Comments on: Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On: new thinking for new days in bioenergy http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/ The world's most widely-read biofuels daily Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:30:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: anacortesrealtor http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/comment-page-1/#comment-2846 anacortesrealtor Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:51:09 +0000 http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/?p=11905#comment-2846 I just sent the following to my Representative in Congress and the two U.S. Senators from my state of Washington regarding the additional $95 billion they will vote on for our military in the Mid East countries: "Perhaps even a stronger reason for voting against the $95 billion because it is needed for healthcare is the need for the money elsewhere as follows: Many of us know it but hardly any of us wants to express it. That is, the primary reason we are in Iraq or in any other Mid East country is because of oil. If we continue to stay in the Mid East Countries we will only continue our expensive use of foreign oil instead of converting to 85% Ethanol and Biodiesel for the next forty or so years while concurrently Hydrogen is fully developed to the point of completely replacing combustion engines. Since globally we have already reached and passed peak oil we cannot afford to keep on using oil until it is all gone and find ourselves without alternative fuels transportation. OUR ENTIRE NATION NEEDS TO TRANSITION TO ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL NOW. WE ARE ALREADY LATE IN DOING SO." I just sent the following to my Representative in Congress and the two U.S. Senators from my state of Washington regarding the additional $95 billion they will vote on for our military in the Mid East countries:

“Perhaps even a stronger reason for voting against the $95 billion because it is needed for healthcare is the need for the money elsewhere as follows:

Many of us know it but hardly any of us wants to express it. That is, the primary reason we are in Iraq or in any other Mid East country is because of oil. If we continue to stay in the Mid East Countries we will only continue our expensive use of foreign oil instead of converting to 85% Ethanol and Biodiesel for the next forty or so years while concurrently Hydrogen is fully developed to the point of completely replacing combustion engines. Since globally we have already reached and passed peak oil we cannot afford to keep on using oil until it is all gone and find ourselves without alternative fuels transportation. OUR ENTIRE NATION NEEDS TO TRANSITION TO ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL NOW. WE ARE ALREADY LATE IN DOING SO.”

]]> By: simplicator http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/comment-page-1/#comment-2668 simplicator Mon, 25 May 2009 17:52:24 +0000 http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/?p=11905#comment-2668 Maybe the future follows Mr. Leary more closely: take a pill and think you've driven someplace, when in fact you never left your couch! Part of the problem we have with fuel comes from Detroit saying they can't make a car that gets better than 25mpg. I'm all for drop in fuels, but vehicles, infrastructure and fuels all need to evolve into something better. What we have is far from perfect, so there is no reason to perpetuate it forever. Green Diesel is a better fuel than biodiesel, but it takes too much energy to collect and process its feedstocks. We need something like algae that is concentrated in a small area near where it is processed and used and does not require a huge amount of processing. As much as I like the idea of using biomass, the reality is that it has a very poor energy ratio. It may only work well for lumber and paper operations where the waste is more centralized. It may sound sacrilegious here, but I really think that cars should be electric, while trucks, buses, trains, planes, ships, construction/farm equipment (basically every vehicle that is not a car) run on biodiesel, green diesel or something similar. This means forget about ethanol and focus on cleaner power generation and a better replacement for diesel. Maybe the future follows Mr. Leary more closely: take a pill and think you’ve driven someplace, when in fact you never left your couch!

Part of the problem we have with fuel comes from Detroit saying they can’t make a car that gets better than 25mpg. I’m all for drop in fuels, but vehicles, infrastructure and fuels all need to evolve into something better. What we have is far from perfect, so there is no reason to perpetuate it forever.

Green Diesel is a better fuel than biodiesel, but it takes too much energy to collect and process its feedstocks. We need something like algae that is concentrated in a small area near where it is processed and used and does not require a huge amount of processing. As much as I like the idea of using biomass, the reality is that it has a very poor energy ratio. It may only work well for lumber and paper operations where the waste is more centralized.

