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On Capitol Hill, a Warmer Climate for Biofuels »

Posted by: Alexia 2 years, 6 months ago

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Robert Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, had every reason to feel good when he delivered a speech in Tucson this year on the state of the ethanol industry.

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Alexia

Documentary filmmaker, interactive mediaist, with a background in theatre and writing. Avid non-fiction reader.

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Comments: 81

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CatholicRedneck
June 15, 2007, 3:09 a.m.
"If Congress is going to use agriculture 'to enhance energy security, then it needs to take into account some side effects and make agriculture more sustainable.'" Amen to that. But I'm too cynical to believe that Congressmen, always on the hunt for "campaign contributions" (what other countries call bribes), will design any policy that can make agriculture sustainable.
Avg rating: (+14/-0 14)
xxxr77667
June 15, 2007, 5:33 a.m.
Just so everyone knows when you start hearing prospective ethanol prices per gallon. Keep in mind that a gallon of E85 will burn up quicker than a gallon of gas. I beleave that E85 burns 40% faster, but am not 100% sure. That's why E10 pump fuel which is 10% ethanol is usually a couple cents cheaper. Just so you know.
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nostalgia
June 15, 2007, 7:40 a.m.
Consumers warned as food prices rise and rise
Food experts are particularly alarmed at the trend for biofuels - a supposedly environmentally friendly alternative to petrol - which is seeing thousands of acres of corn fields in America being grown for ethanol, instead of for food.
This has pushed up the price of animal feed and, as a result, the price of meat.
Anthony Gibson at the National Farmers Union said: "It would be fair to say the era of unlimited supply of cheap food on the world markets is over."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=...
Congress is NEVER good at looking at the possible consequences of their actions
Avg rating: (+4/-1 3)
scabbio
June 15, 2007, 9:19 a.m.
its a dumb solution. and it's a pathetic campaign. research hydrogen as a combustible additive to CNG engines, or even in an ICE as the primary source of fuel.. that has promise. burning refined corn will still yield dirty results. POLITICIANS DONT KNOW ANYTHING.
it's a crass PR scheme to get *insert white collar political name here* in the news.
as a footnote, i really don't care how expensive energy is, so long as it's clean
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mjesales
June 15, 2007, 9:52 a.m.
all i know is that the new diesel they made NY state use in the winter made countless school buses not run in the cold morning - cause it solidified in the tanks and fuel filters. SO they mixed the diesel with kerosene in a 70/30 ratio so that they could get the things started in the morning.
Its a great example of what happens when politicians pick what we can use in our vehicles and not manufacturers.
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invest07
June 15, 2007, 10:28 a.m.
It may come as a surprise to many but oil is also a renewable fuel. There is considerable evidence that oil, natural gas and coal may not be dead dinosaurs but are produced by heat, pressure and a very common mineral in the earth's crust. And it doesn't take millions of years either. Only a few days.
Type in "Serpentinization" in a search engine and read all about it.
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schillinfl1
June 15, 2007, 11:02 a.m.
What I don't get is, why don't we hear or why isn't natural gas talked about as a fuel to power cars?
It is much cheaper, more efficient, and burns cleaner than gasoline or ethenol.
This is a solution in my eyes but ignored.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/natural...
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wtagg
June 15, 2007, 11:08 a.m.
Biofuels can make a contribution, but corn is the stupidest choice possible. It has the highest cost of production, produces more in co2 combustion than it reduces in its life cycle, it requires incredible amounts of water, it takes out large amounts of nutrients from the soil, it is almost neutral when comparing how much energy is needed to produce it, it is an annual that needs to be planted every year, etc...
Switchgrass produces about 8 times the ethanol that corn does, it is a perennial weed that the farmer will need to destroy to plant the corn, it is co2 neutral, it will grow almost anywhere, requires very little water and no irrigation, produces much more energy than needed to grow it, hardly any maintenance is needed, plus many other things to recommend it as a solution.
I think the problem is that there is no switchgrass lobby or a switchgrass growers association. That is the thinking that needs to change and I don't see that happening.
Avg rating: (+3/-2 1)
scabbio
June 15, 2007, 11:43 a.m.
i honestly feel the real problem is a person's choice to use the elevator for two floors instead of bucking up and walking. we need to reconsider the impact that we have on this infinitely delicate balance of the world. we need to humble ourselves and embrace responsible energy consumption habits instead of taking what we can, just because it's there.
