WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today announced that a team of students from Ames was among 11 teams of middle and high school students who won their regional competitions for the 2014 National Science Bowl this past weekend and are advancing to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., in April.

"The National Science Bowl challenges students to excel and heightens their interest in fields vital to America's continued scientific advancement," Energy Secretary Moniz said. "Congratulations to these students for advancing to the National Finals. I wish them the best of luck in the competition."

The National Science Bowl brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete in a fast-paced question-and-answer format where they solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics and math.

The teams that won their qualifying regional competitions this past weekend and are advancing to the National Finals are:

Arkansas:  

Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock  

California: 

Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon

Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Los Angeles

Hawaii:

Maui High School in Kahului

Iowa:

Ames High School in Ames

Massachusetts:

Greater Boston Science & Math Team in Andover

Minnesota:

Wayzata High School in Plymouth

New Mexico:

Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos

New York:

Ward Melville High School in East Setauket

Washington:

Science Infinity Club in Bellevue

Wisconsin:

Appleton West High School in Appleton

A series of regional middle school and high school tournaments are being held across the country from January through March. Winners will advance to April's National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., for the final middle school and high school competitions.

The top 16 high school teams and the top eight middle school teams in the National Finals will win $1,000 for their schools' science departments. Prizes for the top two high school teams for the 2014 National Science Bowl will be announced at a later date.

The high school team that won the 2013 National Science Bowl received a nine-day, all-expenses-paid science trip to Alaska, where they learned more about glaciology, marine and avian biology, geology and plate tectonics. The second-place high school team at the 2013 National Science Bowl won a five-day, fully guided adventure tour of several national parks, which included a whitewater rafting trip.

More than 225,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl since it was established in 1991, and it is one of the nation's largest science competitions. Approximately 14,000 students competed in the National Science Bowl last year and more are expected to participate this year.

DOE's Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl Finals competition. More information is available on the National Science Bowl website:http://www.science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin today were among a bipartisan group of 31 Senators who sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy. The letter is part of an ongoing effort to urge the agency to make changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) 2014 rule.  The Senators share concerns that the EPA's proposed rule will discourage investment and hurt job growth and rural communities across the country.  

"The EPA is proposing a major step that reverses the momentum on biofuels," said Grassley. "The progress made toward energy diversity and independence will slip away if the EPA succeeds.  The sentiment from almost one-third of the U.S. Senate is the proposal needs revision. We want the EPA to reconsider.  The President as a supporter of biofuels should weigh in as needed."    

"The intent of the RFS is to steadily increase contributions from biofuels in our transportation fuels markets to enhance our nation's energy security, protect the environment, and create jobs," said Harkin. "The proposed rule, requiring less biofuel in 2014 than in 2013, goes against this intent and is a significant step backward."  

The EPA's proposed rule would set the biodiesel target at 1.28 billion gallons, which is below current industry production levels of around 1.7 billion gallons.  It would also reduce the total biofuels target to 15.2 billion gallons.  This is 1.34 billion gallons below the 2013 target of 16.55 billion gallons, and almost 3 billion gallons below the 2014 statutory target of 18.15 billion gallons. 

The following Senators also signed on to the letter: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Max Baucus (D-MT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dan Coats (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Udall (D-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The full text of the letter is below:

January 22, 2014

The Honorable Gina McCarthy

EPA Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator McCarthy:

We are writing to share serious concerns regarding the EPA's proposal for the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS.) Congress passed the RFS to increase the amount of renewable fuel utilized in our nation's fuel supply. The Administration's proposal is a significant step backward - undermining the goal of increasing biofuels production as a domestic alternative to foreign oil consumption. Further, the proposed waiver places at risk both the environmental benefits from ongoing development of advanced biofuels and rural America's economic future. We urge you to modify your proposal.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) provides the EPA with significant authority to adjust to shifting conditions over the 15-year life of the policy. In any given year, EPA can adjust the advanced biofuel and total biofuel volumes based on anticipated production. While EPA has used the authority to adjust biofuels levels in the past based on anticipated production levels, your proposal, for the first time, adjusts the 2014 overall volumes based on criteria not clearly identified in the law below anticipated production levels of biofuels and even below previous years' RFS levels. 

