Reflex wrote:
First off, yes I know I struck a nerve. Secondly, no, your post did not bother me, I've heard all of this before. Two years ago I was a HUGE proponent of BioDiesel. Then my fiance, who is a Zoology major with a focus in Wildlife Ecology as well as a second major in Agriculture and Natural Resource Communications had me chat with one of her Ag professors. He pointed out to me that it is not energy positive, that you spend more fuel for a gallon of BD than the land produces when all factors are considered. I continued researching it after that point and found that much of the government sponsored 'research' on the topic is based on best case scenerios that are not real world. They mostly exist to justify massive subsidies being given to Monosato, Archer-Daniels Midland and General Mills, along with other farm co-ops who see this as thier oppurtunity to become the next big energy power.
Independant research by instutitions not funded by big oil or the government rarely comes out energy positive, at best its about break even(and with Ethanol its always a loser). What that means is that by switching to Biofuels at this point you actually increase our dependence on foreign oil as something has to run the infrastructure that is producing the BD. It becomes less visible to the average consumer of course, but it is just as integral. Furthermore, the water cost is extreme. Perfecting the process has nothing to do with the fact that agriculture and refining take a LOT of water. The US is facing a water crisis in the next 50 years, switching to mass agriculture to feed our appetite for energy will accellerate that dramatically(look up the Great Plains Aquifer, the world's largest, and you'll find out about how dependant we are on it and how fast its dissapearing). When we run out, it will be a return to the dust bowl, and without a saviour. ANd believe me, thats a far worse crisis than running out of oil.
Now, I am not calling on people here to 'do nothing'. You can do something right off simply by driving diesel as its about 30% more efficient than gasoline. Thats a start. Beyond that, what needs to happen is research money needs to be poured into alternative energy projects to find a solution(the algae solution is very promising). There is legislation up now, sponsored by Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee in the House, and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell in the Senate called the New Apollo Energy Project (details here:
http://www.house.gov/inslee/issues/ener ... o_new.html ) that seeks to put the same kind of effort into energy independence that was put into placing a man on the moon. It has the benefit of being 'agnostic' about its approach, its not a vehicle for specific alternative interests like Archer-Daniels Midland, thus keeping our options open for the future. Its also not short sighted on sources like nuclear which will be a necessary component of the future one way or another. Expressing your support for this initiative locally and with your state represenatives would go a LONG way on this issue.
If any of you are serious about these issues, I highly advise you to read *all* the literature on it, not just the astroturfing thats happening where large conglomerates are sponsoring 'independant' websites promoting specific biofuel agendas designed to line thier pockets. Nor those who have never taken a chemistry or physics class and thus do not understand thermodynamics going on about a supposed 'cure' to all our problems. The answers are just not that simple, and they ALL come with a cost.
BTW, the 'outmoded' methods of farming mentioned are the reason we get such high yields. Remove them and you remove the potential energy density of those fields. You can't have your cake and eat it too, it just dosen't work that way.
Reflex, now that I am reading the remainder of this thread (I posted on page 4), I see your post.
I understand you are well-meaning, but please stop with blanket statements such as “biodiesel is produced at an energy defecit” and “biodiesel production is water intensive (paraphrased).”
Biodiesel comes from a multitude of sources. To lay blanket statements such as yours out is disingenuous. I understand that you mean no malice, and neither do I. But I will present you with a counterpoint.
The single most sustainable source of US renewable fuel is Biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil (WVO). The oil would normally (10 years ago) be disposed of, at a cost, by resturants. This WVO was already used for its original intended purpose. Now, that it is then collected and reprocessed into BD represents about an 85% net carbon reduction (on a mile per mile basis). Whereas normal biodiesel, made from virgin oil, only yields a 3:1 efficiency ratio, biodiesel made from WVO is much higher (I *think* it is closer to 8:1, but cannot remember exactly).
And, for those in the know, calendar year 2012 had no tax credits for biodiesel manufacturers. However, the refinery I was with did enough production that they survived the year in the green (no pun intended, but it’d had been a good one if I did). Granted, no one is getting rich, but it is good, honest work for a green industry that puts people to work. In the year I was there, before my leg gave out, they expanded about 40% in employees and increased production by 140%. Oh, and we didn’t use water for our process, aside from the closed-loop heating of the tanks (powered by bio-diesel fueled boilers) and cleaning.
Before you assume that ALL biodiesel manufacturing results in an energy deficit (implied) or water wasteful, make sure you really have researched the topic. It could be that your energy group may be squelching new startup business (read: employment) which generates revenue that stays in your local economy while making use of waste products and provide for a greener way to drive.
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