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?
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 moreThe odd fetish of green tech
I think a lot about how technologies evolve. First, tools develop to make a difficult, time consuming task easier. Then that tool is refined to do the task as efficiently as possible. Then we started creating things that could do a lot of things with just one device. The swiss-army tech, the idea that it could do all of these things, but it doens’t really do any of them well at all. Now we have enough technology, it seems, that we dont’ really need to know how to do anything at all. I was following a story in the Boulder Daily Camera this week about how the Town of Superior was about to purchase a wind turbine for just over three million bucks. On top of the solar panels the municipality had installed, the windmill would help the town meet upwards of 70% of its municipal power needs. All things considered, that’s pretty damn good. So why haven’t they done it yet? As with all things political, approval processes need to be followed. I’m sure there are more than enough residents who would protest the installation of the windmill. A wind turbine? Not in my backyard! Judging by the comments left on the story, I’d say this effort would receive quite a bit of opposition and will likely fail. Comments oppose everything from the aesthetic of the turbine to the fact that purchasing the hardware for sustainable energy is sending money overseas to China. Some comments even suggested that we stop attempting to find sustainable measures to acquire energy and just tap into the shale oils just outside of Colorado Springs. It’s the classic argument: what would you rather have? A protected environment or a strong economy? Let’s. . .think for a moment. I think that a lot of the questions we are asking about making the switch to clean, renewable energies are wrongly put. We ask “can wind/solar meet our needs like coal and petroleum can?” Why aren’t we asking: “how can I lessen my dependence on energy so it can be met by the resources which are available?” When you boil down the idea, we have become a bit of a glutton for energy. In most areas of the country it is just assumed that 1) there will be an electric socket around and 2)a current will run through it. Like our relationship with food, we are all completely divorced with the source of a lot of our energy. As a result, we have a very weird perception of fuel and energy. Those who buy electric cars do so for the idea that the emissions are lower and because they hate paying for gas. But those cars still need to be fueled. Instead of directly emitting carbon from the tailpipe, the fuels are burned many miles away at a coal power plant. Then drivers are worried about the driving radius of the car – will we run out of juice before we can get home to plug in? I know many who are interested in the notion of having solar panels installed on their roof, but are concerned about whether or not the panels will provide the energy they need to run their homes. Why can’t the answers be drive less and use less energy around your home? If we’ve chosen to consume all of this energy, we can certainly think of ways to backtrack. Right? For the month of October I will be looking deep into the idea of “green technology” and deciding what technologies I think actually need to move forward into the mainstream, and which ones are just a substitute for our laziness. During this month I’ll also be looking at my own energy consumption, where it comes from, the impacts of it, and what I could be doing to reduce it. What areas of green-tech development are you particularly fascinated by?
