Comments

• Ethanol Still is a Terrible Fuel RD on 04/24/2008 at 5:47 PM

  Posts: 58 Avg Rating:

  Cellulosic Propanol should be developed instead and only implemented when cost effective. Not only is the food-to-fuel ethanol program ultimately going to be used against the US by jihadists seeking recruits among the 100 million additional starving poor, ethanol is a waste of our taxpayer and consumer dollars. We will have to pay tens of tens of $ billions to China to replace all the equipment where ethanol destroyed the fuel system components. We will have ethanol leak into ground water, streams, oceans, and lakes from the leaking fiberglass and metal fuel tanks ethanol dissolves (yes, ethanol eats rubber, fiberglass, and various metals (acknowledged by e85 group). We will have increased formaldehyde X4, acetyldehyde X22, and ozone pollution caused by ethanol. We will have increased N2O (296X worse than CO2 as global warming gas) emissions from the fertilizer used to grow crops for ethanol. We will have bigger kill zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Want to see sanity return to the market place, Kill the proposed Farm Bill now! Get your Legislatures to immediately cease all ethanol mandates, loans, and subsidies. Save the Planet, open up ANWR. ANWR oil can be recovered with much less pollution than oil sands. Increase our domestic oil supply AND greatly expand the alternative energy plans that have been blocked or scaled down because of environmentalists concern over "the view". Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • 	Re: Ethanol Still is a Terrible Fuel MakeSense on 04/25/2008 at 11:48 AM
    Posts: 79 Avg Rating:	ANWR is not the answer either. Unfortunately, its recoverable reserves are only equal to what we consume in a single year. It's a valuable resource that we might consider using, but don't expect it to change our oil picture much. Proven oil reserves, including ANWR and all others, are about 22 billion barrels. That's only three times our annual consumption. Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • Re: Ethanol Still is a Terrible Fuel SaltyDawg on 04/28/2008 at 10:49 AM

    Posts: 1

    What we need is an Apollo Project-type governmental program to coordinate R&D. Let's see some sources that back up your indictment of ethanol. From what I can tell from your statements, you're extrapolating worst case scenarios based on total idiots making decisions. Some of your assumptions may be warranted, given the last eight years of political corruption and stupidity. At some point the electorate will demand at least competence from the next administration. For instance, I doubt that government and private enterprises will collectively adopt a new technology that will destroy storage containers and engines. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• Why Cellulosic Ethanol? MakeSense on 04/25/2008 at 11:40 AM

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  Why is cellulosic ethanol "what's needed"? I would think that algal biodiesel is the more important solution as far as biofuels go. Since they are both at about the same stage of development, yet algal biodiesel has a profoundly better potential, algal biodiesel ought to the be the logical pick. In truth, I'd say that algal biodiesel has far better characteristics than ethanol. It requires no agricultural land (sorry, farm lobby!); it needs far less water; it produces far more fuel per acre; it would be less expensive to make; it would mix well with petroleum and use existing pipelines and refineries; it would have a much better fuel value; it would have a much better EROEI; it could be used as a clean diesel fuel for clean diesel hybrids; and it stands a much better chance of meeting technical and economic feasibility than cellulosic ethanol. We need to purge our minds of the ethanol folks! (Pun intended.) I also propose that we begin referring to algal biodiesel as "Super Diesel from algae." Yeah! Super Diesel could replicate our current oil consumption from a desert area of 128 mi by 128 mi. But it would not have to even come close to that because clean diesel hybrids triple the gas mileage of gas vehicles. Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • 	Re: Why Cellulosic Ethanol? Kevin Bullis on 04/28/2008 at 11:55 AM		TR Staff Nanotechnology and Materials Science Editor
    Posts: 59 Avg Rating:	Algae is an attractive source of biofuel, but it's far from proven commercially, so it's good to look to both algae and other alternatives to corn. Cellulosic sources can be grown on marginal lands  and can produce far more fuel per acre than corn grain, so it's effects on food can be minimal. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• Is Electric Foolish? Joyconspiracy on 04/27/2008 at 8:03 PM

  Posts: 1

  If all cars went electric (my kingdom for a good battery/super-capacitor), the entire auto fleet would 'replace' itself in about ten years (assuming modern 'consumerism'). This dumps, admittedly, 6% more on the grid. Granted coal can never be clean (what to do with mercury, etc?), one can sequester and feed the CO2 to algae/type life forms which give more gas (albeit inefficiently) to throw at what is left of the gas problem as it walks out the door. I think my solution is full of holes, granted. It does kill 'gas' tho, one entire third of the problem. Anyone else? Rate this comment: (Reply)

• 	Biofuel cars MickeyFouse on 11/03/2008 at 6:22 PM
  Posts: 19 Avg Rating:	Biofuel cars are any cars that run on fuel that isn’t derived from refining crude oil – meaning rock oil or petroleum. Biofuel cars are generating a fair amount of interest these days as the world becomes aware of the limited nature of petroleum supplies. But do they have Car Covers. Im not sure but it should have.. Rate this comment: (Reply)