Jed Rothwell wrote:
I do not rely on the Pimentel paper alone. Their data is well
documented by others. Any textbook on biology, agronomy or
agriculture shows this to be the case.
Every agricultural expert quoted in the news has repeated similar
numbers. For example, see the October 2006 "Consumer Reports"
cover story, "The Ethanol Myth."
Ah... Consumer Reports ... this is your new authority for
scientific information?
What about the USDA and DOE ? They have done slightly more
thorough studies than CR, and found positive energy balances for
corn ethanol (around 1.37) and soy biodiesel (3.2) or do those
expert opinions not count?
But the problem is that those studies are themselves short
sighted. FORGET corn ethanol, which is what Pimentel has based
much of his erroneous bunk on. FORGET all food crops. Look at
Ag-waste, modified ocean algae, tank grown algae and biomass grown
on land unsuitable for food crops. FORGET distillation - this
ancient history (almost) unless it employs waste heat from
cogeneration. When you see a 1 Gigawatt plant belching out 2
wasted gigawatts of heat - look at that as taking the present
positive energy balance for ethanol from 1.37 (even using corn) to
well over three. Be ware that gasoline itself is a distilled
product with a lower energy balance compared to the tonnage of
crude used.
FORGET almost everything over 4-5 years old in biofuel
technology - it is a new world dawning- as nowadays, the
responsible solution for eliminating some portion of foreign oil
is home-grown biofuel made from non-food sources, and requiring no
distillation (or using waste hear from cogeneration). Sure it is
new, but educate yourself or be resigned to the fact that others
will place those views in with what Bob Park pronounces about LENR
!
Biodiesel requires ZERO distillation. The so-called "experts" must
not even be aware of that fact when making false pronouncement
about negative energy balance. The last decade in biofuels has
seen emphasis shift to cellulose, away from food crops, and
towards nondistillation methods. It takes time for this
information to filter down to the local level. We aren't there
yet, far from it - but it is counter-productive to quote
misinformed zealots like Pimentel, who is clearly more obstinate
than Bob Park, when it comes to looking at cutting edge R&D with
an open mind. Almost every conclusion of the outdated Pimentel
studies has now been negated and debunked. Otherwise you would not
see the millions of new investment going into ethanol.
Yes - of course few farmers in Georgia are doing this now (growing
their own), but a quick search indicates that Georgia Power is
getting into the act:
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/users/stories/georgiapower.shtm
and one suspects that sooner or later, as 'red diesel' gets more
expensive, even small farmers in rural America will see that there
are viable options for them to "grow their own" rather than pay it
out to big-oil and OPEC.
Jones
