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The Biden administration wants to spur the electrification of the transportation sector beyond traditional cars.

The Energy Department plans Thursday to announce it will spend $96 million to reduce emissions by pushing forward the technology and charging infrastructure needed to electrify tractors, construction equipment, planes, trains, boats, and other off-road vehicles. The funding will also be focused on alternative fuels, which could further reduce emissions.

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"The USDA is accepting applications for a new pilot program supporting the development of biobased products, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday."

"Under this program, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) can award up to $10 million divided among the highest rated applications that include eligible universities and private-sector partners, according to a release from Vilsack’s office."

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A new low-temperature, multi-phase process for upgrading lignin bio-oil to hydrocarbons could help expand use of the lignin, which is now largely a waste product left over from the production of cellulose and bioethanol from trees and other woody plants.

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"Facing the disintegration of his climate agenda as ferocious heatwaves hit large parts of the world, Joe Biden has unveiled a new plan to push billions of dollars to US cities and states to help them cope better with extreme heat."

"The president stopped short, however, of declaring a climate emergency."

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"The University of Maine has been issued a patent for a process to create strong composite laminates that are bound with cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). This technology, called Cellubound™, is part of UMaine’s widening patent portfolio of strong, environmentally friendly products bound with CNF."

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"An integrated approach to land management practices in the U.S. can reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere far more than earlier estimates based on separate approaches, Michigan State University researchers say. Their research was published May 31 in the journal Global Change Biology."

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"Management practices like reforestation and the production of cellulosic bioenergy can reduce and capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change."

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Global climate change is a serious problem that requires the involvement of a scientifically literate public to solve. But what does the public understand about this complex issue and its relationship to the combustion of fossil fuels?

We have been investigating this question by studying how incoming freshmen at Michigan State University make sense of standard representations of the global carbon cycle. The incoming freshmen represent the college-bound public who have high school degrees. We asked them about the carbon cycle because the carbon cycle explains the cause of global climate change – the addition of CO2 into the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels – and provides a framework for evaluating options for its mitigation.

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The Biofuels vs Fossil Fuels unit has students explore the similarities and differences between fossil fuels and biofuels. In the process, students investigate the carbon-transforming processes of combustion, photosynthesis, fermentation and respiration. They apply their knowledge of these processes to the global carbon cycle to examine how use of fossil fuels and biofuels have different effects on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and consequently global climate change. Students use their understanding of the global carbon cycle to study the claim that biofuels, such as ethanol made from plant material, can help reduce the rate of increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide. In addition, students examine the environmental impact of biofuels agriculture.

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Various classroom materials for testing and experimenting with Bioenergy including:

• Mini Fermenter
• Measuring Soil Microbial Activity
• Bioprospecting for Cellulose-Degrading Microbes: Filter Paper Assay Method
• Bioprospecting for Cellulose-Degrading Microbes: Individual Isolate Method

And more.

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