James M. Griffin, director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics & Public Policy, which is part of Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, and Mauricio Cifuentes Soto, a graduate student assisting him, say in their report that the goal of EISA was to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to ease dependency on imported oil. Policymakers also thought the new blend of ethanol and conventional gasoline would cost motorists less, they note.

James Griffin

“EISA mandated ethanol production to grow from 4.9 billion gallons in 2006, to 36 billion by 2022,” says Griffin, author of A Smart Energy Policy: An Economist’s Rx for Balancing Cheap, Clean, and Secure Energy. “Today, at 14 billion gallons, we’re not even halfway there and the unintended consequences of the policy, especially those influencing world food prices, are negative and far outweigh the positives.”

With the best of intentions, he observes, lawmakers believed the policy would have a positive effect by lowering prices at the pump. Moreover, since corn plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, greenhouse gas emissions would fall significantly, and the U.S. would build energy security as domestic ethanol replaced oil imports from the Middle East.

Additionally, using CO2 life-cycle estimates by the Argonne National Laboratory, the authors assert that, ethanol reduced U.S. and world greenhouse gas emission — 0.42 percent of U.S. and 0.08 percent of world emissions.

Nevertheless, these benefits are minuscule when put in perspective. “Corn-based ethanol has done little to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint,” Griffin adds. “In contrast, the policy’s unintended consequences for food prices raise grave economic and ethical issues.”

Rising corn and grain prices have been attributed to ethanol production.

The Texas A&M researchers also traced an increase in corn and grain prices to ethanol production. They refer to the United Nations’ FAO Food Price Index which shows that between Jan. 2007 and Sept. 2011, after adjusting for inflation, corn prices increased by 68 percent, cereals by 69 percent and dairy products by 46 percent.

One study (Hayes et al, 2009) the researchers cite quantifies how a $1 per bushel increase in corn prices impacts a wide variety of food products. The study shows, for example, that between 2005 and 2011 corn prices rose by $5 per bushel, beef rose 18.5 percent, pork 16 percent, poultry 17.5 percent, eggs 27.5 percent, milk 10.5 percent, cheese 9 percent, sugar and sweets 3.5 percent.

The researchers claim that not all these price increases are due to U.S. ethanol policies. However, even “if only one-fourth of this additional expenditure is attributable to ethanol, this would imply a loss to American consumers of $40 billion over the last 4 years.”

Even though these increased food prices might not look so significant, the world’s poor disproportionately share the burden of these policies because a large portion of their income is devoted to food alone, they add. According to the U.N., rising food prices plunged nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2010-2011.

Griffin and Cifuentes conclude that, instead of marching blindly ahead to EISA’s 2022 mandated production target of 36 billion gallons, the ethanol policy should be reassessed.

“To be sure, we should continue to support R&D for advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol,” Griffin says. “In the interim, we should dismantle the ethanol mandates and trust markets to sort out the proper mix of ethanol in gasoline.”

For more on the study, go here.

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About Research at Texas A&M University: As one of the world’s leading research institutions, Texas A&M is in the vanguard in making significant contributions to the storehouse of knowledge, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represents an annual investment of more than $630 million, which ranks third nationally for universities without a medical school, and underwrites approximately 3,500 sponsored projects. That research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting in many cases in economic benefits to the state, nation and world.

The Mosbacher Institute was founded in 2009 to honor Robert A. Mosbacher, Secretary of Commerce from 1989-1992 and key architect of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Through three core programs for research and education – Integration of Global Markets, Energy in a Global Economy and Good Governance – the institute’s objective is to advance the design of policies for tomorrow’s challenges.

Media contact: Tura King, Division of Marketing & Communications, at (979) 845-4670

Dr. Brett Giroir

Dr. Brett Giroir, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives, gave the commencement address at Texas A&M University-Galveston this past Saturday. Speaking to a group of 180 graduating Sea Aggies, Giroir spoke about the time-honored traditions that make being an Aggie so special, why that will be a source of pride and motivation for years to come, and how they can use the lessons they learned from being a part of such a unique institution to build a greater tomorrow for future generations.

Giroir also leads the Center for Innovation and Advanced Development & Manufacturing at The Texas A&M University System in College Station. As the principal investigator of the center, he was instrumental in establishing a $285 million contract with the federal government to provide 50 million doses of vaccines required to stop pandemics of influenza and to develop and manufacture all the vaccine therapies and antidotes needed to protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

For the complete commencement address, click here.

