Trucker Strike tonight !!
04-01-2008, 09:05 PM
#71
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It takes fossil fuel products to fertilize and manage and deliver those crops, and then they need to be processed. Bio fuels will never be 'renewable' as such. We need to look further ahead than bio fuels. At the rate we are going, every forest and jungle on earth will be stripped to grow those bio resources. Then what?
04-01-2008, 09:13 PM
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It takes fossil fuel products to fertilize and manage and deliver those crops, and then they need to be processed. Bio fuels will never be 'renewable' as such. We need to look further ahead than bio fuels. At the rate we are going, every forest and jungle on earth will be stripped to grow those bio resources. Then what?
04-01-2008, 09:18 PM
#74
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On the other hand, Central and S. American cane-based ethanol is promising. It grows fast and has a high yield. Their climate is wonderful for it- lots of sun and long growing seasons. The only problem is that we have no congressmen representing 3rd world agribusiness. As such, we not only are subsidizing the American farmer, we have a protectionist tariff on the imported ethanol that makes it economically uncompetitive.
04-01-2008, 09:23 PM
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04-01-2008, 09:23 PM
#76
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Here's a breakdown on ethanol-
(Please pardon the cut-n-paste)
Let's start with the math. Corn doesn't grow like a weed. Modern corn farming involves heavy inputs of nitrogen fertilizer (made with natural gas), applications of herbicides and other chemicals (made mostly from oil), heavy machinery (which runs on diesel) and transportation (diesel again). Converting the corn into fuel requires still more energy. The ratio of how much energy is used to make ethanol versus how much it delivers is known as the energy balance, and calculating it is surprisingly complex.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that, "Today, 1 Btu of fossil energy consumed in producing and delivering corn ethanol results in 1.3 Btu of usable energy in your fuel tank." Even that modest payback may be overstated. Skeptics cite the research of Cornell Uni?versity professor David Pimentel, who estimates that it takes approximately 1.3 gal. of oil to produce a single gallon of ethanol.
If the benefits are in doubt, the costs are not. It would take 450 pounds of corn to yield enough ethanol to fill the tank of an SUV. Producing enough ethanol to replace America's imported oil alone would require putting nearly 900 million acres under cultivation,or roughly 95 percent of the active farmland in the country. Once we've turned our farms into filling stations, where will the food come from?
(Please pardon the cut-n-paste)
Let's start with the math. Corn doesn't grow like a weed. Modern corn farming involves heavy inputs of nitrogen fertilizer (made with natural gas), applications of herbicides and other chemicals (made mostly from oil), heavy machinery (which runs on diesel) and transportation (diesel again). Converting the corn into fuel requires still more energy. The ratio of how much energy is used to make ethanol versus how much it delivers is known as the energy balance, and calculating it is surprisingly complex.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that, "Today, 1 Btu of fossil energy consumed in producing and delivering corn ethanol results in 1.3 Btu of usable energy in your fuel tank." Even that modest payback may be overstated. Skeptics cite the research of Cornell Uni?versity professor David Pimentel, who estimates that it takes approximately 1.3 gal. of oil to produce a single gallon of ethanol.
If the benefits are in doubt, the costs are not. It would take 450 pounds of corn to yield enough ethanol to fill the tank of an SUV. Producing enough ethanol to replace America's imported oil alone would require putting nearly 900 million acres under cultivation,or roughly 95 percent of the active farmland in the country. Once we've turned our farms into filling stations, where will the food come from?
04-01-2008, 09:24 PM
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I'm going to invest in banana farms with the expectation that when the banana republics fail as predicted, I'll already be geared up for cane-based ethanol production. Of course this will probably be my epitaph because I should be getting picked off by one of the big oil companies' "cleaners". Could I get an order in for one of those H&K's for personal protection?
04-01-2008, 09:31 PM
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How about something that does grow like a weed and is much more efficient for production of larger hydrocarbons (such as prairie grass)? That grows great in colder climates with very little energy expenditure.
04-01-2008, 09:39 PM
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04-02-2008, 05:44 AM
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Most truck drivers are so dumb they won't even do things to help themselves.
Their all crying about the cost of fuel. The next time you are close to a truckstop, pull in and you will see at least 75% of the trucks sitting there idling the motors. They can't even do the simple math.
Your average truck burns 1.5 gallons a fuel per hour. At $4.00 per gallon that is $6.00 per hour.
The government law makes drivers take a 10 break after 11 hours of driving. 10hrs @ $6.00per hr. = $60 per day. 5 days per week = $300 per week, $1200 per month, $14,400 per year.
They will leave their trucks running even if the don't need heat or air condition.
A generator system complete with air, heat and heat to keep the motor warm burns .02 a gallon per hour. They are $9000 fully installed and will pay for themselves in under 9 months and out wear 2 trucks.
They won't even shut their trucks off while their sitting at a dock loading for a couple of hours.
There are a lot of other ways they could help themselves save money, progressive shifting, more aerodynamics, drive slower, don't make sharp turns so they can cut down on tire wear.
Do they have a voice representing them to the government?
If they want to do something to be noticed they should just boycott Washington DC for a week or two.
I'm just sick and tired of listen to them pizz and moan about not making any money and then watch them foolishly pizz it away.
Their all crying about the cost of fuel. The next time you are close to a truckstop, pull in and you will see at least 75% of the trucks sitting there idling the motors. They can't even do the simple math.
Your average truck burns 1.5 gallons a fuel per hour. At $4.00 per gallon that is $6.00 per hour.
The government law makes drivers take a 10 break after 11 hours of driving. 10hrs @ $6.00per hr. = $60 per day. 5 days per week = $300 per week, $1200 per month, $14,400 per year.
They will leave their trucks running even if the don't need heat or air condition.
A generator system complete with air, heat and heat to keep the motor warm burns .02 a gallon per hour. They are $9000 fully installed and will pay for themselves in under 9 months and out wear 2 trucks.
They won't even shut their trucks off while their sitting at a dock loading for a couple of hours.
There are a lot of other ways they could help themselves save money, progressive shifting, more aerodynamics, drive slower, don't make sharp turns so they can cut down on tire wear.
Do they have a voice representing them to the government?
If they want to do something to be noticed they should just boycott Washington DC for a week or two.
I'm just sick and tired of listen to them pizz and moan about not making any money and then watch them foolishly pizz it away.
Who is the first responders at 2am when a bunch of drunk teenagers flip into the median? These DUMB truck drivers devote time away from their families to provide neccessities for everyone especially for people that call them DUMB.
