Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: Re: Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis, turns biomass into Green gasoline
Hi Kirk Interesting comments from a biologist friend. Hope he is wrong :( Kirk He has a point here: Then converting agriculture to fuel production, after 60 years of saying the food supply cannot keep up with demand, is diabolical subversion of agriculture by the population control mob which wants another excuse for exterminating 90% of the population. I don't think they're looking for another excuse though, they just keep changing what they call it (they used to call it eugenics, for instance). Actually the growth in the food supply stayed 17% ahead of the population growth over the last 30 years. Or so the figures say, but those are the figures for industrial food production, which isn't actually food, it's commodities, grown for money, not to feed people. The food most people eat still comes mostly from small farms (where they haven't been destroyed by agribiz) and city farms, and that doesn't get counted. Farmers lie anyway to outsiders from the city looking for numbers, if they've got any sense, which they usually have got. Anyway, it's not because of overpopulation nor because of a lack of food that so many people starve (852 million officially, though it's more than that), it's mainly because they've been shoved off the land and out of the economy by industrial agriculture, as heavily promoted and enabled by the Rockefeller Foundation, which also has long been the main nest of the population control mob, what a coincidence (and indeed the Rockefeller Foundation used to call it eugenics). Meanwhile soaring food prices, scarcity and world-wide food riots are not (or not yet) due to pressures on the food supply caused by increased biofuels production as so widely alleged, but mainly to soaring petroleum prices. IMHO the question to ask about all the next-generation so-called green fuels techniques being touted is whether they fit the Appropriate Technology model - can you do it at village-level? Probably not, it's more likely to be industrial-scale. People do some lab work and file for some patents and make big claims, pretending it's something that actually exists, but usually it's just investment-bait. The problem with the Appropriate Technology model is that it's so difficult for entrepreneurs and investors to make any money out of it, unlike industrial-scale projects. But if it doesn't fit the Appropriate Technology model it's useless. Best Keith G Novak wrote: Kirk, This process for green gasoline is more hoodwinking, about like the cures for cancer which are in the news three times a week. Scientists try to justify expensive research that way. Here's why this procedure and all others are not realistic: 1. It costs too much to ship corn refuse or switchgrass to processing plants no matter how it is processed. The stuff is so light and bulky that it takes more fuel to ship it 20 miles than it is worth, while there is not enough produced in a 20 mile radius to justify the expense of building a plant. 2. Biomass is loaded with oxygen and nitrogen containing compounds which have to be removed before any processing. Removing that stuff is noncompetitive, and it creates a problem of disposal. Then they didn't say what the catalyst was. It is obviously too expensive, and maybe hazardous, to mention. Then converting agriculture to fuel production, after 60 years of saying the food supply cannot keep up with demand, is diabolical subversion of agriculture by the population control mob which wants another excuse for exterminating 90% of the population. Gary Novak www.nov55.com Science is Broken - Original Message - From: Kirk McLoren To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 11:38 PM Subject: Fwd: [Biofuel] Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis, turns biomass into Green gasoline Bruno M. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Catalytic fast pyrolysis turns plant biomass such as wood and grasses into green gasoline - www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407102812.htm ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2008) shy; Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of green gasoline, a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees. Reporting in the April 7, 2008 issue of Chemistry Sustainability, Energy Materials (ChemSusChem), chemical engineer and National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awardee George Huber of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) and his graduate students Torren Carlson and Tushar Vispute announced the first direct conversion of plant cellulose into gasoline components. In the same issue, James Dumesic and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison announce an integrated process for creating chemical components of jet fuel using a green
[Biofuel] Renewable Energy Not Always Sustainable
