According to NOAA, the first nine months of 2010 tied with the same period in 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record.

NOAA officials reported that the global average land surface temperature for January-September was the second warmest on record, behind 2007. The global ocean surface temperature for January–September was also the second warmest on record, behind 1998.

The monthly analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which is based on records going back to 1880, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides government, business and community leaders, so they can make informed decisions.

According to NOAA, global temperature highlights, were:

• For the year-to-date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 58.67 F (14.75 C) tied with 1998 as the warmest January-September period on record. This value is 1.17 F (0.65 C) above the 20th century average.
• The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for September 2010 tied with 1998 as the eighth warmest on record at 59.9 F (15.5 C), which is 0.90 F (0.50 C) above the 20th century average of 59.0 F (15.0 C).
• Separately, the September global land surface temperature was 1.19 F (0.66 C) above the 20th century average of 53.6 F (12.0 C) — the ninth warmest September on record. Warmer-than-average conditions dominated the world’s land areas. The most prominent warmth was in western Alaska, most of the contiguous United States, eastern Canada, Greenland, the Middle East, eastern and central Europe, western and far eastern Russia and northeastern Asia. Cooler-than-average regions included much of Australia, western Canada, parts of the northern United States, parts of western and central Europe, and central Russia.

Hemp is one of the versatile and productive crops out there, but illegal for farmers to grow in the United States.

We need to throw out those arcane laws we have about hemp production and turn the productivity of the American farmer loose on this valuable crop. Nebraska is an ideal state to grow this once glorious crop of American agriculture.

By the way, it was the preferred crop of our Founding Fathers as both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a milled that made hemp paper. If we grew hemp we wouldn’t have to chop down so many trees as more than 75 percent of the world’s paper was made from hemp until 1883.

By the way, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper!

And now, we can help free our country from its dependence on foreign oil by allowing American farmers to make a cash crop out of hemp for biofuel production and thousands of other uses this mircle crop can be transformed into.

It’s a new Declaration of Independence: Grow hemp!

According to the University of Connecticut, researchers there  have found that the fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel – sustainable diesel fuel made from renewable plant sources.

The plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food, says Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering who led the study.

“For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel,” says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. “It’s equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won’t need the high-quality land.”

Industrial hemp is grown across the world, in many parts of Europe and Asia. Fiber from the plant’s stalk is strong, and until the development of synthetic fibers in the 1950s, it was a premier product used worldwide in making rope and clothing.

Today, there are still parts of the world that rely on Cannabis stalks as a primary fiber, mainly because of its ability to grow “like a weed,” without requiring lots of water, fertilizers, or high-grade inputs to flourish. But the seeds, which house the plant’s natural oils, are often discarded. Parnas points out that this apparent waste product could be put to good use by turning it into fuel.

“If someone is already growing hemp,” he says, “they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce.” The fact that a hemp industry already exists, he continues, means that a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment.

With his graduate student Si-Yu Li and colleagues James Stuart of the Department of Chemistry and Yi Li of the Department of Plant Sciences, Parnas used virgin hemp seed oil to create biodiesel using a standardized process called transesterification. The group then tested the fuel for a suite of characteristics in the BiofuelsTesting Laboratory at UConn’s Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.

The hemp biodiesel showed a high efficiency of conversion – 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to biodiesel – and it passed all the laboratory’s tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market.

Although growing hemp is not legal in the U.S., Parnas hopes that the team’s results will help to spur hemp biodiesel production in other parts of the world. UConn holds a patent on a biodiesel reactor system that could be customized to make biodiesel from a range of sustainable inputs, hemp included.

“Our research data could make buying a reactor system with our technology more attractive,” says Parnas. “If we have data for the production of many different feedstocks, we can tailor the system to meet the company’s needs.”

Parnas, Yi Li, and colleagues Steven Suib of the Department of Chemistry, Fred Carstensen of the Department of Economics, and Harrison Yang of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment are preparing to build a pilot biodiesel production facility using a two-year, $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy.

The reactor will be capable of producing up to 200,000 gallons of biodiesel per year, and while this production rate is small in comparison to commercial biodiesel reactors, the main use of the facility will be to test new ways to produce biodiesel, including catalysts and feedstocks. Ultimately, the team will perform economic analyses on commercializing their methods.

As for other industries that utilize Cannabisplants, Parnas makes a clear distinction between industrial hemp, which contains less than 1 percent psychoactive chemicals in its flowers, and some of its cousins, which contain up to 22 percent.

“This stuff,” he points out, “won’t get you high.”

Wake up America!

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) said Thursday that he has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlining significant concerns regarding the route selection and permitting process related to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

“I understand the importance of bringing energy to the United States, particularly from friendly countries, but I also know that we must protect the Ogallala Aquifer,” said Johanns.

He said the Department of State “must assure us that its examination of alternative routes was thorough and that consideration was given to the unique soil of the Sandhills compared to the clay soil along potential alternative routes.”

“Until these concerns are addressed, I cannot support moving forward with this projectm,”  Johanns said.

Johanns provides the following background information about the Keystone Pipeline:

* The Keystone XL Pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corporation would deliver oil from its source in Canada through Nebraska to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas. o The proposed route crosses through Nebraska’s Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer.

* U.S. law assigns the Department of State with the responsibility of ensuring the impacts and alternatives to this proposed pipeline have been thoroughly examined and assessed.

*Letter Overview: The letter asks the Department of State to respond to several questions related to the alternative route discussions and the permitting process undertaken by the Department of State and explained in the DEIS.

