Comments on: The Futility of Ethanol and Biofuels http://www.bloggernews.net/110339 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:55:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: GSemop http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-343162 GSemop Mon, 19 May 2008 23:20:53 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-343162 The production of biofuels to replace oil and natural gas is in active development, please see Http://AlgaeFuelMaking.Com focusing on the use of cheap organic matter (usually cellulose, agricultural and sewage waste)[4] in the efficient production of liquid and gas biofuels which yield high net energy gain. One advantage of many biofuels over most other fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. (interesting info on algae fuel) The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (38,849 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums. This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.(as we know Corn is not the answer) The production of biofuels to replace oil and natural gas is in active development, please see Http://AlgaeFuelMaking.Com focusing on the use of cheap organic matter (usually cellulose, agricultural and sewage waste)[4] in the efficient production of liquid and gas biofuels which yield high net energy gain. One advantage of many biofuels over most other fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.

(interesting info on algae fuel) The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (38,849 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums. This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.(as we know Corn is not the answer)

]]> By: Tom Jackson http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-327400 Tom Jackson Wed, 07 May 2008 20:52:18 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-327400 Recaping 10% of our gasoline to ethanol will remove 14 billion gallons of gasoline, and require • 14bil gal of gas * (1.52galE / 1galG) = 21.28bil galE • 21.28bil galE * (1 bushel corn / 2.8 galE) = 7.6bil bushels of corn • 7.6 bushels * (1 acre / 145.8 BPA) = 52.12mil acres • 21.28bil galE * (3.43 lb DDG / 1 galE) = 73bil lbs = 36.5mil tons of DDG Let’s consider the implications of corn ethanol 1) Distillers Grains (Feeding Corn Distiller’s Co-Products to Beef Cattle Table 3 http://www.distillersgrains.com/pdf/Schingoethe-ExEx2036%20DDG%20for%20Beef%20Cattle.pdf) • 1.5 $/bu corn * (1 bu / 56 lb) * ( 2000 lb / ton) = 53.57 $/ton corn • (54.79 $/ton DDG) / (53.57 $/ton corn) = 1.023 to 1 energy • Meaning 1.023 lbs of corn has same food energy to cattle as 1 lb of DDG • 73bil lbs of DDG will replace 73bil lb DDG * (1.023 corn/DDG) * (1 bu / 56 lb) = 1.333bil equivalent bushels of corn • These bushels can be used to offset the amount of new crops needed, as corn already is largely used in cattle finishing pens 2) Already currently producing 4bil galE • 4bil galE / 21.28bil galE = 18.8% of goal • Reduces new bushels needed by 0.188 * 7.6bil = 1.428 bil bushels 3) On supply and demand • Farming has been criticized for years on the use of subsidies, the increase in the price for corn will provide the perfect opportunity to allow the US farming industry to live on its on. • As corn rises in price, it will rise above the counter-cyclical payment target, therefore not requiring a subsidy payment by the government. • In addition as corn becomes more attractive, farmers will move out of other crops to ripe the increase opportunity of corn production. • This rises prices of all other crop as supply drops, stabilizes the corn market, and puts more current cropland into corn production, filling part of the 52mil acres needed to reach 10% ethanol • On a world food production scale, the US has been criticized for hurting developing nations by helping domestic farming. The increase in price will fund these foreign markets as the worldwide crop markets react to the increasing opportunity in farming. 4) Farming as been a losing venture relative to other industries for the last 100 years. Market forces and government incentives has caused the number of farmers and farm acreages to reduce almost year after year. The capacity to ramp back up is there if the incentive is provided. Ethanol is that incentive. 5) Alternatives • Ethanol is just the first of green energies, and many others may prove to be better. • Ethanol provides the close and easily usable alternative that move society to the better but non-mature technologies. 6) Last thought, I am not sure on the numbers on this one, but the growth of the corn plant also helps remove CO2 from the environment. In this day and age, anything that helps with that needs to be tried. Recaping

10% of our gasoline to ethanol will remove 14 billion gallons of gasoline, and require
• 14bil gal of gas * (1.52galE / 1galG) = 21.28bil galE
• 21.28bil galE * (1 bushel corn / 2.8 galE) = 7.6bil bushels of corn
• 7.6 bushels * (1 acre / 145.8 BPA) = 52.12mil acres
• 21.28bil galE * (3.43 lb DDG / 1 galE) = 73bil lbs = 36.5mil tons of DDG
Let’s consider the implications of corn ethanol