The Singing Cadets, known as “the Voice of Aggieland,” will perform throughout China in some of the country’s finest concert halls, including the Beijing Concert Hall, Xi’an Concert Hall, Hangzhou’s Grand Theater and the prestigious Heluting Concert Hall of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. 

While on tour, the Aggies will have an opportunity for sight-seeing and opportunities to tour some of China’s historical sites, including The Imperial Palace, Tiananmen Square and Hangzhou’s Terracotta Warriors. In addition, they will have the unique opportunity to perform on The Great Wall of China as well as a command performance at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Now in their 120th touring season, the Singing Cadets have enthusiastically represented Texas A&M both nationally and internationally. Established in 1893, over the years the group has performed for U.S. presidents and first ladies, presidents of other countries and at special televised events such as pageants and other special occasions.  Additionally, the group travels thousands of miles each year to perform for audiences all across Texas.

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Media contact: Tura King, Division of Marketing & Communications, at (979) 845-4670 or tura-king@tamu.edu or Vickie Cook, Choral Activities, at (979) 845-5874 or cook@tamu.edu

A: Anvil clouds are common sights during spring and summer thunderstorms and can occur almost all over the world, says Brent McRoberts of Texas A&M University. “When a thunderstorm starts developing, the large cumulus clouds reach heights where the moisture in them condenses into ice crystals and spray,” McRoberts explains. “This air and spray spreads and expands as the air bumps against the bottom of the stratosphere, and it often forms an anvil-shaped cloud as it expands. The central portion of an anvil cloud usually contains snow, but this melts as it falls into the very warm air below.”

Anvil cloud over South Texas. Photo: Shutterstock

Q: How high do these anvil clouds reach?

A: McRoberts says airline pilots, who try to avoid such strong clouds, often report them at levels of 60,000 feet or higher. “The rule of thumb is, the higher these anvil clouds get, the more severe the storm is that they contain,” McRoberts says. “They often produce heavy rain and strong winds. Strong or severe storms often have a thicker anvil appearance and you can often see a sort of boiling appearance in the lower portions of them, meaning they contain very severe weather.”

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Weather Whys is a service of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Texas A&M scientist B. Don Russell discussed his research in smoke detectors on "Dateline NBC"

Russell describes this research as a “sideline” activity outside his primary research area of electric power systems.  “I maintain my interest in smoke detector performance because of the significance it has to public safety,” Russell said. “Hundreds of people die or are injured each year in residential fires, too often because their smoke detectors did not provide a timely alarm.”

Russell’s advice to homeowners is to buy smoke detectors that use both ionization and photoelectric sensing technologies. Combination detectors with both sensors are available in big box stores.

“Use many detectors scattered in your home and make sure you have detectors of both types – ionization and photoelectric or combination devices,” Russell said.  “This is the only way you will be properly warned of the next fire that occurs in your home.”

The “Dateline” story can be viewed here.

The 2013 rankings by AffordableCollegesOnline.org (ACO) spotlights the top 50 colleges that “provide students with the best bang for their buck after graduation,” note ACO officials, who say they reviewed the records of 875 colleges and universities.

In placing fourth nationally, Texas A&M is outranked only by Georgia Tech, State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz and the University of Virginia.

“It’s always gratifying to learn that Texas A&M is recognized nationally for providing affordable education in keeping with our high academic standards and that we are producing highly qualified graduates whose talents are recognized and rewarded in the marketplace,” notes President R. Bowen Loftin. “Having said that, we are certainly not surprised by this most recent and welcome confirmation of what has been our assessment for many years — that Texas A&M graduates are sought after in the workplace, perform admirably and are well rewarded for their successes.”

Texas A&M is the only Texas institution to rank among ACO’s top 10. The University of Florida is the only other Southeastern Conference school to rank among the top 25 institutions on the list.

“This is an important list for prospective students to consider,” says ACO founder Dan Schuessler. “Many students don’t have the financial means or are not comfortable taking on mounds of debt to attend an expensive college. The colleges ranked here are affordable yet still provide students a solid return on their tuition investment.”

ACO officials say that after developing their own process for determining affordability — using a combination of governmental data and assessments developed by highly respected organizations related to higher education — they incorporated findings by Payscale.com, which they consider the nation’s premier salary data collection organization.  They say they were then able to determine which institutions’ 30-year net ROI were highest.

