skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report Asks: Biofuel Crop or Invasive Weed?

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 5, 2012   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Biofuels are hot new crops around the nation, but a new report urges caution before plowing to seed the fields.

The National Wildlife Federation notes that bioenergy is an important piece of clean, local energy production. However, the report says, crops should be carefully selected and monitored because in many cases they can become noxious weeds if they escape the fields.

Report co-author Aviva Glaser says giant reed is a biofuel being raised in Florida which causes big problems when it grows beyond the crop line.

"It's listed as a noxious weed in a number of states, and it has been known to invade important riparian ecosystems and displace habitat for native species in states across the southern half of the country."

Napiergrass, also called elephant grass, is listed as an invasive plant in Florida, Glaser says, yet BP is developing a cultivated variety to grow all along the Gulf Coast region.

The report recommends that native, non-genetically engineered plants be used for bioenergy production.

Patty Glick also contributed to the report to focus on what can be done to keep the industry moving forward without causing harm and costing taxpayers money. Prevention is the key, she says, and that can be attained through testing before planting.

"We also believe that state and federal governments need to implement rigorous monitoring, as well as early detection and rapid-response protocols. These should be paid for by the bioenergy feedstock producers themselves."

The report also explores the idea of harvesting invasive weeds in areas of infestation to reduce the impact and provide biomass stock at the same time.

The report, "Growing Risk: Addressing the Invasive Potential of Bioenergy Feedstocks," is online at nwf.org/growingrisk.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021