http://www.tierramerica.net/2004/0626/iacentos.shtml Renewable Energy Not Always Sustainable By Gustavo González* Latin America obtains more than 20 percent of its energy from ostensibly renewable sources. But much of it comes from hydroelectric dams, which can harm ecosystems. SANTIAGO - The proportion of 10 percent renewable sources for supplying energy, set as a global goal for 2010, is already a reality in Latin America, but that has been achieved mostly through big hydroelectric dams, which environmentalists argue are not sustainable. When the region assumed that goal in 2002, it used nearly 26 percent renewable sources, but 15 percent was hydroelectric, according to figures from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a regional agency of the United Nations. Renewable does not mean sustainable, say activists and experts who want to see fewer gigantic dams and more regulation of the use of firewood (source of 5.8 percent of energy used in the region in 2002), and incentives for non-conventional sources. They point to Costa Rica, where 50 percent of the energy matrix is supplied by geothermal energy, sugarcane waste, biomass and other renewable sources. International Conference for Renewable Energies, held in Bonn, Jun. 1-4, drew delegates from 154 countries who assessed progress towards the goal of replacing fossil fuels in the global energy matrix that was set in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The goal of 10 percent renewable energy by 2010 represents ''the opportunity to fight poverty by using local natural resources in a decentralized way, the possibility of overcoming dependence on fossil fuels, which now represent significant costs for the nations of the South, and the urgency of protecting the climate and the environment,'' Sara Larraín, director of Sustainable Chile, told Tierramérica. Around 23 percent of Latin America's total primary energy supply (TPES) comes from renewable sources, including hydroelectric dams, according to the ECLAC study ''Energy sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean: the share of renewable sources'', published in October 2003. The report says that Argentina, highly dependent on natural gas, is the only country in the region with under 10 percent renewable energy sources, but there are four others in the critical zone of 10 to 20 percent: Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela and Chile. On the other extreme are Costa Rica, with 99.2 percent renewable energy, followed by Paraguay, Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador, with more than 80 percent. But in that group all is not positive. Paraguay is almost totally dependent on hydroelectric energy, while Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador, like its Central American neighbors Nicaragua and Guatemala, rely heavily on ''dendroenergy'': firewood. Activists and experts argue that big hydroelectric dams hurt the ecosystems around them and alter the living conditions of local communities, which are generally indigenous groups. Firewood is a renewable resource as long as it is accompanied by adequate reforestation. Manlio Coviello and Hugo Altomonte, authors of the ECLAC study, argue that reliance on firewood is ''disturbing and to a certain extent negative, because of the heavy impact it has on forestry resources and the consequent increase in carbon dioxide emissions from burning wood.'' Carbon dioxide emissions are the main cause of what is known as the greenhouse effect. The most accessible renewable source currently seems to be geothermal energy, given the high costs still associated with widespread use of solar, wind or wave power, though biomass (made from biological waste) is also gaining ground, as are small hydroelectric dams, which are also seen as more sustainable. ''Brazil has the most sustainable and cleanest energy matrix in the world,'' with 90 percent of its TPES based on renewable sources, including hydroelectric power, Emilio La Rovere, professor of energy planning at the University of Rio de Janeiro, told Tierramérica. In the wake of the 1970s energy crisis, Brazil developed sugarcane alcohol as a gasoline substitute. In recent years, automotive companies have developed engines that use gasoline or alcohol, or the two mixed, and are working on ''trivalent'' models that could also run on natural gas. Today in Brazil there are 700,000 to 800,000 natural gas-run vehicles, a figure that only Argentina surpasses. One case that environmentalists point to is Cuba. The Caribbean island's energy matrix ''is sustainable because it is changeable and is tending towards achieving sustainable energy development,'' Luis Bérriz, president of the non-governmental group Cubasolar, told Tierramérica. Cuba relied heavily on Soviet petroleum until the early 1990s. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to an interruption in supplies and pushed Cuba into crisis. Since then, Havana has been
[Biofuel] The new age of the train
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-new-age-of-the-train-807789.html The new age of the train A historic boom on the railways - but can network take the strain? Britain is witnessing the dawn of a new era of rail travel as an unprecedented demand for environmentally friendly transport encourages people to take more train journeys than at any time since the Second World War. Figures released yesterday revealed that the number of miles travelled on the rail network reached a record-breaking peacetime high of 30.1 billion during 2007, capping a huge rise in popularity in which passenger numbers have increased every year for the past 13 years. The rise in passenger miles, documented by the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), indicates a boom in demand for rail transport at a time when the threat of climate change is encouraging more people to find greener ways of moving around. George Muir, director general of Atoc, described the resurgence of train use as astonishing. We knew that we were growing but it was only when we looked at the graph that we realised how sudden that growth was, he said. If you take out the war years, for much of the past 80 years passenger miles have hovered around the 20 billion mark, but within the past 10 years it has grown dramatically. The