May 29, 2004
-
Hey, check it out... The University of New Hampshire says we could fulfill our transportation petroleum needs by dedicating a tenth of the Sonoran desert to growing algae for conversion to biodiesel. It's a pretty good argument.
Hey, check it out... The University of New Hampshire says we could fulfill our transportation petroleum needs by dedicating a tenth of the Sonoran desert to growing algae for conversion to biodiesel. It's a pretty good argument.
Comments (3)
once more you've found the perfect link, why doesn't the White House know about this, has it been in the "mainstream press," or are we waiting for Bush Oil and Halliburton to buy up the desert.
Biodiesel has an interesting history. Diesel engines were originally designed to run on unprocessed peanut oil.
The deadfall argument against biodiesel has always been that it would require converting too much food crop acreage to fuel crops if it's to become economically feasible. Now, however, the parameters have changed, not only because of the algae processes being developed, but also pollution concerns and the very clear effects of depending on foreign oil. So biodiesel is getting a shot in the arm.
Whole books could be written about the political decisions that determine the energy policy in the US. The argument for biodiesel is important because it basically says that we don't need to change much of anything in order to benefit from a sustainable resource and cleaner air. The only thing that has to change is how we create the fuel; no one has to retrofit their engine, and there's already an infrastructure for distribution. What's threatening about biodiesel is that it could actually work! That would make a lot of petroleum business completely irrelevant all the sudden.
Heh. Comment longer than post.
one reason i'm considering a diesel fueled engine for my next vehicle. would be nice to have a production infrastructure going for the fuel.
around here they use old fryer oil, so the cars smell like mcdonalds....
Comments are closed.