While I don't have NYT Select access and haven't read Friedman's recent column, I did see the Discover Channel special earlier this summer ("Addicted To Oil") in which he similarly pumped Brazilian ethanol.
We could argue until we're blue, green, or yellow in the face about the long-term viability of biofuels in the U.S. But the best and most thoroughly researched rundown I've seen is here. This article -- which is essentially a synopsis of the 2005 NRDC report "Growing Energy" embellished with other expert opinions -- says that even cellulosic ethanol stands a chance to meet our transportation energy needs only if the U.S. cuts fuel consumption by 50%.
Or as David Lynd of Dartmouth puts it, "We are kidding ourselves if we think we can supply our way out of this. We can make the biggest impacts fastest by impacting the efficiency equation."
Even so, I remain excited and optimistic about the future of cellulosic ethanol production. The Poplar tree -- which has just been genetically sequenced -- is the latest example of a promising source for low-energy-intensive cellulosic fuel. You can read about the poplar and its energy prospects here in an article by the girl who sits next to me at Seed.
And while you're at the Seed site, take a look at my contribution for the week.
Comments
View as Flat
sunflower Posted 6:19 am
17 Sep 2006
Yesterday I felled a huge dead Douglas Fir. My forest is dying. I am mad and sad. There must be a hundred tons of dead firewood in our few acres that could be used for cellulosic ethanol, but alas, that will not save my forest, nor the rest of our Earth from global warming. Plants in all the world can not produce the amount of energy that humans use.
Henry Ford developed the gasoline car because gasoline was a worthless waste-product of refining petroleum oil. Refineries were dumping gasoline in pools on the ground.
We will be bombarded with "my technology", "my ideas", "my education". I say rise above these self interests and see beyond the horizon before it is too late.
Feeding our old fossil fuel infrastructure with new energy sources will not save us. We need new infrastructure, not new fuel for old infrastructure.
A trillion dollars, a trillion dollars.
(BTW, it is much more cost effective in terms of energy metrics to displace fossil fuels used by buildings with district heat powered by the combustion of farm-waste cellulose, plus other waste-products like industrial waste heat and sunlight dumped on the ground.)
"estimated 500 gigatons of carbon have been flash frozen in yedoma regions" What caused the flash freezing?
Permalink
Maywa Montenegro Posted 12:00 pm
17 Sep 2006
And I'm very sad to hear about your trees.
Permalink
sunflower Posted 1:12 pm
17 Sep 2006
If we shut down the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt again then do we re-freeze the thawing tundra methane?
I am curious though, what is the cause of ice ages? Is it global cooling or just the shut down of thermal movements?
Permalink