1) Distillers Grains (Feeding Corn Distiller’s Co-Products to Beef Cattle Table 3 http://www.distillersgrains.com/pdf/Schingoethe-ExEx2036%20DDG%20for%20Beef%20Cattle.pdf)
• 1.5 $/bu corn * (1 bu / 56 lb) * ( 2000 lb / ton) = 53.57 $/ton corn
• (54.79 $/ton DDG) / (53.57 $/ton corn) = 1.023 to 1 energy
• Meaning 1.023 lbs of corn has same food energy to cattle as 1 lb of DDG
• 73bil lbs of DDG will replace 73bil lb DDG * (1.023 corn/DDG) * (1 bu / 56 lb) = 1.333bil equivalent bushels of corn
• These bushels can be used to offset the amount of new crops needed, as corn already is largely used in cattle finishing pens
2) Already currently producing 4bil galE
• 4bil galE / 21.28bil galE = 18.8% of goal
• Reduces new bushels needed by 0.188 * 7.6bil = 1.428 bil bushels
3) On supply and demand
• Farming has been criticized for years on the use of subsidies, the increase in the price for corn will provide the perfect opportunity to allow the US farming industry to live on its on.
• As corn rises in price, it will rise above the counter-cyclical payment target, therefore not requiring a subsidy payment by the government.
• In addition as corn becomes more attractive, farmers will move out of other crops to ripe the increase opportunity of corn production.
• This rises prices of all other crop as supply drops, stabilizes the corn market, and puts more current cropland into corn production, filling part of the 52mil acres needed to reach 10% ethanol
• On a world food production scale, the US has been criticized for hurting developing nations by helping domestic farming. The increase in price will fund these foreign markets as the worldwide crop markets react to the increasing opportunity in farming.
4) Farming as been a losing venture relative to other industries for the last 100 years. Market forces and government incentives has caused the number of farmers and farm acreages to reduce almost year after year. The capacity to ramp back up is there if the incentive is provided. Ethanol is that incentive.
5) Alternatives
• Ethanol is just the first of green energies, and many others may prove to be better.
• Ethanol provides the close and easily usable alternative that move society to the better but non-mature technologies.

6) Last thought, I am not sure on the numbers on this one, but the growth of the corn plant also helps remove CO2 from the environment. In this day and age, anything that helps with that needs to be tried.

]]> By: Charlie Peters http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-92336 Charlie Peters Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:54:41 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-92336 Does corn ethanol fuel policy increase oil use and oil profit? Some folks think so Corn ethanol stinks Clean Air Performance Professionals Does corn ethanol fuel policy increase oil use and oil profit?

Some folks think so

Corn ethanol stinks

Clean Air Performance Professionals

]]> By: jESSICA http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91422 jESSICA Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:51:40 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91422 Biofuels are a pretty bad idea. They would require a massive investment in infrastructure for something that is still very much up in the air as far as efficiency and sustainability. Check out my blog at www.saynotobiofuels.org. I appreciate your work and knowledge. Biofuels are a pretty bad idea. They would require a massive investment in infrastructure for something that is still very much up in the air as far as efficiency and sustainability. Check out my blog at http://www.saynotobiofuels.org. I appreciate your work and knowledge.

]]> By: Fred White http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91344 Fred White Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:44:33 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91344 Hello, Thank you for your work. A few months ago, I took came to the conclusion that biofuels could only make a small contribution to a swerve away from the growing use of gasoline. It's hard to take all the economic considerations into account. For example, what happens if you use jartropha instead of corn? Let's also recall that the growing of any vegetation consumes some carbon dioxide and that has some value. Personally with a too-large population of starving people, I hate to see energy coming off land that could be use for growing food. That said, I also hate to see people freezing or not getting to school because diesel fuel is so expensive. One alternative, I think about would be to let the Africans produce cotton and we buy it from them, helping them, and we use the land that had been cotton fields and use it for growing jartropha or switchgrass. I think if biofuel can help us in the short term in a small way that's the best we can do. For the longer term, solar, geothermal, hydropower, wind power, tidal etc. will help a little. Some people think nuclear's what we need but I don't want it in my backyard and it depresses me to think that if I consume it, it leaves the earth more tarnished for future generations and that strikes me as unethical. Hello,
Thank you for your work. A few months ago, I took came to the conclusion that biofuels could only make a small contribution to a swerve away from the growing use of gasoline. It’s hard to take all the economic considerations into account. For example, what happens if you use jartropha instead of corn? Let’s also recall that the growing of any vegetation consumes some carbon dioxide and that has some value. Personally with a too-large population of starving people, I hate to see energy coming off land that could be use for growing food. That said, I also hate to see people freezing or not getting to school because diesel fuel is so expensive. One alternative, I think about would be to let the Africans produce cotton and we buy it from them, helping them, and we use the land that had been cotton fields and use it for growing jartropha or switchgrass. I think if biofuel can help us in the short term in a small way that’s the best we can do. For the longer term, solar, geothermal, hydropower, wind power, tidal etc. will help a little. Some people think nuclear’s what we need but I don’t want it in my backyard and it depresses me to think that if I consume it, it leaves the earth more tarnished for future generations and that strikes me as unethical.

]]> By: Biofuelsimon http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91280 Biofuelsimon Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:04:02 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110339#comment-91280 To further add to your depression over ethanol, no one is talking about the amount of water that will be needed to grow the additional corn (if it were to be grown),nor the fertilzer (which will have to be imported, probably from the Caribbean. And to top it all no one in the US is taking fuel efficiency seriously, look at the uncessesary power used in many US cars and SUVs. We need to debate seriously whether it is better to provide price support for farmers in northern lattitudes to grow corn to make ethanol, or whether it is better for society as a whole to use inputs from the tropics, like sugar to make ethanol. Energy security does not have to come from growing it ourselves, it could come from the shared interdependence between poor farmers in devloping countries who need the money to escape poverty and rich nations which need the resources they can provide. To further add to your depression over ethanol, no one is talking about the amount of water that will be needed to grow the additional corn (if it were to be grown),nor the fertilzer (which will have to be imported, probably from the Caribbean. And to top it all no one in the US is taking fuel efficiency seriously, look at the uncessesary power used in many US cars and SUVs.
We need to debate seriously whether it is better to provide price support for farmers in northern lattitudes to grow corn to make ethanol, or whether it is better for society as a whole to use inputs from the tropics, like sugar to make ethanol. Energy security does not have to come from growing it ourselves, it could come from the shared interdependence between poor farmers in devloping countries who need the money to escape poverty and rich nations which need the resources they can provide.

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