The Fuel Film – justified arguments for biofuels
I’m actually kind of ashamed I let this one float around in my “to watch” list for so long. It was, in so many words, powerful.
- The first diesel engine was developed so that farmers could produce their own fuels for them. Ideally – vegetable oil. The very first diesel engine is still around (in a museum) and still runs on biofuels. After inventor Rudolf Diesel died, Standard Oil developed a more crude fuel from petroleum that would run a diesel, called it “diesel fuel” and the rest is history. Just about every diesel engine on the road today can run on bio-diesel without any mechanical conversion.
- The first cars Ford was producing on the production line were meant to run on ethanol (Ford was originally a farmer, so organic fuels made sense to him). Seemingly by coincidence prohibition happened right about this time in America. One of the more noted supporters of prohibition was Standard Oil’s JD Rockefeller. Prohibition wrapped up right about the time Ford gave up and started manufacturing gasoline engines.
- Not all biofuels are derived from food sources. The last blow delivered to the biofuels movement falsely claimed that biodiesel comes from corn and soy (which it can) which would cut into our food supply (most of that corn/soy goes to feed cattle in concentrated animal feed operations, which produces the meat that’s not terribly good for you to eat). The filmmaker goes on to show how a sustainable amount of biodiesel can be derived from algae – algae that can be grown from the waste streams we are already producing.
- - Every day we are spending millions to protect our oil interests in the Middle East. To establish a bio-diesel research and production plant here in the U.S. – it would cost about $25 million over ten years.
An algae powered car
Without a doubt, fossil fuels are running out. We are coming up with more desperate and risky plans to keep the petrochemical fuel plants in operation. Let’s not forget the undeniable climate change that is happening as a result of the extraction and consumption of these fuels either.
I feel the best point this movie hits on is that there is no singular solution to current and future energy problems. Right now, fossil fuels are prime and wind, solar and wave power are being considered “alternative” energy sources. Even when (not if) the fossil fuels are abandoned these will still be considered alternative energy. Wind will be an alternative to solar when the sun isn’t shining. Biodeisel will fuel the power plants when the gusts are low. The survival of our society as we see it now wont be about a monopoly on one resource, but an interdependence on many.
The only problem I see with this is the completely lack of bio-diesel filling stations in Denver. I’ve written before about how I don’t see electric cars making as bit of a presence anytime soon because the infrastructure of charging stations and battery transfers just aren’t there and it doesn’t look like anyone is stepping up to fill that void. There are a few collectives of bio-fuel enthusiasts, but again, there doesn’t seem to be a heavily invested interest looking to fill that void.
Clearly, a mind-shift has to take place here. For most of us, all we have ever known is a fossil-fueled way of life. Only recently have we been turned on to the idea of locally based community, of cycling as a real means of transit, and not relying on the global market to meet our food needs. Can we lose our dependence on oil and toxic living? Absolutely. It’ll take great focus and a commitment by absolutely everyone to get us there.
I’m looking at the possibly of acquiring a diesel truck right now. What are you up to?
Planting the seeds for Seed Month!
“Seeds are the product of sexual reproduction.”
Rawr. I’ve gone on and around for about a week now on putting together some kind of newbie-guide to seeds, but I think the above quote just about does it.
In short, seeds are packages of genetic code. Once created, it is that seed’s job to do everything it can to pass on the genetic code to the next generation. Within the hard casing of the seed is the embryo for the new plant along with enough nutrient to supply that plant with life until it can establish it’s own roots. When you think about it, the relation between human life and seeds is staggering.
Biology!
The curiosity we all had when we first germinated seeds in damp paper towels in grammar school seems to escape most of us as soon as the lesson ends. Lately, with all the discovery that’s been going on in the world of Dave, it is an absolute thrill looking up on the fundamentals again. Once the seed is planted into soil and water is introduced, the germination process begins. The casing softens and the biological process of developing into a plant begins. The plant quickly burns through the nutrients it was packaged with and must establish a system to acquire new nutrients (laying down roots) and processing them (sunlight acquisition, usually through leaves). After the seed has been established, grown into a plant, and developed to maturity it is then the job of that plant to pass its genetic code to the next generation. Most plants do this through the production of their fruit (think of pumpkins and tomatoes as a plant’s ovaries. . .ewww!). By using flowers and smells and colors to attract pollenators, the plant is able to develop a new genetic code that it sets to work putting into the fruit. Once that fruit is consumed, dropped, or re-planted the process starts itself anew!
