Genetically Engineered Crops Benefit Many Farmers, But The Technology Needs Proper Management to Remain Effective
WASHINGTON — Many U.S. farmers who grow genetically engineered (GE) crops are realizing substantial economic and environmental benefits — such as lower production costs, fewer pest problems, reduced use of pesticides, and better yields — compared with conventional crops, says a new report from the National Research Council. However, GE crops resistant to the herbicide glyphosate — a main component in Roundup and other commercial weed killers — could develop more weed problems as weeds evolve their own resistance to glyphosate. GE crops could lose their effectiveness unless farmers also use other proven weed and insect management practices.
The report provides the first comprehensive assessment of how GE crops are affecting all U.S. farmers, including those who grow conventional or organic crops. The new report follows several previous Research Council reports that examined the potential human health and environmental effects of GE crops.
Potential exists to turn state’s renewable-energy needs into a cash crop
Save the last of the Surgar Cane industry in Hawaii Sugar on Maui FOREVER! CLICK HERE for larger image
Hawaiian Electric Co.’s search for long-term suppliers of biofuels derived from local feedstocks stands to ignite a new form of agriculture in Hawaii.
But major challenges lie ahead for both the utility and potential producers.
Acres of fallow pineapple and sugar fields across the state potentially could be converted to high-oil-yielding plants such as jatropha, soybean and microalgae.
The utility says it is interested in buying enough biofuels to run its power plants on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island.
Clean-burning biofuels are attractive to HECO because they can be used in its existing generators, which currently run on liquid fossil fuels including bunker oil and diesel.
“We’ve talked and talked about biodiesel in Hawaii, and now we can guarantee that we’ll purchase their products down the road, so we’re looking for people to make proposals,” said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg. “If we’re going to get to the state’s mandate of 40 percent renewables by 2030, which is just 20 years away, a chunk of that will have to come from biofuels. The best situation would be one where the feedstocks are grown here.”
LAHAINA – Restoration of the Pioneer Mill smokestack in Lahaina will begin this month, the Lahaina Restoration Foundation announced.
Work will include restoring the top 14 feet of the smokestack, which was removed in 2006 during the demolition of Pioneer Mill buildings.
The top will be fabricated from steel and painted to match the new paint being applied to the entire smokestack. It will replicate the design and size of the original smokestack, including the words "Pioneer Mill Co. Ltd. 1860."
The project is expected to take four months.
Other work includes installing 17 carbon steel tension bands to reinforce the smokestack, filling in the flue with masonry and outlining the flue perimeter with brick to match a brick walkway surrounding the base of the stack.
Cost of the renovation is around $600,000. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation is fundraising for the project through the sale of commemorative bricks that can be engraved and will be used in the walkway.
The price for a brick will increase from $100 to $125 on May 1, and bricks must be purchased by May 1 to be included in the first phase of the project.
The last sugar mill in Hawaii Puunene Maui CLICK HERE for larger image
PUUNENE – Within five years, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. may be out of the sugar business and use its 37,000 acres on Maui to grow much-desired biofuels, company, state and federal officials, announced Wednesday afternoon.
The announcement came with the personal endorsement of senior Hawaii U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, who made a pledge to sugar workers who gathered for the event at HC&S headquarters in Puunene.
"In my name, I promise HC&S will not go under like the 16 other sugar cane operations," Inouye said. "If I am wrong, I will be out of a job."
The U.S. Department of Energy, through the University of Hawaii, and the Navy, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will provide at least $4 million annually toward research to help HC&S determine whether it is feasible to convert the more than 130-year-old company into an "energy farm," or a high-tech producer of renewable fuels, said HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin.
It would be a dramatic transformation, officials said. The move could preserve hundreds of agricultural jobs on Maui for decades to come and potentially lead to tens of millions of dollars in capital improvement investments to the company’s aging sugar mill.
