switchgrass could become the source

Instead of corn, switchgrass could become the source for ethanol fuel produced in South Carolina. Switchgrass can produce as much as 800 to 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared to 416 gallons for corn. Even more striking, the energy-return ratio could be as high as 10 for switchgrass, compared with 0.81 for gasoline and 1.36 for corn-based ethanol.

The South Carolina Bioenergy Research Collaborative has been formed to demonstrate the economic feasibility of using plants, such as switchgrass, trees and sorghum, to make ethanol. The collaborative includes scientists at Clemson, the Savannah River National Laboratory, South Carolina State University and industry incubator SC Bio, as well as industrial partners who are committed to building a biofuels research pilot plant in the state.

Well, I have always liked Tom Green, and not just because he looks just like my first boyfriend, but now I must say, I love him. I really was amazed at how freakin hysterical the book is, and how touching it ended up being. It was great to read about all the scenes that I had seen from his show and I have to say, more than once I woke up in the middle of the night and just had to read, worrying the whole time about waking other people in the house with my laughter! I read it in 2 days and was longing for more! He has worked hard to get where he got and this book is no exception.

It seems like he really put a good deal of thought into it and it paid off. I love the fact that even though you don't really expect it to have a serious message, it really does have several. Getting the word out about testicular cancer and his emotions through the whole ordeal, I thought was very honest and heartfelt. But the message I liked most was that Hollywood is a dangerous place and can really screw up a perfectly happy life, when people start losing the ability to realize that they aren't the center of the universe, and maybe give a crap about what someone else is going through.. and that there are other more rewarding/productive things out there than just being rich and famous.

It made me glad I am not rich or famous! Ok, maybe I would take the rich part.. but seriously, I have read a LOT of books in the last 6 months and this was definitely my favorite. Well done!

A group of Clemson and USDA-Agriculture Research Service scientists, led by agronomist Jim Frederick, is investigating switchgrass production systems at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, S.C., including soil and crop management, new variety development and measuring environmental impacts.