More than 3,000 employers, including 80 percent of the Fortune 100 companies, recruit at Texas A&M each year, according to records maintained at its Career Center. Personnel there report that job opportunities posted for Texas A&M students have increased significantly in recent years.

Also, Texas A&M is graduating students at a record rate. It awarded degrees to a record 7,175 students at its spring commencement exercises last week — approximately 300 more than were presented degrees in the spring of 2012.

More information about the rankings and a list of the top 50 institutions cited by ACO is available here.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662

Urban planning professors Samuel Brody and Michael Lindell and Assistant Marine Sciences Professor Wesley Highfield are part of the Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities. It is an initiative between the College of Architecture’s Hazard Reduction Recovery Center at Texas A&M University and faculty at Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Institute researchers can help prepare coastal communities to absorb, adapt and respond to disturbances such as hazardous events, hurricanes, coastal storms and flooding. They are in the second year of a two-year $313,000 National Science Foundation grant to investigate the accuracy of the 100-year flood plain measurement.

The safety zone

Sam Brody

Brody, who is director for the institute and principal investigator on the NSF grant, says many people believe significant environmental damage and the loss of life and property from recent Gulf coast hurricanes is confined to the 100-year flood plain, but their research is proving otherwise.

“The floodplain designation may be an inaccurate predictor of loss,” Brody said. “Our research findings about the 100-year flood plain will provide policy makers and localities with improved criteria for assessing flood risk in low-lying coastal areas and protecting themselves against loss of property and lives.”

Safety in the eye of the beholder

Wesley Highfield

Brody says misperceptions of safety afforded by the 100-year designation have left property owners unaware of flood risk and made it more difficult for decision makers to ensure that community development occurs in a resilient manner.

The research team is analyzing the following data samples in Texas and Florida coastal communities:

• Insured property damage records
• Proximity of damage claims to 100-year flood plain
• Impact of development patterns upon flooding in Gulf of Mexico coastal counties
• Household survey information about flooding in and out of the floodplain; flooding experiences; risk
  

  Michael Lindell

  perceptions; flood insurance purchases; emergency preparedness actions and the effectiveness and cost of flood mitigation and preparedness actions.

“Collecting data about different aspects of people’s flood insurance purchase will help us better understand why people fail to protect against flood losses and, in some cases, discontinue their flood insurance policies years after first purchasing it,” Lindell said.

After gathering the data researchers layered information into a Geographic Information System to better understand characteristics of flood losses in relation to delineated flood zones.

Preliminary research findings challenge perceptions that living outside 100-year flood plains will ensure safety from storms. “From 1999 to 2009, flood losses along the Gulf of Mexico, totaled more than $20.3 billion,” Brody said.  “Up to half of insured flood claims in the Houston-Galveston region were located outside the 100-year flood plain.”

“There is a reduction in the cost of damage a quarter of a mile outside the floodplain,” said Highfield.  “But, it still left an average repair cost of $25,000 per property.”

Safety near urban sprawl

Brody said sprawling, low intensity development with four to 21 percent impermeable surfaces like parking lots significantly increased losses from flooding in study areas.  He confirmed that flood damage was reduced, where natural environments are embedded in developed areas.

The Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities provides coastal communities public participation and education opportunities, web-based sustainable information and graduate and undergraduate education materials. For more information about the ISCC go to www.tamug.edu/iscc

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About 12 Impacts of the 12th Man: 12 Impacts of the 12th Man is an ongoing series throughout the year highlighting the significant contributions of Texas A&M University students, faculty, staff and former students on their community, state, nation and world. To learn more about the series and see additional impacts, visit http://12thman.tamu.edu/.

Media contact: Cathy Cashio-Bertrand, Texas &M-Galveston, at (409) 740-4830

Andrew and Stephanie Ybarra, and their children Andrew Jr., Cassidy, Adam, Janie and Lillianna, with the keys to their new home.

Mother’s Day was extra sweet for Stephanie Ybarra, thanks to the Texas A&M University students and other volunteers who’ve devoted months of fundraising and physical labor to bring her dream house to fruition.

Students at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M, along with Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity, and thanks to the donations of many, dedicated the house, painted Aggie maroon, to President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush for their many years of devotion to public service.

The Ybarras, including father Andrew and their five children aged 5-16, last week were handed the keys to the “Bush School House,” located in the new Faith subdivision near Martin Luther King St. in Bryan.

