to a 10 percent blend in July 2010.
The state of Oregon has also enacted a Renewable Fuels Initiative that mandates the use of biofuels.
Tim Parker, president of Willamette Biomass Processors, Inc., also spoke at cereal school. Rather than making biofuels, his Salem, Ore.-based company is focusing on providing a place for farmers to bring oilseeds that can be crushed and then sold to a biodiesel plant.
While growers would like to be paid 25 cents a pound to raise camelina, they won’t pay $8 per gallon for biodiesel.
“We’ve got to find something that’s profitable for you, the grower, but still profitable for the processor,” he said.
That’s one reason he’s excited about camelina. The oilseed can grow in regions that receive as little as 6 to 8 inches of annual precipitation and still yield 1,100 to 1,200 pounds per acre. Researchers at the UI Parma Research and Extension Center got 1,950 pounds per acre off some irrigated plots, showing that the crop may also fit some irrigated situations.
Parker estimated growers would pay about $1.60 per bushel to grow camelina.
Fertilizer requirements are minimal, and seed was running $1 per pound plus freight. Seeding rate is 5 lbs. per acre. At the end of January, the market was supporting a price of about $5 per bushel
Because camelina germinates at 38 degrees, it is a very-early-season crop. Parker said growers can lose up to 100 lbs. of yield by planting after March 15.
Windes thinks camelina could be broadcast on frozen ground or sown with minimum surface incorporation.
“You could seed early on frozen ground and let it take advantage of the early-season moisture,” she said.
Oregon company wins federal grant for alternative fuel
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — A small Oregon startup company developing new technology to convert waste wood and grass into biofuel has won a $100,000 federal grant.
Trillium FiberFuels is testing a new method for making cellulosic ethanol from fibrous plant material.
The U.S. Energy Department grant last week was the only one made to an Oregon company by the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
Trillium was one of 360 companies receiving a total of $36 million nationwide.
The grant money will boost the renewable fuel company’s credibility with investors but is not enough for its research, said Chris Beatty, a former Hewlett-Packard employee and co-founder of Trillium.
Trillium is also seeking a grant from the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute as well as funding from the state under the Business Energy Tax Credit.
“If they get something going, we’d probably participate in some way with a tax credit,” said Rick Wallace, a senior policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Energy. “The time is coming when we back off the incentives for corn and send them to cellulosic.”
Cellulosic ethanol is “really where Oregon wants to go” with renewable fuel development, said Wallace.
Ethanol — the same kind of alcohol found in wine, beer and liquor — can also be used as fuel or a fuel supplement, and can be made with a variety of crops.
The federal government has supported conversion of corn into ethanol but critics point out it takes larges amounts of energy to produce and diverting corn into biofuel production is contributing to rising food prices around the world.
Waste wood and grass, however, are abundant and have no food value, supporters say.
“There’s a huge opportunity for cellulosic” in Oregon, said Tomas Endicott, a co-founder of SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel and a renewable energy consultant. “It absolutely is worthwhile to invest in that technology today to bring down the costs and improve the technology.”
The grant puts Trillium in the running for the second phase of the small business grants for up to $1 million if the technology proves feasible.
Founded in 2006 by three former Hewlett-Packard employees and an Oregon State University researcher, Trillium is looking for a commercially-viable way to process cellulose, the abundant fiber that gives plants their structure.
___
Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com
A defining moment
By: Guest opinion: Barack Obama
Issue date: 4/25/08
The following was written by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and sent to the Vanguard by the organization Oregon for Obama.
This is a defining moment for America, and for your generation.
I’ve met students across this country who are wondering whether the college education they’re receiving will lead to a good job that can pay off all those loans. I’ve met others who are tired of watching our planet polluted and our climate changed forever, and still others who’ve bravely gone to fight in a war that should never have been authorized and never been waged.
It is because of these failures that all Americans–not just Democrats–are listening to what we say in this election. This is our chance to forge a new majority to tackle problems that grew worse under George Bush, but that have festered long before he took office.
And that’s why we can’t afford the same old politics this year. We can’t tell everyone what we think they want to hear–we have to tell people what they need to hear.
Presidents have made the most difference in people’s lives when they’ve led not by polls, but by principle; not by triangulation and calculation, but by conviction; when they’ve been leaders who could summon the entire nation to a common purpose.
