After dark
Submitted by James on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 7:43pm
Just in case you didn't know already, the big business of biofuels pretty much sucks.
An excerpt from the article linked to above:
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.
The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.
The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil. Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush.
Who gives a good goddamn about embarrassing George Bush? Seems to me the Decider has just about used up all the embarrassment any one person should be allowed to have.
- James's blog
- 863 reads
I've been having this argument
with (other) renewable energy lovers whenever the subject of world food prices comes up. They keep wanting to downplay the role of biofuels by harping about the price of oil, natural disasters, tariffs or other restrictions on food movement, etc. And/or they talk about how the (supposed) mass increase in agriculture will ensure food supplies are available and cheap (we can feed the people and the cars).
It's really very simple: the market for biofuels is huge, and even a sizeable increase in (food) production won't bring the supply anywhere near the demand. So the price(s) will continue to reflect that demand for many years to come. Meaning, those who formerly could barely afford to feed their families will not be able to afford to do so anymore.
There are something like a billion people in this world who are unemployed or seriously underemployed. These people are going to either starve or barely subsist on less-than-nourishing food. Aside from a humanitarian nightmare, that is a ticking time-bomb with minutes instead of hours (metaphorically speaking) programmed into it.
This needs to be addressed now, not after the food riots have gripped the entire third world.
Well, Big Business in general sucks, but Corn based
biofuels especially so. Sugar based ethanol might just be a better deal. Better to put sugar in our gas tanks than in our 'spare tires'.
Brazil seems to be doing rather well. This article is from 2005 with gas at about $2.00/gal., and they are feeling rather good about their commitment to sugar based ethanol. Imagine how visionary they are feeling now.
Person County Democrats
Environmental Defense Fund
Cell phones will be to the 21st century what tobacco was to the 20th.
Thought y'all might enjoy this
Towards the end see if you don't recognize somebody in the video.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
Frank!
Was that Frank I saw sailin' by? Very funny.
Yes....you were almost in it
but your picture was more in profile. Jib Jab has some funny stuff. Quite a bit of it is juvenile, but I might put a few Republican congresscritters on a couple of them and post them on late nights when juvenile is a little more acceptable.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
What's your connection to Jib-Jab?
----insert witty remark here----coming soon----
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
I'm their secret creative talent donchaknow
................................................................heh heh.
Okay, if you watch the whole thing through and listen to the very end you will notice there is a way to put your own picture in. Go over to Jib Jab and there are several non-political videos that allow you to do the same thing. Some are actually quite funny. Frank's was the only picture where I had a face-on shot.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
Help Me Out
I've never been good at fundraising. Asking for money is anathema to everything I have been taught. But I am trying to prove a point: that a guy in a trailer park can get people to donate money just as effectively as a corporate bundler.
If you agree with that and have even a dollar to spare, please give it here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/DarrenStaley
Thanks!
Good ask.
Done.
Thanks James
It's something I truly suck at but feel that the little guy could get better at if he tried.
Public financing, imo, is the way to go. But until then...
Thanks James
It's something I truly suck at but feel that the little guy could get better at if he tried.
Public financing, imo, is the way to go. But until then...
Seeing triple
Hmm, I see 3 * 317 = 951 crowbars.
I'd better either stop drinking, or start doing psilocybin.
--
recently transplanted from Indianapolis, IN to Durham, NC
I wouldn't recommend drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me. -- Hunter S. Thompson
--
Garner, NC
I wouldn't recommend drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me. -- Hunter S. Thompson
Put my drop in your bucket, too.
Hope you get it filled up!!
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." - Harry Truman
"They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum Then they charged the people a dollar 'n a half just to see 'em. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
Thanks Leslie
You are awesome!
You guys hear what NC House 14's George Cleveland said?
Raleigh's a hotbed of terrorist activity.
Some of ya'll live up there, right? Might want to move...
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to elect a Democrat?
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to make the world a better place?
whatadumbshit
I know people I don't agree with are often very bright, but this guy is an idiot pure and simple.
And yet...
He's unopposed.
I suppose it's true: We do get the representation we deserve.
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to elect a Democrat?
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to make the world a better place?
If he were in my district
he wouldn't be unopposed. He'd be a laughingstock.
So yeah, maybe his district does indeed have the representation it deserves.
My point, exactly, James.
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to elect a Democrat?
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/bloviations/
What have YOU done today to make the world a better place?
Bio Renewables
There are alternatives to food crops as sources for bio renewables:
Biomass Yield
* Algal Biomass Yields versus Phytomass Yields of Tropical Crops (http://biopact.com/2007/01/in-depth-look-at-biofuels-from-algae.html)
These are the yields obtained in stable cultures during an entire year, as reported by the Aquatic Species Program. All other results from that program show either unstable growth or yields obtained over short periods of time (often, during winter months when algae productivity drops significantly, the Aquatic Species Program discontinued the cultures.)
Metric Tons/Hectare/Year
M. minutum (algae), 1989.....35.8
M. minutum (algae), 1989.....30.3
M. minutum (algae), 1990.....38.3
Algae (no species mentioned), 1978.....43.8
Algae (no species mentioned), 1978.....51.1
Sugarcane.....79.2 [Brazilian average, 2005]
Sorghum.....70 [Average for Andhra Pradesh, India, 2005]
Cassava.....65 [Nigeria, 1985]
Oil palm.....50 [Global average, including low yields in Africa; in Malaysia, average yields are 75 MT/ha/yr]
Arundo Donax.....50 [Grown in sub-tropics, Handbook of Energy Crops]
[edit]
Oil Yield
* Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production (http://oakhavenpc.org/cultivating_algae.htm)
Gallons of Oil per Acre per Year
Corn . . . . . . . 15
Soybeans . . . .48
Safflower. . . . . 83
Sunflower . . . 102
Rapeseed. . . 127
Oil Palm . . . . 635
Micro Algae . .1850 [based on actual biomass yields]
Micro Algae . .5000-15000 [theoretical laboratory yield]
[edit]
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Biodiesel_from_Algae_Oil#Biomass_...
http://snipurl.com/30op7
Still in the development stage, but could have a big impact.