alt.energy.renewable

On Mar 9, 11:22 am, "calderh...@yahoo.com"
wrote:
> We will use land, water, fertilizer, farm equipment, and labor
> to grow switchgrass that will be diverted from food production, with
> soaring food prices as a result.

That's interesting because switchgrass & prairie grass grow unhindered
without any help from farmers.

> If we grow switchgrass on land currently used to graze cattle, we
> will reduce beef and milk production.

I'm not sure if you're aware that most cattle and cows no longer graze
in fields. In the case of dairy cows, they are milked 10x the natural
rate due to BGH, so they need to be kept close by for milking. As far
as cattle go, they haven't "grazed" for years. Have you ever looked at
the stickers on your beef that say "Grade A USDA Corn-Fed"? They're
kept in small paddocks so they can be rapidly fed corn (of course
laced with antibiotics and insecticides). Animal products are not a
sustainable source of food nationally, or globally, produce incredible
amounts of waste that contaminate groundwater, bioaccumulate hundreds
of toxins and chemicals, and make a strong contribution to GHG
emissions. Personally I'd be happy with a decrease in beef and milk
(which we were already overproducing before Monsanto pushed BGH on
farmers) production.

> A new study from three agricultural economists at Iowa State University with
> insider information on the latest biofuel technology says ethanol made
> from cellulose will likely NEVER be affordable.

Never say never ;) With enough funding in the right places anything
is possible.

> Removing unused portions of plants that are normally plowed
> under increases the need for nitrogen fertilizers, which release the
> most potent greenhouse gas of all; nitrous oxide.

Much of that biomass is simply burned.

> Research reports brag that algae can produces 15 times more fuel per
> acre of land than growing corn for ethanol, but that still means we would need
> approximately 30 million acres of algae ponds in the USA to meet 100%
> of our projected automotive fuel usage by the year 2022.

Well, algae doesn't need to account for 100% of the usage. You know as
well as I that a diverse range fuel and energy sources will be the
answer. Algae seems to me to be the most promising in terms of volume
produced, increase in efficiency, and reduction in emissions. And it
can be grown anywhere.

> 1) I do not like watching the US starve the world because of our own
> stupid policies.

The government has been subsidizing farmers for years not to grow
food.

> 2) I don't like the idea of trying to survive 14 more years of food
> price inflation just so crooked biofuel companies can get rich. That
> is what the Bush biofuel plan means!

No more crooked than the current fuel companies, and with all the new
jobs these industries will create we'll have plenty of money to buy
their fuel.

I enjoyed your comments.