That’s why I’m running for President.
I’m running to make college more affordable for any American who wants to go. I’ve proposed a $4,000 a year refundable tax credit that will cover two-thirds of the tuition at the average public college or university. And I’ll strengthen our community colleges by offering new degrees for emerging fields and rewarding schools that graduate more students.
I’m running to reform health care like I did in Illinois–by reaching across party lines, and taking on the insurance industry. That’s how I’ll sign a universal health care plan by the end of my first term as president. Under my plan, if you graduate and don’t find a job that provides health insurance right away, you can stay on your parents’ insurance until you’re 25.
I’m running to save our generation from global catastrophe by putting a cap on carbon emissions and creating a low-carbon fuel standard that will take 50 million cars’ worth of pollution off the road. And I’ll raise the fuel efficiency standards for our cars and trucks because we know we have the technology to do it, and it’s time we did.
I’m running because I’m tired of being told that the only way for Democrats to look tough on national security is to talk, and act, and vote like George Bush Republicans.
When I’m your nominee, my opponent won’t be able to say that I supported this war in Iraq, or that I support that Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don’t like. I’ll end this war in Iraq, bring our troops home within 16 months, give our troops and military families the support they have earned, and open a new era of diplomacy for America.
I’m running because I don’t want to see us spend the next years re-fighting the Washington battles of the 1990s. I don’t want to pit Blue America against Red America–I want to lead the United States of America.
I run for the same reason I fought for the jobless on the streets of Chicago, and stood up for equality as a civil rights lawyer, and fought for Illinois families for over a decade–to give my children and yours the same chances that someone gave me.
It’s time to stop settling for what the cynics say is possible. In this election–at this moment–let’s finally reach for what we know in our hearts is possible. A nation healed. A world repaired. An America that believes again.
To participate in the Oregon Democratic Primary, you must register to vote as a Democrat by April 29. You will be mailed a ballot to the address at which you register. For your vote to be counted, you must return it in the mail by May 15, or drop it off at a designated local ballot drop location by May 20. To find more information or to register to vote, please visit OR.BarackObama.com or call 866-675-2008.
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE…
By Jason Foster Issue date: 04/22/2008
When there was no such thing as Earth Day and recycling had yet to become an urban routine, there existed a rather curious thing called the World Bottle. Introduced in 1963 by Heineken, the World Bottle was “the brick that held beer.”
As the story goes, Alfred Heineken had struck on this novel idea after a trip to the Dutch island of Curaçao revealed homelessness and littered beaches.
He asked architect John Habraken to design a bottle that would lead a productive second life once the contents were consumed. With the neck of one rectangular World Bottle nested in the punt at the bottom of another, layer upon layer interlocked and could be mortared into place to build strong walls.
Rather than becoming waste, the “WOBO” could become shelter. To my knowledge, this is the first bottle of beer that, having fulfilled its duty as a beverage, reached toward a greater benefaction. And this would not be the last time that brewers and beer drinkers let conscience be their guide.
Laurelwood Brewing Co. brews Oregon’s first beers to be certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Their organic mainstays are aptly named, too. Enjoy a Free Range Red or a Treehugger Porter and know that you’re consuming beer made without pesticides and herbicides. It tastes better that way — go figure — and the grain used to make these beers has much less impact on soil and water quality than conventionally grown barley.
Laurelwood also participates in a program called Portland Composts. Much of their restaurant food waste is composted rather than hauled to a landfill.
Lucky Labrador Brewing Co. recently caused a stir at its Southeast Hawthorne location by becoming the first commercial brewery in Oregon to heat water for their brewing process with a new solar power array installed on the roof.
Whether you prefer Dog Day IPA or Black Lab Stout, your taste buds might be just a bit more “spot on” when the pint you’ve been poured was powered by the sun.
Portland’s Roots Organic Brewing Co. touts an all-organic lineup of great brews and is responsible for the first organic beer festival ever held on this continent. June 27 through June 29 sees the return of the North American Organic Brewers Festival to Overlook Park.
At the fest, you can sample a diverse showcase of beer that has been brewed with organic ingredients, quite possibly at wind- or solar-powered brewhouses or, in the case of British Columbia’s Crannóg Ales, on a farm striving to produce zero waste.
