Jeff Manuel
@jeffmanuel
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Historian of Energy, Tech, & Environment, Professor @SIUE, Author of a history of ethanol fuel (forthcoming), and Taconite Dreams, Public & Oral Historian
Edwardsville, Illinois
Joined March 2008
It's publication day for ETHANOL: A HEMISPHERIC HISTORY FOR THE FUTURE OF BIOFUELS. Want to know why the US turns 40% of its corn crop into fuel? How the US and Brazil became the world's two largest ethanol producers? Tom Rogers and I have answers. https://t.co/ICxpqwEIFX
oupress.com
Though ethanol, a liquid fuel made from agricultural byproducts, has generated controversy in recent years—good or bad for the environment? a big-ag boon o...
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One month away from the publication of ETHANOL: A HEMISPHERIC HISTORY FOR THE FUTURE OF BIOFUELS. Tom Rogers and I describe the linked history of the US and Brazilian ethanol programs for the first time. Online pre-order available now. https://t.co/ICxpqwEIFX
oupress.com
Though ethanol, a liquid fuel made from agricultural byproducts, has generated controversy in recent years—good or bad for the environment? a big-ag boon o...
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#WomensHistoryMonth "By answering the call to defend Alberta’s oil industry against a critical public and politicians in Ottawa, Canadian petroleum became more than just a job for these women; it became an identity and a way of life." - @jeffmanuel
https://t.co/nSe78pOvSf
niche-canada.org
What explains the rise of many women to prominent positions in Alberta’s oil sector and female politicians, including Smith, becoming the industry’s most vocal political supporters?
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Probably the result of too much time looking at those cartoon natural resources maps as a kid.
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The geography of refinery supply chains is endlessly fascinating. California’s refineries are importing Iowa’s soybean oil while the Midwest’s refineries bring in Alberta’s dilbit.
Heads up: if elected, Trump's promise to tariff imports of oil from Canada could cause #gasprices to surge 25-75c/gal in the Midwest if enacted. The bulk majority of refineries in this region have been processing Canadian crude, nearly exclusively, for decades.
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Teaching Crosby’s _Children of the Sun_ today, we talked about fire as a uniquely human tool. But then a student told us all about Australian Firehawks, raptors who intentionally set wildfires. Every time we draw a line between human and non-human nature, the animals surprise us.
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Book bans and books in dumpsters get a lot of attention when in comes to libraries. But pay attention too to books just going unbought. At Western Illinois University, “there’s been some years we haven’t purchased any new books at all.” (h/t @jeffmanuel)
insidehighered.com
The university laid off all its library faculty as part of massive cuts, leaving employees and supporters to wonder how the library will serve campus constituents.
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“Because of budget cuts, there’s been some years we haven’t purchased any new books at all”
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I know the fiscal landscape is bleak everywhere in higher ed, but spare a thought for Western Illinois University where they just laid off **all the library faculty.** https://t.co/iS674BlgNE
insidehighered.com
The university laid off all its library faculty as part of massive cuts, leaving employees and supporters to wonder how the library will serve campus constituents.
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Anyone interested in ethanol and biofuels should read Colin’s thread. This is the nuance and science that’s often ignored in the political debate.
I sympathize with the frustration over how the Iowa primary has distorted US biofuel policy, but this is probably not a great idea. 🧵
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The most hated sports team in Alberta is the hockey team from Alberta’s largest city 😂
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A detailed but fascinating dive into climate models and Corn Belt warming. Key background to today’s discussion of US ag yields.
Donald Trump recently shared a plot noting that many climate models have historically overestimated summer warming over the US corn belt. But it turns out this is an egregious unrepresentative cherrypick, as @AndrewDessler notes over at The Climate Brink: https://t.co/Hz8OrhfEj8
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Working as a reporter today, covering an SAF-focused conference. First thought—industry conferences are *a lot* different from the history gatherings I’m used to.
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The EPA is investigating whether the used cooking oil supply for biofuels is legit. It's a reminder that the biofuels industry has been dogged by fraud for most of its history. (@TDysonRogers and I wrote about this in a 2020 article) https://t.co/ts43VmJ0sK
brasilwire.com
Ethanol burst into the news cycle again last week with reports that the US ambassador to Brazil had lobbied for the cancellation of an ethanol tariff, arguing that the move would help Trump’s...
Exclusive: US EPA says it is auditing biofuel producers' used cooking oil supply https://t.co/6inHGtCB4P
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Not the most important aspect, I know, but this really captures MN high school football in the 1990s. I played for a powerhouse program in that era (Go Tornadoes!) but a defense could 100% read every one of our plays by following the pulling guards 😅
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Would love to be a fly on the wall in the marketing department at Chadron State College this morning.
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Interesting story about China's remarkable solar expansion eating into arable land. For energy historians, it's a reminder of Tony Wrigley's classic point: fossil fuels are punctiform but solar, just like energy from plants, is areal.
Solar farms are crowding out much-needed crops in China, as renewable-energy projects encroach on farmland, angering Beijing https://t.co/C7NvR0EOBR
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