Honorable Sen. Kreitlow:

 

The first meeting of the Legislative Council Special Committee on Domestic Biofuels went very well.  Thank you for your leadership and willingness to look deeply into this very important issue.  I am writing to ask your consideration of some items for future meetings, per your suggestion at the last meeting.

 

The first meeting had a number of speakers that challenged the conclusions of a number of recent studies of food-based biofuels, particularly on the subject of overall lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and the influence of biofuels on food prices.  There was also some discussion of the land use and water quality consideration of biofuels by the speakers.  None of the researchers or groups that share these broader environmental concerns was available to provide any responses to the questions and criticisms.  Fortunately, there is a lot of robust information available from many sources, including Wisconsin and the Midwest, which could be helpful in explaining the latest science and policy issues in front of the committee. I would ask that you consider one or more researchers as a guest for a future meeting of the Special Committee

 

I think that everyone on the Special Committee we could all agree that increasing bioenergy production is an important goal for Wisconsin.  At Clean Wisconsin we are have worked on an approach that balances the need to move away from fossil fuels while also meeting the need for sustainable rural economic development, clean water, and addressing our state’s global warming emissions.  I would like to propose time at a future meeting for me to present a broader view about what we feel are the opportunities and costs of expanded biofuel production from various processes.  I am willing to be flexible in the schedule of my own presentation to give you more options for upcoming agendas.

 

The following researchers could address many of the scientific approaches to evaluating the land-use, global warming emissions and food versus fuel aspects of different biofuels, based on similar presentations that they have given in the past:

 

• Joe Fargione, scientist at the Nature Conservancy (Minnesota) and lead author, with University of Minnesota scientists, of the recent peer-reviewed article titled “Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt” that received much press earlier this year (along with Tim Searchinger’s article titled “Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change”).  Dr. Fargione’s number is 612.331.0745 and email is jfargione@tnc.org.
• Bruce Babcock, professor of economics and the director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University, who will be a contributing researcher for the USEPA’s Renewable Fuels Program (most recently amended in the 2007 EISA legislation) that includes the 36 billion gallon mandate by 2022.  In particular, Professor Babcock will be performing analyses required in EISA to quantify aggregate greenhouse gas emissions, including “significant indirect emissions such as significant emissions from land use changes” as stated in the federal law creating the RFP.  See attached presentation from the USEPA’s Bob Larson.  Dr. Babcock’s number is 515.294.6785 and email is babcock@iastate.edu.
• Holly Gibbs, doctoral student at the UW Madison and lead author, with other UW Madison researchers, of a recent peer-reviewed article titled “Carbon payback times for crop-based biofuel expansion in the tropics: the effects of changing yield and technology”  http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1748-9326/3/3/034001.  Holly Gibb’s number is 608.265.8720 and email is hkgibbs@wisc.edu.

 

Other suggested documents for Study Committee consideration:

 

Biofuels for Transportation:  A Climate Perspective, Naomi Pena, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, June 2008. http://www.pewclimate.org/biofuels-transportation

 

“Corn-based ethanol production compromises goal of reducing nitrogen export by the Mississippi River.”  Donner, S.D., and C. J. Kucharik (UW-Madison researcher).  Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, March 18, 2008. (attached). (I referenced this article during the August meeting of the Special Committee).

 

Thank you for your consideration, and feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

Peter Taglia

 

Peter J. Taglia, P.G.

Staff Scientist

Clean Wisconsin

608-251-7020 Ext. 27