Roots will bring its beguiling but rewarding Chocolate Habanero Stout to the festival, spreading the good vibrations among the crowd alongside other great organic breweries from California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The mantra, as always: When they say beer, we say organic.
You also can try several of the world’s most highly regarded imported organic beers at the festival. Sample from breweries such as Pinkus Mueller of Germany, the first 100 percent certified organic brewery in the world, Samuel Smith from Yorkshire, England, with all of its beers registered as vegan products, and Brasserie Cantillon of Anderlecht in Belgium, ardent in its support of organically grown grains.
To top it all off, this festival runs on biodiesel and uses biodegradable tasting cups.
A new kid on the block, but already a hit with a multitude of enthusiastic Portlanders, Hopworks Urban Brewery has taken things to another level.
Former head brewer for Laurelwood, Christian Ettinger has a vision for HUB that shares the same love for organic beer and adds more top-notch treatment of the environment by incorporating green building designs and materials in a recently opened public house on Southeast Powell Boulevard.
Hopworks not only is built green, but works green by converting its fryer oil to biodiesel, harnessing waste heat, effectively managing rainwater runoff, and supporting bicycle transportation.
So whatever became of the World Bottle? It was an experiment ahead of its time. About 100,000 bottles were produced of the two sizes needed for basic construction, and only two structures were built.
One, a shed, is on the estate of Alfred Heineken. The other structure is a wall at the Heineken museum in Amsterdam. Though the bottle itself is a relic, the message built into its shape lives on.
To celebrate Earth Day we remember what we have in common. We share a single planet upon which, always, we recognize that we are downstream from one another.
With a nod to Earth Day and the clever spirit of the World Bottle, I’m pleased to report that so many of today’s craft breweries continue to dream of ways to do right by people and planet while turning the profit that enables them to meet the demand for barrel upon barrel of delectable, Earth-friendly beer.
To that, I say “cheers!
Quebec joins U.S.-Canada group to cut emissions
Reuters, Friday April 18 2008
By Timothy Gardner
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 18 (Reuters) - A coalition of western U.S. states and Canadian provinces eyeing a regional carbon credit trading market picked up an eastern member on Friday when Quebec said it would join.
Premier Jean Charest said Quebec had joined the Western Climate Initiative while he was meeting at Yale University with U.S. governors who have bypassed the Bush administration to set tough emissions limits on greenhouse gases.
Early last year, the WCI set a group-wide greenhouse gas emissions target of 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
Quebec had been an observer of both the WCI and of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a group of 10 states in the U.S. Northeast that agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants.
“We’re all hydro power, not thermal power,” Charest said, regarding why it chose to join the WCI and not RGGI. Quebec derives much of its power from low-carbon hydroelectric sources, so the province joined the WCI, which seeks to cut emissions from economy-wide sources including transportation.
The WCI, spearheaded by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is expected to announce details in August for a regional “cap and trade” market for emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Such markets allow major polluters to comply with caps on their emissions by purchasing offsetting credits from sellers who have not used their total emission allowance.
Quebec’s Montreal Exchange wants to host the carbon trading market, and the bourse plans to launch a futures market for Canadian carbon dioxide emissions on May 30, subject to regulatory approval. Charest said joining the WCI would boost trade on that market.
In addition to California, the WCI’s members include the U.S. states of Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, and Saskatchewan also have observer status in the WCI, as do Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada and Wyoming, and several Mexican states.
Canada’s federal government has said it supports the idea of carbon trading but opposes mandatory caps on emissions. Supporters of carbon trading say the caps are needed for the market to establish proper pricing.
Quebec has said it wants to cut its greenhouse gas emissions between 1.5 percent and 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 but has not legislated absolute targets. The province also has a carbon tax on gasoline. (Additional reporting by Allan Dowd in Vancouver, editing by Rob Wilson and Matthew Lewis) (timothy.gardner@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223-6058, timothy.gardner.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Rail system grows as new lines crop up
The first commuter rail in Oregon and another MAX line open within 11/2 years
Sunday, April 20, 2008DYLAN RIVERA
The Oregonian Staff
With two new lines nearing completion, the Portland-area’s rail system will add 23 miles of track and grow by 50 percent in the next year and a half.
