The Applegate-Jackson-Parks Future Teacher Scholarship

The National Institute for Labor Relations Research is offering the Applegate-Jackson-Parks Future Teacher Scholarship. Graduate or undergraduate students majoring in education are eligible for the given scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to the education student who best exemplifies the dedication to principle and high professional standards of Carol Applegate, Kay Jackson, and Dr. Anne Parks. The winning candidate will receive a scholarship of $1,000.

NILRR’s primary function is to act as a research facility for the general public, scholars and students. It provides the supplementary analysis and research necessary to expose the inequities of compulsory unionism.

Eligibility:
Applicants are limited to graduate or undergraduate students majoring in education in institutions of higher learning throughout the United States.
Officers, directors and employees of the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, the National Right to Work Committee, Members of the Selection Review Committee and their families are not eligible.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates can submit their application on-line through the given link:
http://www.nilrr.org/resources/scholarship-application/

Supporting Documents:
A copy of the most up-to-date transcript of grades;
A typewritten essay of approximately 500 words clearly demonstrating an interest in, and knowledge of, the Right to Work principle as it applies to educators.

Submitting Details:
You can also submit your completed application packet to:
Future Teachers Scholarships
National Institute for Labor Relations Research
5211 Port Royal Road, Suite 510 Springfield, VA 22151

Award Amount:
One scholarship of $1000 will be given to the winning candidate.

Application Deadline:
Applications must be received between October 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016.

More Information:
http://www.nilrr.org/resources/scholarship-application/

Contact Information:
If you have more questions, you can call at (703) 321-9606.

Member in the news: Wally Tyner

jrobinson@biodiesel.org 

September 14, 2016

New data reaffirms carbon benefits of biodiesel

Economic modeling by Purdue University continues to reduce predicted emissions of ‘indirect land use change’ JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Biomass-based fuels present a tremendous opportunity to transition toward a more sustainable mix of renewable energy. This was a key theme of an alternative fuels workshop hosted today by the U.S. Department of Energy in Macon, Georgia. The workshop examined the sustainability of feedstocks like soybean oil, which can be used to make biodiesel or alternative jet fuel.

Wally Tyner, a professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, presented his research team’s latest findings today regarding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of producing biodiesel from soybeans.[1]  Those findings confirm that soybean oil offers very good carbon reduction when used to displace fossil fuel. Tyner is supported by the James and Louis Ackerman endowment.

“While these results are preliminary,” Tyner said, “our most recent analysis suggests that induced land use change emissions could be as much as 70 percent lower than those adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as recently as last year.” 

Tyner and the experts at Purdue are using the latest version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model to build upon the previous work done for CARB. Significant change results from updating the underlying data from 2004 to 2011. A lot changed in agriculture and biofuels between 2004 and 2011, Tyner said. Biofuel policies expanded greatly during that period. The other major factor reflects increased total outputs per farm area through yield improvements and practices such as double cropping.

“We now have much more data,” Tyner said. “We are better equipped to quantify potential land use change by observing what has actually happened in the real world, and calibrating our models to make better predictions on that basis.” 

“Consensus is rarely achieved when it comes to the theory of indirect land use change, but one thing is clear,” said Don Scott, National Biodiesel Board director of sustainability. “As the accuracy and reliability of modeling improves, we observe a steady decline in the estimates of predicted land use change. This reaffirms that biodiesel reduces GHG emissions by at least 50 percent and suggests that the real benefit is greater than 80 percent.”

Biodiesel has long been championed by USDA and the Department of Energy for reducing carbon emissions by nearly 80 percent compared to petroleum[i]. The USEPA and CARB have gone beyond traditional lifecycle analysis to quantify the potential expansion of agriculture that might be induced by major biofuel policies.
Both regulatory agencies have conducted economic modeling to quantify this indirect effect. While each confirms that biodiesel reduces emissions by at least 50 percent even after adding potential indirect emissions[ii], interest remains in studying these effects with more certainty, Scott said.

“Today’s announcement adds confidence in the GHG benefits of biodiesel, while improving our understanding of how agriculture can respond to growing demand,” he said.

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as soybean oil, recycled cooking oil, and animal fats, biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be used in existing diesel engines without modification. It is the nation’s first domestically produced, commercially available advanced biofuel. NBB is the U.S. biodiesel trade association.
                                                                       ###
 For more information visit www.biodiesel.org.

Grano Fellowship

Earlier this year I was awarded the Grano Fellowship to travel to Washington D.C. and see economic and agricultural policy in action. This award provided funds to travel to Washington D.C., but more importantly, it provided the contacts I needed to see how training in agricultural and resource economics can be used in agricultural policy-making in Washington D.C. and beyond. 

I spent a full week in Washington during the month of June with my calendar booked with appointments from the morning till evening. I was able to spend all of that time meeting with senior USDA economists and program leaders, Senate staffers, policy advocates, and program leaders from other agencies. The Grano Fellowship’s Board of Directors were able to arrange these meetings in my areas of interest because of their long policy experience in Washington DC and resulting extensive contacts both in government and out. 

This award provides the only means that I know of, short of already having a career in policy analysis, that a student interested in agricultural policy can see first-hand how it is made, evaluated, implemented, and monitored. Many of these meetings were with people who had a role I did not know existed -- and I do research in these areas. The trip also provided the opportunity to evaluate if you as a new professional fit in a particular role or agency better than another. 

I have had a graduate career with some pretty unique experiences, but this experience was incredibly different and helpful. If you have any interest in agricultural policy or government, I encourage you to apply for the AAEA Grano Fellowship when the next submission period opens. You will never have a similar opportunity to meet all the people I met and evaluate all of the roles I was able to witness first hand outside of this award. I have no doubt that the members of the Grano Board of Directors will have the contacts necessary to introduce you to the relevant people in your field of interest. The fact that the Fellowship provides the funds needed to undertake a trip like this is a bonus.

Jason Holderieath