Forums | MacLife

bratboy wrote:

Farmerkev wrote:

It's an easy fix you know.
Everyone here can buy grain and give it to those starving people.
We'll just quit ethanol production from corn totally and you guys can buy that same amount and donate it.

Would corn ethanol even be competitive without government assistance?

It just depends on the price ratio between what they have to pay for the source material and the price of oil.

As far as corn prices you wouldn't believe the cost increases I'm going through.


Example.
NH3 (nitrogen)
2003 $309/ton
2005 $443/ton
2007 $460/ton
2008 $640/ton
If I prepay right now, 2009 $1300/ton

Everything else is about the same percentage increase.
Until oil comes down and inputs reflect that we can't take 2 years ago prices for grain.
Couldn't even break even on production costs and forget about living costs.
Eliminate ethanol and not only would oil go up, you might not see the corn production you're used too.

Also on that site, Honda has a Home Energy Station that uses natural gas to make hydrogen fuel while helping to heat and power the house.

avkills wrote:

Ethanol is a joke.  More power to produce than what you get out of it...wasteful.

-mark

When you're using an inefficient source, absolutely.  If you're using a cheap source, like sugar or algae it's quite efficient.

The only biofuel that makes any sense is from something like switchgrass or algae.

Perhaps I should take up algae farming.  Something tells me it'd be rather smelly and quite boring, but it seems profitable enough.

user wrote:

The only biofuel that makes any sense is from something like switchgrass or algae.

Or trees.

http://www.genomebc.ca/genomics_program … thanol.htm

Metacell wrote:

I predict that our increased consumption of algae for fuel will increase the price of oxygen by 75%.

Perriair™

avkills wrote:

PickensPlan

-mark

In theory a decent idea but I do not see people rushing out to buy NG vehicles unless they are comparably priced and the infrastructure's in place.

Ribtorus wrote:

Natural gas seems like a terribly inefficient automotive fuel choice.

Not really; considering that we have tons and tons of natural gas.  Many cities are already using natural gas vehicles for buses and cabs, etc etc.

I know here in Colorado there are outfits that will convert your vehicle to burn natural gas.

Personally I think anything that helps us rid ourselves on our oil dependence is good.  Pickens spoke yesterday at the COGA conference (Colorado Oil and Gas Association).  To hear someone who has made his immense fortune off of oil saying these things is a major step in the right direction.

But cost is a major issue; your are correct unless the price is comparable or cheaper nobody will adopt.

Pickens said gas will reach $5/gal within in the next 2 years.

-mark

I bought a motor for my bicycle. They get 100-200 mpg depending on model and quality. That is my plan to cut consumption. I'll be using 7 gallons of gas a month instead of about 70. I'll only need my car when I go grocery shopping.

avkills- A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow. - Patton

You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion.

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

:snicker:

I was trying not to say anything.