Biology! The class I failed! Twice!
Seeds may be tiny, but they are so incredibly awesome I developed a whole month’s worth of stories about them. Everything that exists came from a seed in some capacity or another, but it is one of those things that we so commonly forget about. Even as we are actively eating seeds, we don’t think about the fact that they are embryos, that each one of them contains life! They are all but ignored and, at the same time, usually the center of controversy.
There is a war going on in vaults and laboratories all over the world over the composition of these seeds. For what? What’s the danger? They’re just seeds. Just some of the many things I am looking into when it comes to seed. As gardeners, everything we grow comes from seed. Avid gardeners collect seed catalogs every fall and winter in anticipation for the next growing season. We may have only just left our summer, but many start seeds as early as February. Are you ready for it?
November is seed month on Not Quite Hippie. Tell your friends.
Electric Cars – worth it?
It love you long time!
It is difficult to not get excited about the prospect of electric cars. Largely: no more paying high prices for gasoline! Yay! Who wouldn’t love that?
However, like most things which are sold to us, we only look at how the device affects us directly. For example, I look at the laptop which I am writing this one. It came to me at a pretty good value, has held up over the years, allows me access to the internet and to word processing software which allows me to make a little bit of cash.
But when I think beyond the tangible idea of this 12×14 inch hunk of plastic and metals there is a picture that I’d rather not think about. The mines which the precious metals were taken from, the toxic processes of refining those metals, the processing of petrochemicals to make the plastics. Not to mention the energy consumed in keeping the battery charged, the internet connected, the servers powered.
And that is just my ONE laptop out of the millions (billions?) around the world.
We we buy a car, how many of us think about everything it took to bring that car to the lot? All of the materials mined, refined, assembled, and transported the world over so we can figure out how to finance a new vehicle. And that’s just ONE car, out of the thousands being produced and sold each day. And to go electric? Is it truly a sustainable idea?
Most of us look at the purchase of an electric powered vehicle as gaining freedom from the gas pump. But we are still consuming energy. About half of all electricity produced in the U.S. is from the burning of coal (coal – a resource which is becoming more and more dangerous and costly to acquire).
Furthermore, what is everyone going to do with the gasoline burning cars when electric decides to replace them? Is there something set up to collect and refine the materials which are currently sitting in the millions of cars across the country? When we all acquire new electric cars, how long are they going to stay in our possession before we decide that we need something new? How many purchasers of the electric car consider how much lead had to be processed to make their battery? A battery which will probably run down and need to be replaced (I imagine that’s a costly endeavor in itself) several times in it’s life?
Errrm. . . .
I have my pickup truck, it burns gasoline. It’s very low tech. There is no meter on it which will tell me my approximate MPG (because I don’t think I could stand looking at that number). However, since it is devoid of a lot of computers and electronics, I – given I have the right tools – can fix up, repair, and maintain most of it. I wouldn’t even bother with my previous car – a 2007 Mazda 6 – which had so many bells and whistles I couldn’t even find half the components if it ever did break down.
But an electric car? I might as well be working on a spaceship. And so would every mechanic out there who has made their living working on internal combustion and diesel engines.
The truck does burn through it’s share of gas. And while I can figure a million different ways to make each tank of gas, there is only one which is truly effective: I don’t drive it unless necessary. If I’m not hauling or going 30 miles outside town, I don’t bother starting her up. Instead, I ride my bicycle, walk, or use public transit. Or, when available, catch rides in the girlfriend’s Civic.
Does an electric powered vehicle reasonably fit into my future? Probably not
Understandably, not everyone lives like I do. Lots of people need some kind of vehicle to commute every day. People inhabit suburbs where nothing is really close to anything. No one wants to bother riding in the snow. It seems as though some kind of vehicle will always be the mainstay to the existence of our society.
At the same time, we are considering smarter cities with better public transportation. More and more companies are considering having employees work remotely as the office space moves into the cloud. Hopefully, as more people discover what it is that is most important in life they will also feel a relief from the pressure of having a car. Maybe then people will see their cars as machines – as tools, something to be taken care of – rather than the privilege that it is to drive it.
read more