I'm sure the media will bring out the experts to discuss the ecological disaster of subsidizing corn for ethanol as fuel and educate the public about the big mistake our President is undertaking. Any day now.

Right after they bring out the experts to discuss how 'clean and safe' nuc-u-lar power is.

And then they will assure us that technological innovation will save us from the consequences of our current environmental indiscretions. Why worry?

a liberal in redsville

I'm waiting for the big agri-chem-bizz and nuke you ler corporations  to announce that they are processing corn into ethanol using nuke-you-ler cogeneration.

 Waste heat from nukes heating the mash for fermentation and then distilling the ethanol off.  Triple distilling is used so it is a major cost of ethanol and a major energy input.

The industry will report the great news as unparralelled efficiency that lowers costs and greenhouse gas emmissions.

The process of turning cellulose to fuel is even more energy intensive, so that will benefit even more from cogeneration.  And cellulosic feed stock is much cheaper than corn, making this process even cheaper than corn to ethanol.

Say goodbye to a widespread trend towards wind, solar, and electric cars if/when this happens.

In other words, if big ag and nuke execs realize that this will make them the winners in the energy revolution, we could very well be looking at fields and forests turning into energy farms at an alarming rate.

And an excuse to build more and more nuke-you-ler cogeneration powered biofuel plants, that in turn provides an excuse to build more nuke-you-ler power plants.

Good thing few of these  energy execs  ever listen to the chemical engineers that work for them.  Corporations that depend upon technology used to be run by engineers, but now they are run by accountants.

That is the slim edge we have in this fight, but given the huge profits and political power at stake, how long will that be the case?  

Most accountants are technically illiterate petty tyrants it's true, but do they love money and power enough to sacrifice their egos this time around?  Let's hope not.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

"Runoff from Midwestern fields destroys water-borne ecosystems all along the Mississippi clear down to the Gulf of Mexico, where nitrogen-gorged algae blot out all other marine life in a giant dead zone."

Will algae from these over fertilized waters be filtered out as feed stock for biofuel plants?

Would it help the marine ecosystem or destroy it by tampering with the very base of the food chain?

More frightening questions relating to the consequences of agri-chem-bizz on a national/global scale.

How much fuel would the Mississippi or the Amazon yield in a process like this?  

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

It's really amazing how easy it is to pick apart how many flaws there are in political plans and public initiatives. It's also pretty amazing how often you hear about great ideas coming from environmentally conscious people only to hear "it's not economically viable" or "there's no money for it" or something like that. Then, you do the calculations and it turns out that the money is there for it. Firstly, there's the subsidy money going to large companies that so surprisingly making record profits. Then there is the money that will be saved by putting these ideas to use. I think we'll be amazed when we find out the savings. Well, I guess after the fuel prices and heating bills this winter maybe we won't be...

I can think think of a lot of urban-farming programs that are working really well on the seat of their pants, all competing for the same bit of grant pie. They're providing a fraction of the fresh food in inner-city neighborhoods that they could if they had some real cash behind them. Of course, there's no money to fund them--it's way more important to finance ADM's cheap--corn supply. In my area, there are several micro-scale beef farmers doing it the right way--pure pasture and farm-grown hay, no corn feed. Yet the only USDA-inspected slaughter facility is 100 miles away. If the federal government built such a facility hear, it would draw more producers in and real juice the market for local, grass-fed beef. Instead, we devote billions of public cash to growing GM corn and soy for feed on CAFO operations.

Granted, federal payouts are always prone to creating useless programs for entrenched interests. But, using Jane Jacobs principles, I think it's possible to identify grassroots projects that are already working and then leverage them with federal cash.  

I would like to suggest a return to HEMP as an alternative to all other fuel sources. The oil industry was a major reason why hemp was made illegal in the first place, to illiminate its competition. Remember that Henry Fords first automobile ran on Hemp fuel. Practically anything made from petroleum can be made from hemp. It can be grown with very little attention and in high yield per acre, a good thing on the environmental front, and a farmers point of view. Why are environmentalists not pushing for a return to this resource? Has the "war on drugs" blinded everyone and eliminated historical facts?

Oh, sure, give them another reason to watch us like hawks- I can see the headlines now- "environmental groups claim growing pot will solve our energy problems"- jeeze, they already think we're loonies, now they can call us "loonies on dope".

But seriously, does it really matter if we grow weed or corn on the soil that should/could be supporting bio-diversity?

Has anyone looked at the real solution to depleted soil nutrients (that is, compost from human waste going back to the soil instead of into landfills with toxic waste)- at least that would make the ag-fuel a little less expensive and inefficient.

Wow, imagine- hemp grown on humanure fueling our transportation system. Instead of hydrocarbons in the air, we'd have (tetra)hydrocannibanol- people would fight for emissions testing jobs and property value near interstates would soar.

We'd still fry in our overheated atmosphere, but it might be easier to laugh about, eh?

a liberal in redsville