Further, defining the "blend wall" as blends of E10 and then waiving RFS requirements beyond the blend wall creates significant barriers to future biofuels growth. Lack of infrastructure remains one of the key hurdles to further deployment of biofuels into the market. Limiting RFS to levels that can be met with existing infrastructure eliminates incentives to invest in the technologies and infrastructure necessary to meet our domestic policy goal of increasing biofuels production and use.

If the rule as proposed were adopted, it will:

• Replace domestic biofuel production with fossil fuels, contributing to a greater dependence on foreign sources of oil and reduce our energy security.
• Increase unemployment as renewable fuel producers cut back production.
• Halt investments in cellulosic, biodiesel and other advanced renewable fuels. Rolling back the RFS will, potentially strand billions of dollars of private capital;
• Undermine the deployment of renewable fuels infrastructure throughout the country;
• Threaten the viability of the RFS, thereby solidifying an oil-based transportation sector and lowering consumer choice at the pump.

With these concerns in mind, we request that EPA revise the proposed 2014 RVOs in a manner that promotes investments in the next generation of biofuels and the infrastructure necessary to deploy those fuels into the market. Without a revised proposal, the EPA's rule will bring severe economic consequences, and prevent the growth of the renewable fuel sector.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

At least 110 million consumers were affected by the hack involving Target and Neiman Marcus retailers. Whether or not millions more will have their identities manipulated and finances ruined within the coming months due to more breaches of security at other stores is anyone's guess, says identity theft recovery expert Scott A. Merritt.

"By necessity, I became an expert on identity theft. My information was stolen in 2006, and in repairing the damage, I learned some not-so-obvious ways we can all protect against identity theft in the first place," says Merritt, CEO of Merritt & Associates (scottamerritt.com) and author of  "Identity Theft Do's and Don'ts."

Merritt's problems began quickly. While disputing financial charges and dealing with resulting business problems, in 2007 he was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested on a false outstanding felony warrant. He immediately knew why.

"I had to enlist my U.S. congressman and convince the state police, NCIC, FBI and Secret Service that I didn't commit the felonies. For a few years, I had to prove that the prints did not match the false record in question. After legal action, however, I was able to have this corrected."

Unfortunately, the millions affected by the recent hacks may be dealing with similar repercussions in the years ahead, he says.

Before you become a victim of identity theft, Merritt offers seven ways to guard against it.

• Understand how and where it happens. Identity theft is like being robbed when you are away from home; most thefts occur in places where you do business every day. Either a place of business is robbed, a bad employee acts improperly or a hacker breaches the office through the computer.

• Secure your wallet's information. Photocopy everything in your wallet: photos, credit cards (front and back), membership cards - everything. Put the copies in the order the cards are arranged in your wallet, staple the pictures and place them in a strong box or safe.

• Make sure your information is consistent. For all of your identity and financial documents, make absolutely sure, to the smallest detail, that all of your personal information is accurate and consistent! Discrepancies such as using your middle initial on some documents, and not others, or having different addresses, can wreck havoc in proving your identity, and can compromise your credit score.

• Secure your digital habits and data. Change your passwords at least twice a year on a non-scheduled basis - don't be predictable. Have a strong firewall if you shop online, and only access sites that are protected by a strong firewall and high industry standards. Access accounts of a financial nature only from your personal computer.

• Protect your banking information. While in the bank, keep account numbers and other data out of sight, and avoid stating account numbers, Social Security numbers and similar information out loud. When planning a bank visit, have items such as deposits and withdrawal slips prepared in advance.

• Account for your interactions with vendors. Every time you speak to someone with whom you do business, write down the time, date, name and the purpose or outcome of the call. If an identity theft occurs on the vendor's end, you will be able to reference these prior conversations effectively. Be sure to note any animosity or reluctance from the vendor.