Release No. 0174.10
Contact: Sandy Miller Hays (301) 504-1637
HONOLULU, April 7, 2010 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a series of public and private partnerships designed to help establish commercial production of advanced biofuels and other renewable energy systems in Hawaii for use by the Department of the Navy.
"Hawaii, with its semitropical climate, is among the states with the greatest potential to produce biomass," said Merrigan. "And, with its significant naval presence and its heavy reliance on imported fuels, Hawaii is a perfect location for growing biomass for the production of advanced biofuels and using the vast other renewable resources available to develop other advanced energy systems."
The announcement follows a day-long meeting here on Tuesday, April 6, with representatives of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Energy, the state government of Hawaii, the office of Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the University of Hawaii and others to discuss ways in which USDA could help the U.S. Navy move towards greater use of biofuels and the development of other renewable energy systems.
Photo by Maui Tropica CLICK HERE for more Maui Sugar Cane images
By AUDREY McAVOY HONOLULU
Hawaii’s last sugar plantation could start producing jet fuel for the Navy.
Federal agencies on Wednesday announced they would spend millions of dollars to study producing advanced biofuels from sugarcane grown at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar’s fields on Maui.
The Office of Naval Research is budgeting $2 million annually for the project through 2015, with a focus on producing diesel and jet fuel from sugar.
The Department of Energy is spending $2 million a year to have the University of Hawaii study energy crop development and energy conversion technologies.
HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin says his company will be a "working laboratory" to test the potential of biofuel production.
"This federal funding represents a vote of confidence in Hawaii and in the future of HC&S," Benjamin said in a news release. "It is a significant step toward our goal of transforming HC&S into a large-scale energy farm, playing a key role in securing Hawaii’s energy future."
The company, a unit of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., said its vast fields, access to water, farming infrastructure and labor force make it an ideal candidate to produce biofuels on a large scale.
HC&S has long diverted water from East Maui streams to irrigate its fields in arid Central Maui. But this practice is currently facing challenges.
Taro farmers have petitioned the state’s Commission on Water Resource Management to restore more flow to the streams, and prevent HC&S from diverting its usual volumes of water. The case is pending before the water commission.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who met Wednesday with HC&S and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials about the project, said the research could benefit biofuel development efforts not just in Hawaii but also across the country.
"The sugar industry’s infrastructure in Hawaii … will be put to good use producing a variety of biofuels," said Inouye in a statement issued by the department.
Sugar Cane Tassel CLICK HERE for larger imagePUUNENE — Within the next five years to 10 years, Hawaii’s last sugar producer, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. could be out of the topsy-turvy granulated sugar business and making much-desired biofuels, company, federal and state officials announced Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. Department of Energy, though the University of Hawaii, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Navy will receive $6 million annually to help HC&S determine whether it is feasible to convert the more than 130-year-old company into an "energy farm," or a high-tech producer of renewable fuels, said HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin at a news conference.
It would be a dramatic transformation, participants said. The move could preserve hundreds of agricultural jobs on Maui for decades to come and potentially lead to tens of millions of dollars in capital improvement investments to the aging sugar mill.
"This (funding) could help define a new future for HC&S as an alternative energy producer," Benjamin said.
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) today announced that it is at the center of significant new Hawaii-based research initiatives on biofuels, working closely with the University of Hawaii and various federal agencies to realize the promise of expanded production of clean, renewable energy.
In today’s announcement, HC&S noted support from Sen. Daniel K. Inouye in detailing annual federal funding of at least $4 million that will be made available through two separate programs, one funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the other by the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), to conduct research at HC&S.
The DOE funding of $2 million annually will be directed to research on energy crop development and energy conversion technologies to be conducted by the University’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). The ONR funding, also $2 million annually, will support complementary crop and technology assessments, as well as an evaluation of long-term resource requirements for biomass production. In announcing the ONR portion of the funding, US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said the USDA would direct the research initiatives, providing $2 million per year through 2015, to help Hawaii accelerate sustainable biofuel feedstock production.