President Bush spoke of the project from his home in Kennebunkport, Maine, thanking the volunteers for their work. “Barbara and I are so very proud of our Bush School students who participated in the Habitat for Humanity construction project in Bryan/College Station,” he said. “There can be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others. Only when we reach out to others, and give our time and talent to a cause bigger than ourselves, can we as a community overcome the challenges we face and build a better, brighter future. I would congratulate you on your selflessness, but the fact is the greatest reward you can receive is the satisfaction you have in your heart knowing you have helped your fellow man.”

Bush School students spent more than a year raising the $40,000 that was needed to build the five-bedroom home and received support from students and alumni, faculty and staff, donors, friends of the Bush School and library, the staff at Habitat and the future homeowners.

“Once we raised the funds, volunteers raised the walls, laid shingles, painted the siding and laid sod over the course of 10 weeks,” said Travis Stalcup, a spring graduate of the Bush School’s Master’s Program in International Affairs and one of the project coordinators.

Andrew Card, dean of Texas A&M's Bush School, presented a plaque at the dedication ceremony.

The Ybarra family was congratulated at last Thursday’s dedication ceremony for all the hard work they put into the project; Habitat for Humanity requires families to put 500 hours of “sweat equity” into a home before they can take ownership, including work at the construction site, as well as volunteering at other home sites and in the Habitat ReStore.

Stalcup and project co-coordinator, Calen Caple, who also graduated this month from the Bush School, with her Master’s in Public Service and Administration, had the honor of handing over the house keys to the Ybarra family. “That was a moment in my life I will never forget,” Caple recalled. “I was overcome with emotion and love for this family and I was blown away by the selfless devotion of time, money, and energy by the students involved and their genuine interest in aiding the family. They stepped up in ways I never expected, even offering their own furniture to the family when they discovered their need.”

During the dedication, the Ybarra family was presented with several traditional housewarming gifts, but one had a twist: the usual “Welcome” wall-hanging presented to all BCS Habitat families instead reads, “Howdy!” ― Texas A&M’s official campus greeting.

“I wanted students to see how they could make an impact in their community,” noted Stalcup. “For many of them, their next job will be their first job. Hopefully, this experience will show them that their paycheck is much more than rent or dinner out ― they’ll have developed a habit of philanthropy.”

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Media contact: Lesley Henton, News and Information Services at Texas A&M University; lshenton@tamu.edu, 979-845-5591

Darryl de Ruiter, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M, and colleagues from Binghamton University (the State University of New York) and researchers from Spain and Italy have published their work in the current issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science).

The team examined the skull of a hominin believed to be about 1.9 million years old and found in a cave called Swartkrans, in South Africa. Of particular interest to the team were bones found in the middle ear, especially one called the malleus. It and the other ear bones – the incus and the stapes – together show a mixture of ape-like and human-like features, and represent the first time all three bones have been found together in one skull.

Tiny ear bones (from left) the incus, stapes, and malleus could provide big clues to human evolution

The malleus appears to be very human-like, the findings show, while the incus and stapes resemble those of a more chimpanzee-like, or ape-like creature. Since both modern humans and our early ancestors share this human-like malleus, the changes in this bone must have occurred very early in our evolutionary history.

“The discovery is important for two reasons,” de Ruiter explains.

“First, ear ossicles are fully formed and adult-sized at birth, and they do not undergo any type of anatomical change in an individual lifetime. Thus, they are a very close representation of genetic expression. Second, these bones show that their hearing ability was different from that of humans – not necessarily better or worse, but certainly different.

“They are among the rarest of fossils that can be recovered,” de Ruiter adds.

“Bipedalism (walking on two feet) and a reduction in the size of the canine teeth have long been held to be ‘hallmarks of humanity’ since they seem to be present in the earliest human fossils recovered to date. Our study suggests that the list may need to be updated to include changes in the malleus as well.”

de Ruiter recently authored a series of papers in Science magazine that demonstrate the intermediate nature of the closely related species, Australopithecus sediba, and provide strong support that this species lies rather close to the ancestry of Homo sapiens. The current study could yield additional new clues to human development and answer key questions of the evolution of the human lineage.

The team’s research was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, and by the Ray A. Rothrock Fellowship at Texas A&M.

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About Research at Texas A&M University: As one of the world’s leading research institutions, Texas A&M is in the vanguard in making significant contributions to the storehouse of knowledge, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represents an annual investment of more than $700 million. That research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting in many cases in economic benefits to the state, nation and world.

Media contact: Keith Randall, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4644 or Darryl de Ruiter at (979) 845-5242