Teru Talk - 2011 Newsletter V-I-12

My daddy said, "It's a smart man who knows when he's stupid." That doesn't mean we're off the hook for learning new things; it just says we know where we are "challenged". It isn't enough that I'm being trained by both my Blackberry and my BlueAnt Know-It-All headset, we've started seriously working with the "Social Media", which curiously makes me quite unsociable.

So @TeruTalk gets you to us on Twitter (where we're not Twits as I thought, but "Tweeps"). We've built a Teru Talk page on Facebook (probably better for family than biz, but we'll see). We've been working with a couple of the Groups in Linked-In, especially the Zero Emissions Carbon Refinery. And we're using a desktop program called TweetDeck to help keep it all organized: it lets you see all your various accounts at once so you can get REALLY confused.

You can learn a lot of the ropes from @BIOblogger. In his #biochat this week we were chewing on this topic of how to use these new tools to promote biomass to energy and fuels. One thing was abundantly clear: any connect-the-people tool that can overturn governments certainly has the potential to push Conversion forward; we just need to learn how.

The message: Sit down, Sing in, and Figure Out how to get connected. We can indeed use the Social Media to let folks know when Something Big changes, when something needs to be attended to at the very moment it is happening, when one of us needs six like-minded souls to speak up. Most of this is free; all of it is being used by your children and often their children. Hook up with us @TeruTalk (we'll at least commiserate), hunt down @BIOblogger (he can help). Put the new tools to work; we all need every arrow in the quiver.

Senators John Barasso (R-WY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the bipartisan American Alternative Fuels Act (S. 937) to the Senate this week with the intent of breaking down the barriers to alternative fuels—including fuels derived from coal, biomass, algae and waste. 05/13/2011

Global chemicals company Albemarle has acquired biodiesel catalysis specialists Catilin, expanding their role in provision of advanced biofuels production processes. 05/13/2011

Cambi Offers Workshop during Residuals and Biosolids Conference Norway-based biosolids conversion company Cambi will present their first Cambi Academy on May 25, 2011 in conjunction with the Residuals and Biosolids Conference and Exhibition in Sacramento, California. 05/13/2011

Florida-based Dyadic International, Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent No. 7,923,236 for “Fungal Enzymes” by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for production and use of enzymes to convert lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. 05/12/2011

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced establishment of the first Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Project Area with the enrollment of up to 50,000 acres in Missouri and Kansas for bioenergy feedstock production. 05/12/2011

The US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) announced awards of $47 million to eight research and development projects for production of biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. 05/12/2011

U of Florida Beet Waste Biochar Recovers Phosphorus from Wastewater Researchers in the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have developed a method for producing biochar and using the dense material to remove phosphorus from water. 05/12/2011

UK's Greenergy to Extract Oils from Food Waste for Biodiesel Production Supplier of one fifth of Britain's transport fuel, Greenergy has begun producing biodiesel and energy from food waste in partnership with Brocklesby Ltd, a specialist in extraction and recycling of oils from unsaleable high-oil food products. 05/11/2011

The US Department of Agriculture awarded $957,582 to Michigan State University microbiology and molecular genetics assistant professor Claire Vieille to develop a microbial process that converts glycerol into succinate. 05/10/2011

Canadian company CORE Biofuel Inc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an un-named renewable energy project development entity for construction of integrated biorefineries. 05/10/2011

The California Energy Commission has awarded $2,000,000 to researchers at the University of California San Diego to establish the California Initiative for Large Molecule Sustainable Fuels (CILMSF). 05/10/2011

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Technical Assistance Program will provide an informational webinar on May 12, 2011 to explore the new Community Energy Strategic Planning (CESP) program for cities and counties. 05/10/2011

The Biofuels Center of North Carolina (NC) has awarded a grant of $145,665 to Wake Forest University's Terrafinity project, where researchers are developing inexpensive catalysts for converting the free fatty acids into biodiesel. 05/09/2011

Due 06/23/2011: DOI-DEMD 2011 Proposals for Tribal Energy Development The Department of the Interior's Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) through its Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD) office has published a formal solicitation for proposals from Tribes for assessing, evaluating, and promoting energy and mineral resources on Indian trust lands, with funds from the Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP). 05/13/2011

Due 07/01/2011: Proposals for Blue Sky Funded Renewable Energy Projects Rocky Mountain Power and Pacific Power have both released 2011 requests for proposals (RFPs) to develop eligible community-based renewable energy projects through its Blue Sky program in their respective service areas, with a preference for local community based projects. 05/11/2011

Teru Talk Newsletter