It may sound sacrilegious here, but I really think that cars should be electric, while trucks, buses, trains, planes, ships, construction/farm equipment (basically every vehicle that is not a car) run on biodiesel, green diesel or something similar. This means forget about ethanol and focus on cleaner power generation and a better replacement for diesel.

]]> By: Narendra Mohanty http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/comment-page-1/#comment-2628 Narendra Mohanty Tue, 12 May 2009 04:10:27 +0000 http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/?p=11905#comment-2628 Dear Jim, Your “Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On” editorial is thought provoking. Instead of keeping things simple all parties concerned with "bioenergy" are bent upon scoring points. The Science paper on Bio-electricity Vs ethanol is a pointer. Bound to generate more dust than settle. I must say that I enjoyed reading your posts, on Indian scenario, too. Plz. keep it up. Thanks. Narendra Mohanty Dear Jim,
Your “Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On” editorial is thought provoking. Instead of keeping things simple all parties concerned with “bioenergy” are bent upon scoring points.

The Science paper on Bio-electricity Vs ethanol is a pointer. Bound to generate more dust than settle.

I must say that I enjoyed reading your posts, on Indian scenario, too. Plz. keep it up. Thanks.
Narendra Mohanty

]]> By: Advanced BioFuels USA » Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/comment-page-1/#comment-2601 Advanced BioFuels USA » Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On Tue, 05 May 2009 21:46:48 +0000 http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/?p=11905#comment-2601 [...] “The era of synthetic drop-in fuels is upon us,” writes Biofuels Digest editor Jim Lane. Drop In: The future does not lie in ethanol and biodiesel, though they may well provide important fractions of the renewable fuel supply for years to come. The future lies in drop in fuels that do not require changes in infrastructure or engine design to accommodate them.  Tune Out: The bitter debate over land use change, greenhouse gas emissions and the wisdom of the ethanol tariff and alt-fuel subsidies, is a debate about yesterday. It’s a proxy debate about corn and genetic modification of the food supply more than a debate about fuel.  Turn On: Turn on to the idea that, like moving from print to digital, we are moving from an era of batch production of feedstock to continuous harvest. We wouldn’t have much of a dairy business if we had to kill a cow every time we wanted a glass of milk.   READ MORE [...] [...] “The era of synthetic drop-in fuels is upon us,” writes Biofuels Digest editor Jim Lane. Drop In: The future does not lie in ethanol and biodiesel, though they may well provide important fractions of the renewable fuel supply for years to come. The future lies in drop in fuels that do not require changes in infrastructure or engine design to accommodate them.  Tune Out: The bitter debate over land use change, greenhouse gas emissions and the wisdom of the ethanol tariff and alt-fuel subsidies, is a debate about yesterday. It’s a proxy debate about corn and genetic modification of the food supply more than a debate about fuel.  Turn On: Turn on to the idea that, like moving from print to digital, we are moving from an era of batch production of feedstock to continuous harvest. We wouldn’t have much of a dairy business if we had to kill a cow every time we wanted a glass of milk.   READ MORE [...]

]]> By: hick http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/05/04/drop-in-tune-out-turn-on/comment-page-1/#comment-2599 hick Tue, 05 May 2009 16:06:14 +0000 http://biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/?p=11905#comment-2599 Hi Jim. Your "Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On" editorial is a must-read for Steven Chu, U.S. Dept. of Energy, and decision makers in the EPA, White House and other federal agencies concerned about climate change and how liquid biofuels can curb the change. Right now, please send it to everyone who might be willing to get behind Drop In, Tune Out and Turn On. Well done, my friend! Hi Jim. Your “Drop In, Tune Out, Turn On” editorial is a must-read for Steven Chu, U.S. Dept. of Energy, and decision makers in the EPA, White House and other federal agencies concerned about climate change and how liquid biofuels can curb the change. Right now, please send it to everyone who might be willing to get behind Drop In, Tune Out and Turn On. Well done, my friend!

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