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New ORNL tool to assess global freshwater stress suggests that population growth could be a bigger factor in water availability than increasing temperatures

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An Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) paper published in Computers & Geosciences outlines a process that might help to determine the relative importance of population increases vs. climate change. Our work establishes a new method to couple geographic information system data with global climate outputs and statistical analysis.

Water 236
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Researchers say fuel market rebound effect can result in increased GHG emissions under RFS2; suggest taxes over mandates

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However, argues a team from the University of Minnesota in an open-access paper published in the journal Energy Policy , once the “fuel market rebound effect” is factored in, RFS2 actually increases GHG emissions when all fuel GHG intensity targets specified under the act are met. for its analysis.

Tax 150
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U of M researcher uncovers another potential pathway for solar hydrocarbon fuels; microbial production of ketones, cracked to fuels

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million ARPA-E funded project on direct solar hydrocarbon fuels ( earlier post ), University of Minnesota graduate student Janice Frias (who earned her doctorate in January) has determined the biosynthetic mechanism by which a protein (OleA) transforms fatty acids produced by bacteria into ketones, which can be cracked to make hydrocarbon fuels.

Solar 199
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Study finds that environmental impact of corn-ethanol E85 is 23% to 33% higher than that of gasoline; environmental problem-shifting

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GW = global warming; Eut. They found that E85’s heavy impacts on eutrophication, water use, and land occupation outweigh the modest benefits in other impact categories, such as global warming, ecological toxicity, and fossil energy consumption. Environmental impacts of gasoline and E85. Error bar shows regional variations for E85.

Gasoline 357
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DOE and USDA Select Projects for More Than $24M in Biomass Research and Development Grants

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GE Global Research (Irvine, CA) up to $1,597,544: to develop detailed and simplified kinetic models of biomass gasification. University of Minnesota (St. Selected projects are aimed at increasing the availability of alternative fuels and biobased products that are produced from a diverse group of renewable sources of biomass.

Grant 199
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Researchers describe the “where” and “when” of life cycle emissions from gasoline and ethanol in the US

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Researchers from the University of Minnesota have produced a spatially and temporally explicit life cycle inventory (LCI) of air pollutants from gasoline, ethanol derived from corn grain, and ethanol from corn stover for the contiguous US (the lower 48 states). Dashed lines show US average emissions. Credit: ACS, Tessum et al.

Gasoline 236
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Summer Update

Plug In Partners

Fleet Orders · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – 1,800 · City of Chicago - 850 vehicles · Shohomish County, WA - 300 · City of Seattle - 410 · Kansas City, MO - 120 · Capital Metro (Transit agency in Austin) - 165 · ABC Lawn and Pest Control (Austin) - 150 Cities Cities continue to join the Plug-In Partners coalition.