only time that train passenger miles - calculated as the number of journeys taken multiplied by the distance travelled - has been higher was during the Second World War when the rail network was twice the size it is now and large numbers of troops were being transported around the country. The previous peacetime record was set in 1946 - when vast numbers of soldiers were being demobilised. Atoc's figures represent one of the most detailed attempts to gauge the popularity of Britain's railways over the past 170 years and show how demand for rail travel has reached unprecedented levels over the past decade since privatisation. Last year the network handled 1.21 billion rail journeys, the equivalent of 20 journeys for every citizen and a 7 per cent rise on 2006. Traffic on the railways, meanwhile, has increased by 67.6 per cent since 1994 when just 17.9 billion passenger miles were travelled. Tim Leunig, a historian from the London School of Economics who helped compile the figures, said current trends meant passenger miles were likely to continue breaking records time and time and time again as demand increases. A White Paper last year estimated that Britain would need to double its rail capacity by 2030 to meet demand. Passenger groups voiced concerns that the cost of expanding the overstretched rail network will be paid for by yet more above-inflation ticket price rises. The most recent, which came into effect in January, saw some rail operators put up the cost of fares on some routes up by as much as 15 per cent. Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said: We need a fares policy that encourages rail and bus use, and that means cheaper tickets, not more expensive ones. If just 5 per cent of people travelling by car turn to rail it would require a 50 per cent increase in rail capacity, so the task is huge and it needs dramatic action. Environmental groups also warned that rising ticket prices could remove the incentive to travel by train at a time when car use and short-haul flights are also at record highs. We're delighted that the demand for rail travel is increasing and that more and more people are choosing to use this greener form of transport but we do have concerns about the rising costs of using our railways, said Cat Hobbs from the Campaign for Better Transport. We're also not convinced that the Government has adequate long-term plans to expand and fund a railway network that will meet future demand. Concern was also expressed yesterday that, as demand for rail travel grows, the already chronic overcrowding on some sections of the network will only get worse. Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the independent national rail consumer watchdog, said: These figures graphically underline the urgent need for more and longer trains. Passengers left standing on a crowded peak service will find this announcement hard to believe. A Department for Transport spokesperson rejected any suggestion that the Government would fail to meet future demand. We are ahead of the curve and planning for growth, she said. On top of the opening of the UK's first high-speed line and securing funding for Crossrail last year we announced £10bn investment focused on increasing capacity. We are planning a rail network which can carry 180 million more passengers over the next six years, growth of 22 per cent. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey
[Biofuel] green building and alt. energy videos
green building and alt. energy videos Electric hub motor http://zapurl.com/2guxh Shipping container home http://zapurl.com/5dvcc Green Idea House http://zapurl.com/1vtxb Co-Working: A Greener Workplace http://zapurl.com/1vtxb Green Building Ecologic Geodesic Dome Wood House http://zapurl.com/1jzjo Green Building: Home Insulation Technique http://zapurl.com/9glbp Green Building Design Features: Solatube Solar Sky Lighting http://zapurl.com/5ntry Energize Alabama Greenworks Design/Build - EcoMAX http://zapurl.com/6wpbh Green Building Design Features: LED Lighting http://zapurl.com/5xsrn T-zed zero emission home http://zapurl.com/1boka MDI air car http://zapurl.com/4fdfv Green Sustainable Building Techniques (ICF) ARXX System http://zapurl.com/6wpbh Standard Renewable Energy Home Audit http://zapurl.com/9tjyg Solar tower http://zapurl.com/7uxuu DIY solar panel - Watch http://zapurl.com/9fypx Hydrogen Burner with H Bank Hydrogen Storage HB-PR-2400 http://zapurl.com/8poip PEM Electrolyser, Fuel Cell 1kW H2 Storage Tank http://zapurl.com/6cvdu DIY wind turbine http://zapurl.com/8hddy Phil Angelides - Create a Clean Energy Economy http://zapurl.com/4owzi Honda Civic Engine and Fuel Cell http://zapurl.com/6zuda Residential fuel cell http://zapurl.com/8iyka Hydrogen heating http://zapurl.com/2noks ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] plug in kit for hybrid
I did understand that the unit has batteries of it's own, for some reason I got the impression the unit also recharged the vehicle's original batteries as well. shrug Doug robert and benita wrote: I've read that Toyota isn't standing by their hybrid systems after the warranty period is up. People who've bought early Priuses (Priii?) are complaining that they can't get service for their hybrid drives anymore. My Camry has a 7 year warranty on the battery and drive system, but once that's up, I can do whatever I want with the thing. The plug in system Kirk linked us to replaces the NiMH battery pack with Lithium polymer batteries. I don't think the manufacturers will cover that at all, and I also wonder about insurance . . . ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
