Something fun and informative on the Internet:
Why are food prices on the increase? Illinois Farm Bureau has created a new website to provide consumers with the proper answers. Farmingforyou.org discusses and explains the five major reasons food prices are on the rise.
The bureau also offers a blog on ethanol here.
Here’s the latest political cartoon from the Renewable Fuels Now Coalition.
I think the caption kind of says it all. Who would you rather depend on?
For me it’s America’s farmers and ranchers anytime. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and neighbors.
Happy Holidays from The Renewable Fuels Now Coalition
Santa gave the biofuels industry an early holiday gift with the passage of an increased Renewable Fuels Standard. We’re excited to meet the challenges outlined in the legislation in the New Year.
Those folks in Minnesota are getting serious about their corn (guy).
America, meet a new superhero: Corn Guy, now seen on his own website: www.cornguy.tv.
The Minnesota E85 Team asked Chuck Olsen, a well-known filmmaker and video blogger (“vlogger”) from Minneapolis to create the Corn Guy series as part of its viral video campaign. These are a series of short, YouTube-style video clips, designed to be shared on the Internet. The public-private Team, directed by the American Lung Association of Minnesota, is using the humorous and unconventional method to reach those who now use the Web as a primary source of news, information and entertainment.
“We need to use all of communication tools available today to discuss the benefits of biofuels and to counter the misconceptions out there,” said Bob Moffitt, communications director for the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest’s clean fuel and vehicle technologies program. “We’ve had success in the past using blogs, podcasts and live webchats to promote issues important to the American Lung Association, so we decided to use these to share the truth about E85 and biodiesel, two cleaner fuels we strongly supports.”
Moffitt said the Corn Guy segments are being edited and should be on the website soon. The “introduction” video now on the site has received thousands of hits since it went up earlier this month. “There is much speculation on just who ‘Corn Guy’ really is,” Moffitt said. “I can’t reveal his secret identity, but I can say that many of the guesses have been wrong.”
Corn Guy is here to save the day! Watch him get smacked by Taco Lady. Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense in later episodes when Corn Guy sets the record straight on the “food vs. fuel” debate, and other misinformation surrounding cleaner-burning corn-powered ethanol.
You can subscribe to Corn Guy.tv in iTunes so you won’t miss an episode.
The first phase of Project Phin: Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel is over and according to organizers it has become a “pop culture icon” in just a few short weeks.
Project Phin had the honor of being the very first post on Corn Commentary and one of the videos was also featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno when Matt Damon appeared as a guest. That’s because Damon is one of the featured celebrities in Phin’s videos. As Matt told Jay, “I demeaned myself to promote flex fuels.”
Project Phin organizers report the videos have been viewed 200,000 times (not counting the Tonight Show audience) and more than 20,000 letters have been sent to Congress through the Clean My Ride website.
Be sure to check out the “Concerned About Corn” page on the website. Some good points there for those who have problems with corn ethanol. Among them:
1. Ethanol produced from corn is only one near-term solution to our dependence on oil.
2. Putting Ben Affleck into a corn suit is just plain funny. (see video)
3. While we already know how to produce corn ethanol, scientists are still figuring out the best ways to produce affordable cellulosic ethanol.
4. Our aim in these videos was not to single out corn ethanol as “the answer” to our dependence on oil. We simply intended to start a discussion and increase awareness about alternative low carbon fuels, and to have a little fun in the process. After all, it is harder to dress up as agricultural waste than an ear of corn.
Food and fuel. Corn prices. Ethanol. Farm policy. Issues in agriculture. Welcome to Corn Commentary. We’ll be discussing these issues and more. We hope to have some fun along the way so it’s only fitting our inaugural post is related to the power of viral marketing and ethanol.
If you haven’t yet seen the series of ethanol videos on Project Phin, Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel, you’re missing a great laugh. The star-studded cast touts the benefits of e85, the need for improved ethanol infrastructure and improved mileage standards. Here’s how it got started. You’ll find more on their site.
www.cleanmyride.org has all the elements of a strong grassroots campaign. It’s got a strong message, a catchy theme and a call to action.
We liked Ben Affleck in “Hollywoodland” and have caught his numerous appearances on Saturday Night Live. However, his role as an ear of corn is truly praiseworthy.