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scabbio
June 15, 2007, 12:14 p.m.
your right. the world will survive and we are meant to use the earth's resources. but would you use a hammer to turn a bolt?
Avg rating: (+8/-0 8)
cwebefree
June 15, 2007, 3:15 p.m.
So, I drive with B20 Biodiesel in my truck. I buy fuel that comes from corn. (I also live off grid w/ photovoltaic energy, wood heat and on and on...0
I know it to be a fallacy that this is sustainable. More than likely "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) to bees is a side effect of herbicide tolerant GMO corn. Plus is this corn grown organically or are they using the typical petrochemical fertilizers for the crop? And the tractors?
But still a dent must be made, an example held of what can be done.
Gladly I would ride public transportation from Pecos to Santa Fe, but it don't exist.
Great possibilities abound. Rehab forest management into "black liquor", bio-diesel hybrids (problem with electric cars is where the juice comes from, usually coal, often in the west due to transmission, can create a net surplus of greenhouse gases as well as acid rain and mercury emissions.
Not reason to stop, just more reason to work our butooties off until balance can be gained
Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)
innocent-bystander
June 15, 2007, 5:22 p.m.
Scabbio, Thanks for the car industry mantra to wait as long as possible. Why can't I use cleaner fuel now in the mean time? Why must I wait for hydrogen? In Marin county engineers can modify your car to better than anything out of Japan. Why wait? Why use dirty options of coal and gasoline when they change our foreign policy? The US spends billions for farmers in Iowa and Nebraska not to grow corn. Biodiesel and ethanol burn cleaner than diesel and gasoline. The oil companies have already built the biodiesel and ethanol refineries so there is no reason to stick to the old method. If Brazil did it then the only reason the US can't is who needs to be bribed. Go forward on all solutions as fast as possible the businessmen will make sure they get paid. There is no reason US car makers are laying off and at the same time letting the competition sell the most hybrids. Stop losing competitive advantage to milk profits out of old designs. We deserve better than Detroit.
Avg rating: (+5/-0 5)
innocent-bystander
June 15, 2007, 5:48 p.m.
Viamie2004, Sorry. The sky is not falling. People starving over biofuel? That is propaganda. Sun, wind, water power and methane power have not even been attempted in most countries. The US has the largest pig farms which produce so much fuel that it contaminates the soil for hundreds of years. The largest cattle ranch on the Big Island in Hawaii can provide enough bio fuel for the whole state. The US throws away more than half of the food it produces. The reason the US doesn't change is businesses have not figured out how to make more money than they are making now.
HanymanComment has been removed: User banned.
Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)
Plain-007
June 16, 2007, 12:15 a.m.
It is not a good idea to use ethanol as fuel. It will (very probably) create pollution and it is better to use corn and sugar cane (from which it comes from) to feed people and livestock and for making sugar.
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Countryhick
June 16, 2007, 9:09 a.m.
What ever Commodity Traders can make money from is what we will use , or be made to believe that is what we need to use .
All about the Stock Trader on the floor and what he or she can buy it for and then sell it for .
Key word EXPLOITATION .
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slate
June 16, 2007, 10:30 a.m.
Unfortunately, everything has a price,,,, bio-fuels made from corn have increased the cost of that staple food around the world. In countries south of the US the cost of corn tortillas has risen dramatically and the poor that count on them for sustenance have been harmed. Be careful what you wish for, bio-fuels are costly. We need to put the kind of money that has been spent in Iraq into finding the solution of harnessing solar power for our energy needs.
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quackpot
June 16, 2007, 11:49 a.m.
Cosmic Rays are the answer. All you need is a vehicle with a BIG cosmic ray funnel on the top and a little cosmic ray ejector on the back side - and a smaller ejector on the front for those who like to go backward.
We also need to research political emissions. Can you imagine harnessing the hot air that just one politico emits?
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groingo
June 16, 2007, 12:46 p.m.
Bio Fuels have already been outsourced to Brazil to start with.
Bush has already been busy selling out America once again.
And as long as the US is a member of the WTO, we will only be allowed to produce X amount before we are forced to import.
Avg rating: (+7/-1 6)
innocent-bystander
June 16, 2007, 3:46 p.m.
Quackpot, We are being told that cattle and poultry are high emitters of greenhouse gases. Those same cattle are used as producers of fertilizer to realize the high output of American farms. We have yet to harness the emissions released from the cattle, poultry or consumers.