of

Deputy Under Secretary

For

Research, Education and Economics Dr. Rodney Brown

Earth Day Celebration

Whitten Building

April 22, 2002

“On behalf of Secretary Veneman I am delighted to be here with you today to support this Earth Day celebration. She is in Madison, WS visiting a demonstration house at USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory built with “green’ products.

“And Deputy Secretary Jim Moseley is in Davie, FL, breaking ground for USDA’s invasive species quarantine facility. We are investigating biological control agents to contain invasive weeds such as the melaleuca tree from Australia that now threatens the Everglades ecosystem in South Florida.

“There are many other USDA sponsored Earth Day events taking place all across the country such as tree plantings, displays and activities to teach children about nature, recycling, and environmental cleanup.

“As one who has been involved in agriculture on the farm almost since birth and later in academia, I can tell you that those of us in agriculture are the first stewards of the land. We depend on the earth for our livelihood and would never knowingly do her harm.

“On the patio today you see many exhibits of industrial products produced from agricultural raw materials. These products are good for the environment and good for American agriculture.

“Some people seem surprised at the number of categories of products and the many different kinds of products under those categories—lubricants, solvents and cleaners, inks, coatings, polymers, and biofuels, to name a few.

“Some folks think this is a new movement. It’s not. We are really going “back to the future.”

“Until the advent of the petroleum economy most of our industrial feedstocks came from agricultural raw materials.

“Dr. David Morris, author of the Carbohydrate economy says, “Only a little more than 100 years ago most American industrial products were derived from plant matter…or animals.”

“The first commercial plastic made in the 1880’s was made from cotton.

“The first moving pictures were called cells…the film was made from celluloid…from cotton.

“The first synthetic fiber was cotton-based rayon.

“Now for a variety of reasons we are again poised to bring forth a renewable economy.

“What are some of these reasons?

“First, President Bush in the National Energy Plan said, “The U.S. has significant potential for renewable resource development. These non-depletable sources of energy are domestically abundant and have less impact on the environment than conventional sources. They can provide a reliable source of energy at a stable price, and they can also generate income for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

“Second, large U.S. and world crop production limits the opportunities to increase the prices of U.S. commodities. Although we have seen some export gains, it remains difficult to increase our agricultural exports. Thus the need to also find new markets here at home.

“Third, there is a growing recognition that the use of biobased feedstocks can be beneficial for our environment by substituting them for petroleum feedstocks.

“Fourth, there is the matter of energy security. Liquid fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol can help us reduce our dependence on imported petroleum. As Secretary Veneman has said, “Renewable energy is good for independence, good for farmers and good for the environment.”

“The Secretary made that statement as part of her announcement last August 7th that USDA agencies will use biodiesel and ethanol in our fleets. USDA has also made available funds to help stimulate the production of these fuels.

“So while renewable fuels are very important, there are other industrial products made from agricultural raw materials. Some of the products on display today are lubricants, paints, coatings, cleaners, degreasers, biodegradable food containers, and soy-based polyurethane products.

“It is one thing to have a function likes this and display available products. It’s another to use them. USDA is leading the way in use.

“I mentioned soy-urethane last because we have a real-world example of this on the second floor of this building in the offices of the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, Dr. Joseph Jen.

“Several months ago Dr. Jen took the bold step of carpeting his suite of offices with soy-urethane backed carpet, not petroleum derived urethane. I encourage each of you to visit the reception area, 214W, or the conference room, 217W to see for yourself what this carpet is like. It is real and is available in the marketplace.

“As a matter of fact, since we installed the carpet in our suite of offices, some Agricultural Research Offices at Beltsville have also been covered with soy-urethane backed carpet.

“I also recommend you pick up a copy of the April issue of the Agricultural Research Magazine which discusses some of the historical accomplishments of our research units to create new industrial uses for agricultural materials.

“Finally, I believe that if we harness the engines of the federal buying machine we can help accelerate the commercial success of the biobased products industry. Just as we purchased the carpet, there are many other commercially available products.

“I urge each of my federal colleagues to carefully consider your next purchase by asking, “Would a biobased industrial product work just as well or better.”

“Each of us in our own way can help make the earth a better place than the one we inherited. We can do that by using clean, renewable, sustainable, environmentally preferable, biobased industrial products instead of those derived from finite polluting sources.

“Let’s all do our part.”

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