The Westside Express Service commuter rail line will open this fall, connecting Wilsonville and Beaverton. A year later, the MAX Green Line will connect Clackamas Town Center to the Gateway area and a new north-south transit mall in downtown Portland.
“In a year and a half we will have opened the first commuter rail in the state of Oregon and opened our first line into Clackamas County,” said Mary Fetsch, TriMet’s communications manager. “That’s big.”
The new lines mark a turning point in the region’s 22-year relationship with rail transit. Commuter trains and streetcars will become more common — not just the familiar MAX lines used for commuting. Riders will be able to transfer more easily from one train to another, as in big cities where rail has been used for generations.
The lines under construction could transform surrounding neighborhoods. For Portland State University, the transit mall extension will open in the section of downtown where the university plans to focus its growth.
“It’s just a monumental event for Portland State,” said Lindsay Desrochers, PSU’s vice president for finance and administration. “It’s harder and harder to bring cars downtown. We really don’t want that many cars downtown.”
New rec center
The university is building a new recreation center at Southwest Fifth and Harrison, between the new MAX tracks. PSU plans a 600-bed dormitory nearby at the new terminus of the transit mall, Desrochers said.
When the transit mall opens, PSU will have access to two light-rail lines — with the promise of a third by 2015. The Yellow Line that serves North Portland will be rerouted: Instead of running along Yamhill and Morrison, it will join the Green Line down Southwest Fifth and Sixth avenues to PSU’s campus.
By 2015, Portland State’s light-rail terminus will be the launching point for a new MAX line to Milwaukie, via the burgeoning South Waterfront area. That will enable PSU to co-develop some facilities at Oregon Health & Science University’s new campus by the Willamette River, Desrochers said.
The Milwaukie line will entail building the first new Willamette River bridge in downtown Portland since the Fremont Bridge opened in 1973. The span would carry MAX light rail, the Portland Streetcar, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Connecting to the downtown streetcar line, Portland and Lake Oswego have plans to add streetcars in coming years to promote denser development.
Network diversifying
Clearly, the region’s rail network is diversifying.
Take the Westside Express Service, known as WES, for example. Unlike MAX trains, the line will not operate at night or midday. Its 32 trains will haul commuters between Beaverton’s high-tech corridor and industrial Wilsonville, but only during morning and evening rush hours.
Operating hours were limited in part to accommodate a freight line that shares the tracks, Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake said. “WES will be a really nice tool, and I’ll predict that within five to 10 years, WES will need to operate more than when it opens later this year.”
The Westside Express will be among the first commuter lines in the nation to connect two suburbs. It holds the potential to do more than just ease Beaverton and Hillsboro connections.
“If you work in Hillsboro but live in Wilsonville, you can get out to Hillsboro pretty comfortably,” Drake said. “You only have to get off one train and get onto another.”
Wilsonville commuters might use the train to get to work in Portland, Drake predicted. That’s because Beaverton has two MAX lines that go into downtown Portland: the Red Line, which serves Portland International Airport, and the Blue Line to Gresham.
Overlapping lines
Those overlapping lines send trains passing by MAX stations about every eight minutes, TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen said. That’s frequent enough that many riders won’t bother to check a schedule before walking to a rail station.
Such high-frequency service helps boost rail ridership, because people worry less about schedules, Hansen said. In coming years it could encourage riders to soften their resistance to transferring from one line to another during a trip.
“I think we will see this system start working the way New York or Washington, D.C., and others do, where it’s natural that people transfer,” he said.
Another MAX extension will get attention this year, as the region decides whether to include light rail in a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.
Beyond the next few years, the passenger rail conversation probably will turn to potential MAX lines from Portland to Tigard along Oregon 99W and from Portland to Clackamas along Southeast Powell Boulevard, Hansen said.
There’s already talk of extending the Westside Express commuter line to Salem. Others are pushing for spurs off the rail network, rather than major new lines, Hansen said.
For example, Hillsboro is making a case for a spur from the existing MAX to the AmberGlen area, where it wants to create a high-rise district. Some have called for an eastern extension from Gresham to Mt. Hood Community College.
“The choice will be: Do we do some of these spurs as the next part, or will it be a major line?” Hansen said. “That will be among the choices facing us as a community.”
Dylan Rivera: 503-221-8532; dylanrivera@news.oregonian.com