Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Go Green!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Go Green!

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A pair of new studies concludes that the production of plant-based biofuels poses its own risk of greenhouse gas emissions.

    The research published in the journal Science concluded that converting forests into cropland worldwide would eliminate a significant amount of carbon absorption and offset much of the positive effects of biofuels.

    The conclusions are based on the idea that forests and even scrub brush absorb far more carbon than agricultural crops, such as corn and soybeans, do.

    "When you take this into account, most of the biofuel that people are using or planning to use would probably increase greenhouse gases substantially," Princeton's Timothy Searchinger, a lead author of one of the studies, told The New York Times. "Previously there's been an accounting error: land use change has been left out of prior analysis."

    The research could have political implications if it throws a wrench into U.S. strategy of developing biofuels as a cleaner-burning alternative to gasoline.

    The Times said a group of prominent climate scientists sent a letter Friday to U.S. President George Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urging changes in U.S. biofuel polices


    GO GREEN! it get harder and harder for me to understand whats going on in this country
    Never kick a fresh Turd on a hot day.....Harry S Truman

  • #2
    Re: Go Green!

    Ditto with viewing ethanol (even E85)
    as a "solution" or even a viable alternative.

    Ethanol competes w/food production,
    and food wins over fuel w/most folks.

    A non-fossil fuel future would be 21st-century
    nuclear-fueled power plants for the nation's
    electric needs, & electric-motored vehicles.

    We invented the "Atomic Age", but now lag
    far behind many other nations, in non-coal
    and non-oil energy production.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Go Green!

      Why would we need to convert forests into cropland when we have farmers in the Midwest being subsidized not to grow crops? I doubt the use of biofuels would require cutting down every forest in the world.
      sigpic

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Go Green!

        Forget the "it's a green fuel" non-sense -- I never bought into the man-made global warming thing anyways. Look at ethanol from a technical perspective. I run E85 and like it as a fuel because it plain works well. At 105 octane and less than $3.00 a gallon it's a great alternative to race fuel. Not to mention E85 doesn't foul my plugs or O2 sensors -- leaded race fuel does.

        From a "social responsibility" perspective the idea of being able to domestically produce ethanol is attractive to me. We are a net EXPORTER of many foods, why not start using American crops to make American fuel for America instead of exporting crops at bargain prices while we are paying top Dollar for Middle-eastern oil?

        I don't think ethanol is the only solution to our energy problem; nuclear power, drilling in Anwar, and other domestic fuel sources are all important to gaining energy independence.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Go Green!

          this kind of stuff reminds me of the drug adds you see on TV, * it will cure restless leg syndrom but, causes bleeding from the ears, rectal cancer,vaginal warts, your hair to turn green, yadda yadda, were damned if we do damned if we dont...what a we supposed to beleive
          Never kick a fresh Turd on a hot day.....Harry S Truman

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Go Green!

            Man now what am I going to do with all the corn squeezing that I have distilled and put in quart jars? :o Any recommendation's. ;D
            Moonshine the official Power Tour Drink.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Go Green!

              Originally posted by pro65
              Man now what am I going to do with all the corn squeezing that I have distilled and put in quart jars? :o Any recommendation's. ;D
              First Annual Car Junkie Party ???

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Go Green!

                there is not enough land mass on the earth to grow enough corn to do anything about imported oil . we should do everything we can to facilitate oil production , make easier to produce in america , open up the vast reserves of anwar , the gulf of mexico . the only reason e85 is so cheap is A] the taxpayers subsidize it's production and b] has tax breaks at the pump
                not available in NY or NJ , so if it disappears tomorrow , I am not missing a thing . oh yeah , the ethanol frenzy is raising the price of food through the roof , cows eat corn , fritos are made of corn , coke haS CORN SYRUP , GET IT ???

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Go Green!

                  Oooh ooooh ... ( doing a Vinny here )... I know I know...

                  Price of corn goes up... More farmers give up subsidies and grow corn.. Price of corn stablizes and we gain ... more Corn for less, decrease in our national debt, and a happy family somewhere who's growing something....( okay it's a big farm...but you get the point )

                  Keith

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Go Green!

                    Originally posted by KeithTurk
                    Oooh ooooh ... ( doing a Vinny here )... I know I know...
                    That was Horseshack. Vinny was too cool to ask anything.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Go Green!

                      One of my pet peeves are the folks who say "Hey, look at Brazil. They're running their whole fleet on Ethanol for cheap". Sorta true. But they're cutting down the tropical rain forest, a major source of oxygen for the planet, and no replanting anything in its place. This is fragile soil and will erode to nothing following this process (and it is).

                      That said, I highly doubt there is any single answer. Corn-based ethanol can help, along with any of a hundred other technologies. The point is to pick the best ones and start DOING something. The sooner we can tell the Mideast to stick their oil where the sun don't shine, the better - these folks are getting WAY too much power here (along with the Chinese and others).

                      Dan

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Go Green!

                        Well I'm building a flex fuel system on my Challenger for either gas or e85 and I'm not doing it because I think e85 is the answer to our oil dependency problem, I'm doing it soley for the benefits of the fuel itself, too many positives to ignore. I realize the octane rating varies depending on seasonal blend and I'll take that into account when I setup my tunes. I live in the Chicago area so availability is not a problem. If you have access to e85 and care about making power I can't see why not take advantage of e85. You don't have to convert 100%, you can setup your fuel system and tunes to run either (well it's a lot easier with EFI )

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X