What exactly IS enhanced biodiversity? That phrase could include abnormally high biodiversity, increased invasive biodiversity and so on and so forth. "Greater" biodiversity is not necessarily better....
On 2/2/07, Michael Mellon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Thank you for the website and the phrase that caught > my eye was: > > Whether or not yields are enhanced by diveristy > remains an open question. However, there is no > question that harvesting grasslands, even > low-diversity and degraded grasslands, enhances their > biodiversity. > > Hopefully, funding agencies will start supplying funds > so we, as scientist, can answer this question more > fully. In Nebraska, using corn for ethanol is a big > political move by politicians and hopefully we can > start using the natural grasslands and benefit from > the natural landscape and move away from monocultures. > > I have enjoyed the discussion > > Michael Mellon > > > > > --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I'm sure other literature goes more into depth, but > > Lester Brown's book > > "Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a > > Civilization in Trouble" > > (which I highly recommend, by the way) mentions > > replacing coal-fired > > electric power and then using the electricity > > generated at night (when > > demand is lower) to produce hydrogen (I presume > > through electrolysis). > > This hydrogen can then be burned to produce more > > electricity during the > > day, or be pumped into cars for transportation, etc. > > > > -Tim Nuttle > > > > > I looked at Mike's web page and I am quite > > ignorant about the bioenergetcs > > > of various terrestrial crops (I work in the marine > > environment where > > > plants > > > are those little one-celled critters), but I > > wonder whether if grasses are > > > so suitable for biofuels, what about the discarded > > parts of food crops, > > > such > > > as corn stalks and potato plants. I realise that > > there is nutritional > > > benefit to plowing them under, but could they be > > used in other ways? > > > > > > Another poster mentioned hydrogen and a reduced > > population -- I really > > > don't > > > see how we could get enough hydrogen from wind and > > solar power unless we > > > used a lot of hydrogen fusion to greatly reduce > > our population. > > > > > > Bill Silvert > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Palmer, Mike" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > To: "William Silvert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; > > <[email protected]> > > > Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 3:51 PM > > > Subject: RE: [ECOLOG-L] If not Ethanol, what then? > > > > > > Bill, > > > Quite a number of people are working on the use of > > Low-Intensity, > > > High-Diversity (LIHD) systems (to use Dave > > Tilman's term). This > > > contrasts markedly with High-Intensity, > > Low-Diversity (HILD) systems > > > such as corn or transgenic Miscanthus. LIHD > > systems have advantages in > > > not only being carbon-negative, but in promoting > > biodiversity and > > > preventing habitat loss and degradation (see my > > arguments in > > > http://ecology.okstate.edu/Libra/biofuels.htm ) > > > ---Mike Palmer > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, > > news > > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > > William Silvert > > > Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 8:51 AM > > > To: [email protected] > > > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] If not Ethanol, what then? > > > > > > In the recent discussion of biofuels, there seems > > to be a consensus that > > > > > > producing ethanol from corn has serious adverse > > consequences both > > > ecological > > > and economic. However I have not seen anyone > > address the broader > > > question of > > > what alternatives we have in the long run. Fossil > > fuels will eventually > > > run > > > out - oil in a century or so at most, coal in > > several centuries - and > > > while > > > there may be some wonderous new technology to fill > > the gap, we cannot > > > count > > > on that. I suspect that combustible fuels will > > always be with us, and I > > > wonder what they will be. > > > > > > Bill Silvert > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________________= ___________ > Cheap talk? > Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. > http://voice.yahoo.com > --=20 James J. Roper Depto Zoologia,UFPR Caixa Postal 19034 81531-990 Curitiba, Paran=E1, Brasil =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone/Fone/Tel=E9fono: 55 41 33611764 celular: 55 41 99870543 Casa: 55 41 33857249 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D http://jjroper.googlepages.com/ Ecologia e Conserva=E7=E3o na UFPR http://www.bio.ufpr.br/ecologia/ ---