• Don't carry around your birth certificate or Social Security card. Unless it's necessary, keep those vital items in a safe, or at least a firebox. If you know someone is going to need a copy of your tax returns or your driver's license, for example, make the copies ahead of time. This avoids the need for a firm's employee to leave the room with such information.

"Of course, you can greatly reduce being a victim of such recent hacks that occurred at the major retailers by using cash more often," he says. "But if you're going to use credit, use a card from a national bank or a national credit union and never a debit card, no exceptions."

About Scott A. Merritt

Scott A. Merritt is the CEO and sole stockholder of Merritt Ventures, Inc., doing business as Merritt & Associates and author of "Identity Theft Do's and Don'ts." He has more than a decade of experience in the real estate industry, financial planning, insurance, investment services, and has more than a decade in mortgage services, all under the umbrella of Merritt Ventures. Merritt holds a life, accident and health insurance license, and a principal associate real estate broker's license. He has an associate degree in pre-law, a bachelor's degree in business administration and a certificate in computer information systems. He has personally represented himself and won in court hundreds of times to, in part, clear his record from the ravages of identity theft.

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Joanna Schroeder

According to a new study, that compared the greenhouse gas emission reductions of corn ethanol and those of crude oil production and fracking, corn ethanol's carbon intensity is declining while the carbon intensity of petroleum is increasing. The study was conducted by Life Cycle Associates and found that the carbon impacts associated with crude oil production continue to worsen as more marginal sources of fuel are introduced into the fuel supply.

According to the report, "As the average carbon intensity of petroleum is gradually increasing, the carbon intensity of corn ethanol is declining. Corn ethanol producers are motivated by economics to reduce the energy inputs and improve product yields."

The study, commissioned by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), found that average corn ethanol reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 32 percent compared to average petroleum in 2012. This estimate includes prospective emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC) for corn ethanol. When compared to marginal petroleum sources like tight oil from fracking and oil sands, average corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 37-40 percent.

As more unconventional crude oil sources enter the U.S. oil supply, and as corn ethanol production processes become even more efficient, the carbon impacts of ethanol and crude oil will continue to diverge. The study predicts that by 2022, average corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 43-60 percent compared to petroleum.

"The majority of unconventional fuel sources emit significantly more GHG emissions than both biofuels and conventional fossil fuel sources," according to the study. "The biggest future impacts on the U.S. oil slate are expected to come from oil sands and fracking production." In the absence of biofuels, "...significant quantities of marginal oil would be fed into U.S. refineries, generating corresponding emissions penalties that would be further aggravated in the absence of renewable fuel alternatives."

The study also reveals several fundamental flaws with the GHG analysis conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) regulations. Just one example: corn ethanol was already determined to reduce GHG emissions by 21 percent compared to gasoline in 2005, according to the analysis. Yet, the EPA's analysis for the RFS2 assumes corn ethanol GHG reductions won't reach 21 percent until 2022.

The EPA's analysis also assumes the carbon intensity of crude oil will be the same in 2022 as it was in 2005, a presumption that has already been disproven by the real-world increase in the carbon intensity of crude oil. "As unconventional sources of crude oil have grown in recent years, the carbon intensity of petroleum fuels has increased above the baseline levels initially identified in the Renewable Fuel Standard..." according to the authors, who call on EPA to address several shortcomings with its analysis.

RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen made the following comments on the results of the new study. "When it comes to ethanol's carbon footprint, biofuel critics and some regulatory agencies are unfortunately stuck in the past. We don't need to wait until 2022 for corn ethanol to deliver on its promise to reduce GHG emissions. This study uses the latest data and modeling tools to show that corn ethanol has significantly reduced GHG emissions from the transportation sector since enactment of the original RFS in 2005."

"Further," said Dinneen, "the report highlights that ethanol's GHG performance will continue to improve and diverge with crude oil sources that will only get dirtier as time goes on. When ethanol is appropriately compared to the unconventional petroleum sources it is replacing at the margin, the GHG benefits are even more obvious. We urge EPA officials to closely examine this new information and make good on their commitment to ensure the RFS regulations are based on the latest data and best available science."

Other key findings and recommendations from the study can be found here.