New Biofuels Measures & Recycling For Oil

New Biofuels Measures & Recycling For Oil plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a series of measures that could help kick-start our faltering renewable fuels industry. In a presentation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Vilsack said the heart of the plan to revitalize rural communities is the biofuels industry. VILSACK: We have put together a framework for a revitalized rural economy and at the center of it is this biofuel and renewable energy opportunity. I think it's extraordinary we'll get a $95-billion dollar capital investment in rural America. I think it's extraordinary that there may be as many as a million jobs based on industry projections that could be created in rural America. That's the kind of activity that will allow us to offer a chance for our kids who do want to stay in these small towns. Who do have an affinity, a connection to these rural areas. A Tigard, Oregon company is turning waste plastics into synthetic crude oil. Founded in 2004, Agilyx has accelerated production in the past several months. It also has big plans for expansion by next year. What sets Agilyx apart from other producers is a process that creates oil with nothing but used material that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Once it's processed, all of Agilyx's oil travels to be refined at U.S. Oil and Refining in Tacoma. From there, it may be made into diesel, gasoline or other types of fuel. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. Well, we finally had to do it, turn on the heating system in the house. Which lead me to thinking, worrying really, about what the cost of heating the house will run us this year, which lead me to thinking about the conversation my husband and I had not to long ago about biomass electricity. You know the poo for power possibility. It's more than a possibility actually; it's now a very real source of renewable energy that can reduce our relying on fossil fuels. Biomass electricity comes from combusting or decomposing organic matter, with municipal solid waste being just part of the equation. Human waste is that part of the biomass equation though that induces the "gross out" factor for most people. Towns in the UK are already utilizing power from sewage waste, and several cities here in the US have been entertaining the benefits of "poo power". When you get right down to it, why not use the stuff. Sewage treatment could be an even better source of fuel than landfills, which have already been in common use for quite a while now. After all, with everyone wanting to be as natural and organic as possible you can't get much more organic now can you? Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.