Oil spills are most definitely NOT green news. Unfortunately, they are exactly the opposite. Again, unfortunately, it seems that they are all too common off the coast of Argentina, which is causing problems for the local population of Magellanic penguins. Penguins need to be able to stay waterproof due to the fact that they enter and exit the water in frigid temperatures regularly. When the oil gets on the birds, they no longer have the protection that they need to survive the cold temperatures in which they live. Forty of the birds were rescued from the water and cleaned up. They should be back to their natural habitat "in about 15 days or so."

Hearing news like this, electric cars sound better and better all the time. Plus, if one were able to use solar or wind power, maybe the need to import and export so much oil would be decreased. The shipping and consequent occasional spilling of oil is another reason that locally grown petroleum substitutes like biodiesel are important. Just think of the penguins.

[Source: Live Science]

As Autoblog Green has previously reported, U.S. tariffs on sugar has effectively barred Brazil and other nations with their less expensive and more efficient sugar-based ethanol from competing in the U.S., giving American corn and soy growers the lion's share of the market. But according to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, the rising demand for corn in the U.S. may prove ultimately beneficial to Mexico, Central, and South American nations in the long run. The increased demand for corn to create ethanol has culled shipments to such countries. Domestic corn growers, who once couldn't compete against the cheap U.S. corn imports, now find their home-grown products priced competitively. Even better, other nations who normally purchase U.S. corn may soon be turning to such farmers as U.S. prices continue to rise.

Related:
Poor could lose out in world ethanol market
World to suffer corn shortage as ethanol demand increases

[Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs via Brazzil Magazine]

Yesterday was supposed to be the launch day for the Panamericana biodiesel trip from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the whole western edge of North and South America. We promised last week to keep tabs on what the Panamericana group is self-reporting on how the trip is going, but that’s not possible yet. As of right now, the Panamericana website has no news of how the first day went, even though daily updates were promised. I hope the adventure of taking three SUVs over 15,000 miles using nothing but biodiesel is off to a grand start, but there’s no way to tell yet. Maybe soon.

[Source: Panamericana]

A tiny mention in a local Alaska newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, points out that a German team of nine drivers will drive three Volkswagen's from Fairbanks, Alaska to the bottom of South America – a distance of 25,000 kilometers/15,500 miles - in just over two weeks. The drivers will be on the move around the clock and the goal is to raise awareness of biodiesel as a legitimate fuel choice. The ride will be recorded by two TV crews traveling with the team and parts of the footage will be made available free to media outlets. What would be really cool is if the planes that will fly the SUVs over the Panama Canal were using green technology, or if the vehicles could be moved over the water in a sailboat of some kind. For more information, check out the team's website here. The ride starts next week. [Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]