Re: An unusual sight

"Charles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> As for costing more to produce (in fuel terms) than you get in the end...
> Well, wake up and smell the coffee, dude!  Ethanol is great?  Uh.  Ethanol
> is only economically viable because it is subsidized to a ridiculous
> extent.  And ethanol is one of the prime ingredients in, you guessed it,
> biodiesel.

Doesn't say anything about ethanol being part of biodiesel here:
http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20060502/NEWS/60502007
Biodiesel sold for 20 to 30 cents a gallon more than regular diesel as recently as
March. It is made from vegetable oil, including used oil from fast-food restaurants.
The blend B99, of 99 percent biodiesel with 1 percent diesel fuel, was $2.77 a
gallon, two cents cheaper than regular low-sulfur diesel, Monday at Carson Oil in
Portland.

http://www.gnn.tv/articles/2247/Special_Report_Fueling_Controversy
The two main products the industry is promoting are Biodiesel and Ethanol. Biodiesel
is derived when organic plant oils are mixed with alcohol. It is thick and resembles
vegetable oil, and combusts at a very low temperature. Ethanol is a clear, highly
flammable and volatile fuel made of alcohol primarily derived from the fermentation
of sugars and starches, and cellulose, a complex carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, that is
composed of glucose, or sugar, units. Ethanol is primarily being promoted as a
replacement for gasoline in automobiles, whereas Biodiesel has a wider industrial
applicability.

> But, here is an example:
> http://www.springerlink.com/
> (ajf2qk55b3f0dk553azmpj55)/app/home/contribution.asp?
> referrer=parent&backto=issue,6,6;journal,4,47;linkingpublicationresults,1:1
> 05547,1
>
> "Ethanol production using corn grain required 29% more fossil energy than
> the ethanol fuel produced. • Ethanol production using switchgrass required
> 50% more fossil energy than the ethanol fuel produced. • Ethanol production
> using wood biomass required 57% more fossil energy than the ethanol fuel
> produced. • Biodiesel production using soybean required 27% more fossil
> energy than the biodiesel fuel produced"
>
> Did you get that?  27% more energy to make it than you get out of it.  It's
> assinine that we continue to push for this kind of BS.  Obviously ethanol
> is doing great right now - ethanol plants are subsidized by the government.
> Hmm.  So, I can support my region by using taxpayer money to build huge
> factories in my region.  Not a bad plan except that it's just plain dumb.