On Feb 28, 10:09*pm, JosephKK wrote:
Bill Bowden wrote:
On Feb 28, 3:22 pm, James Arthur wrote:
On Feb 28, 1:48 pm, Bill Bowden wrote:
On Feb 27, 3:25 pm, James Arthur wrote:
[...]
The problem not previously considered is that any food not grown here
has to be replaced. *That means it has to be grown somewhere else,
generally under more primitive conditions (e.g. slash & burn (shudder)
or just otherwise less efficiently).
Since the planting-for-biofuel barely yields more than it consumes in
tractor fuel, etc., to start with, any overall loss in efficiency
results in net increased emissions. *So say the paper's authors,
anyhow.
Cheers,
James Arthur
What about using kelp (seaweed) for bio-fuel? The ocean is cheap real
estate and you don't have irrigation problems, mostly just transport
problems. All you have to do is harvest the kelp and turn it into
methane gas.
-Bill
Hi Bill !
1. Trashes marine habitat
2. Seaweed *is* food. *Good, too.
3. Can't speak to the energy content or growth rate, but it's
underwater, gets a lot less sun, so I'd not expect these to be
attractive.
4. Is it easily fermented to methane? *Most things aren't.
Hey, here's an idea--why not just get *smaller* cars, and drive them
*less!* *That works with zero technical risk, current technology,
saves money and saves the planet. *;-)
Cheers,
James- Hide quoted text -
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The Japaneese are working on the problem. Apparently, they can get
about 20 milliliters of gas from a ton of seeweed.
Here's a link:
http://web-japan.org/trends/science/sci060824.html
As for smaller cars, we could just ride motorcycles that get 100 MPG.
But I was thinking the other day, it would be nice if the busses ran
every 10 minutes along all the major roads. Probably reduce the
traffic 80 percent, and we can always use a car if there's a lot to
carry, or in a hurry, or afraid of motorcycles.
-Bill
So, do you ride a motorcycle? *Or use buses or trains? *How often?- Hide quoted text -
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Actually, I walk most everywhere I have to go. I used to ride a
bicycle to work about a mile away and I rode busses to school, but it
took over an hour to get there. And I rode busses for about 3 months
when my van broke down while I was shopping for a new truck. Also rode
a motorcycle for a couple years when I was younger and car insurance
was expensive. Nowadays, I drive about 5000 miles a year on two oil
changes.
-Bill