1. The alternative route discussion in the DEIS appears to consider only routes that originate at or near Morgan, Montana. The letter asks why the document contains no substantial discussion of a route that would run parallel to the existing Keystone pipeline route from Steele City, Nebraska, north to the U.S. border in Cavalier County, North Dakota. To your knowledge, has the Department of State or any other federal agency reviewed this route as an additional alternative to those considered in the DEIS? If the Department of State has not, I ask that such an alternative route be explored.

2. Regarding border crossings other than at or near Morgan, Montana: Has the Department of State or any other federal agency involved in the permit process considered alternative routes that would include border crossings other than at or near Morgan, Montana? If the Department of State has not, I ask that the scope of the DEIS be broadened to include alternate border crossings.

3. Regarding the relationship between Canadian regulatory requirements and the Keystone XL permitting process: What impact, if any, does the applicant’s acquisition of required permits in Canada have on the consideration of border crossings other than at or near Morgan, Montana?

4. Regarding soil composition of alternative routes examined in the DEIS: Has the Department of State or any other federal agency considered or otherwise explored whether there is environmental benefit to a route that avoids the Sandhills region? If so, I would ask that you share that analysis with me. If neither you nor another federal agency involved in the permitting process has conducted such an analysis, I would ask that you broaden the scope of the DEIS to include such an analysis.

A statewide poll being conducted by Energize Nebraska, which is based out of Gibbon, will be gauging Nebraskans attitude on “Small Renewable Generation,” said Ed Toribio, director of Energize Nebraska.
“When we talk about small generation, we are referring to systems (i.e., wind turbine) that can generate power for a single home, building or farm” Toribio said.
In contrast, he said a large scale wind turbine is capable of powering several hundred homes in terms of capacity.
The survey results will be released at the Nebraska Wind Conference in Kearney on November 9-10, 2010.
“Small generation systems are used to generate electricity, heat water, heat air, or make diesel fuel,” Toribio said.
He said the goal of the survey is to measure the consumers interest and opinions in areas such education, training, local policy, and consumer demand. The survey is available online at www.energizenebraska.org
Toribio said currently efforts about are being directed in developing wind farms and next generation ethanol production, but “…very little discussion has been done on finding ways to support and expand the local small generation industry.”
“Due to the importance to our local economy, we encourage the participation of all residents across the state” Toribio said.
The online survey takes about three minutes to complete.
Toribio said small generation installers support only a few jobs statewide. But, if fully developed, he said this industry could create several hundred of new jobs for people installing solar heating collectors on rooftops, for example.
Toribio said the results of the survey will provide valuable information to develop training programs statewide, assist policy makers to consider renewable-friendly laws, and lastly, it will establish a foundation in which the small generation industry will continue to see sustain growth.
For more information about the survey or if you would like to receive a hard copy of the survey by mail, please contact Toribio at (308) 293-3407
Energize Nebraska is a local non-profit working to promote the growth of renewable energy in the state.
According to John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, the agenda has been finalized and speakers announced for the Wind Power 2010 Conference to be held in Kearney at the new Younes Conference Centre November 9-10. He said this year’s conference will include three separate tracks, 27 sessions and presentations, and 70 wind expert speakers who will provide the latest information on a wide range of wind related topics.
The Tuesday noon luncheon keynote speaker will be James A. Walker, Vice Chairman of the enXco Board of Directors and Past President of the American Wind Energy Association Board. Wednesday’s noon luncheon keynote speaker will be Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy.
In addition, Hansen said nationally recognized experts will present on wind transmission issues, wind incentives in other states, different kinds of farmer and community owned wind structures, as well as panels of state senators, wind developers, and small wind dealers on how to move Nebraska wind development forward.
On Tuesday, Hansen said one program track will feature small wind issues highlighting R. Nolan Clark of Amarillo, Texas, a retired USDA wind specialist who is recognized as one of the nation’s wind industry giants for his pioneering research on wind energy.
On Wednesday, one track will feature Nebraska’s rapidly expanding wind education and training opportunities, including the “Wind for Schools” program, which now includes 20 schools using small wind turbines to propel wind related curriculum and student interest in wind related careers, according to Hansen.
Included in the 27 different sessions will be a report on the 300 Megawatts of Nebraska wind energy projects currently in some stage of project construction, an update on the now completed NE Power Association and National Renewable Energy Laboratory Wind Integration Task Force report, a session with a top official from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), landowner associations, landowner wind contracts, net metering, large and small wind planning and zoning issues, large and small wind siting considerations, wildlife issues, wind technician training, transmission, state and federal policies, and roundtable discussions with wind developers and state senators on ways to move wind energy forward.
The event is sponsored by the NE Wind Working Group (NWWG), a state and federal partnership funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America to help develop the state’s wind resources. The NWWG has three Co-Chairs: Senator Cap Dierks of Ewing, Dan McGuire, National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Department of Energy’s Nebraska Wind for Schools Facilitator, and John Hansen, Nebraska Farmers Union President.
“This Conference has it all, great commercial exhibitors, experts on small, medium, and large wind energy issues, wind education, wind careers, wind based economic and community development, and at a very affordable cost,” Dierks said.
McGuire said Nebraska is just starting to tap the vast amount of wind energy based potential for our state, which is now ranked 4th nationally in wind energy resources.
“This event brings together all the Nebraska wind energy stakeholders, has an impressive set of speakers, commercial exhibitors, and wind experts, and at an outstanding new convention facility,” McGuire said.
Hansen said that given the good harvest conditions, “We hope more landowners will be able to attend this year because we have many excellent landowner based sessions built into the conference program for farmers, ranchers, and landowners.”
Pre-registration fees for the conference are $60 per person and $30 per student through October 24th, and $75 per person and $45 per student for registration after the deadline and at the door space permitting. Registration fees includes meals.