The Trouble With Biofuels

[Scott & Lai 12]

Building cars out of aluminum and fiberglass will also use less oil than the steel we use now.

It will also drive up traffic fatalities...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Guys is there away way we can use Solar panels to fix this. For Stevens sake..

Still sore your solar beanie cap project never took off? It's ok, not every engineering student is cut out for being the next Edison.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

[Scott & Lai 12]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Oh yeah, let's run the trains on photosynthesis

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oh yeah, let's run the trains on photosynthesis

[Scott & Lai 12]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

I'm talking about the kind of energy that makes today's civilization possible.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

I'm talking about the kind of energy that makes today's civilization possible.

Let's rub two rocks together and plant a few marijuana plants. That'll do it.

And if it doesn't, at least we'll all be too stoned to realize.

[peejay 327]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

I'm talking about the kind of energy that makes today's civilization possible.

Let's rub two rocks together and plant a few marijuana plants. That'll do it.

And if it doesn't, at least we'll all be too stoned to realize.

Don't laugh...there are some here in the USA that are convinced that is the answer. That and a whole lot of other scenarios that will allow humanity to continue to thump along seamlessly as the petroleum age wanes.

I was at the rest area on the TX / LA border on a trip back home to Houston many years ago. Two DeadHeads stranded there begged me for a ride to Houston where the Grateful Dead was on tour. They definitely resided in the ozone. For the next 2 hours they tried to convince me that marijuana was the answer to all the world's problems. They believed that in addition to the intoxicating attributes of weed, the fibers of the stems would clothe the world and the seeds were capable of producing oil to run automobiles. When I tried to inform them that it was highly improbable that the world could grow enough weed to replace the millions of barrels of oil currently consumed daily, they were incredulous and refused to believe me. The fact that I told them I worked for an oil company and was returning home from my shift offshore was proof positive of the conspiracy of the oil companies and "The Man" to bamboozle the people of the world and hide the truth.

Unfortunately I think a large portion of the American people are equally clueless and in denial to the realities of the predicament we find ourselves in at the beginning of the 21st century. All these alternative energy sources just supplement petroleum and delay the inevitable. That and conservation may buy enough time for a possibility of science and technology to come up with a miracle. These alternatives don't replace petroleum and are incapable of doing so on the scale of current consumption. There is nothing feasable in the wings today to allow for a seamless transition out of the petroleum age. Prove otherwise!

The "market" ain't going to find the answer. Unfortunately I think it will take government to lead the way just like they did with the space programs and the market will follow. It's debatable if that or anything else can save the day when the inevitable happens.

Edited April 8, 2008 by peejay

[Dan J 277]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

I'm talking about the kind of energy that makes today's civilization possible.

Let's rub two rocks together and plant a few marijuana plants. That'll do it.

And if it doesn't, at least we'll all be too stoned to realize.

Don't laugh...there are some here in the USA that are convinced that is the answer. That and a whole lot of other scenarios that will allow humanity to continue to thump along seamlessly as the petroleum age wanes.

I was at the rest area on the TX / LA border on a trip back home to Houston many years ago. Two DeadHeads stranded there begged me for a ride to Houston where the Grateful Dead was on tour. They definitely resided in the ozone. For the next 2 hours they tried to convince me that marijuana was the answer to all the world's problems. They believed that in addition to the intoxicating attributes of weed, the fibers of the stems would clothe the world and the seeds were capable of producing oil to run automobiles. When I tried to inform them that it was highly improbable that the world could grow enough weed to replace the millions of barrels of oil currently consumed daily, they were incredulous and refused to believe me. The fact that I told them I worked for an oil company and was returning home from my shift offshore was proof positive of the conspiracy of the oil companies and "The Man" to bamboozle the people of the world and hide the truth.

Unfortunately I think a large portion of the American people are equally clueless and in denial to the realities of the predicament we find ourselves in at the beginning of the 21st century. All these alternative energy sources just supplement petroleum and delay the inevitable. That and conservation may buy enough time for a possibility of science and technology to come up with a miracle. These alternatives don't replace petroleum and are incapable of doing so on the scale of current consumption. There is nothing feasable in the wings today to allow for a seamless transition out of the petroleum age. Prove otherwise!

The "market" ain't going to find the answer. Unfortunately I think it will take government to lead the way just like they did with the space programs and the market will follow. It's debatable if that or anything else can save the day when the inevitable happens.

The market will search for an answer only when costs/needs dictact it. But by the time they actually find one, it could be way too late to have any effect.

Its not like we are all of a sudden going to loose all forms of energy. We are still going to have energy from certain types of sources, but the cost that energy will skyrocket.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

All these alternative energy sources just supplement petroleum and delay the inevitable. That and conservation may buy enough time for a possibility of science and technology to come up with a miracle. These alternatives don't replace petroleum and are incapable of doing so on the scale of current consumption. There is nothing feasable in the wings today to allow for a seamless transition out of the petroleum age. Prove otherwise!

The "market" ain't going to find the answer. Unfortunately I think it will take government to lead the way just like they did with the space programs and the market will follow. It's debatable if that or anything else can save the day when the inevitable happens.

I agree the market isn't going to find the answer either, but in terms of oil consumption per capita, where does the U.S. stand right now? And has our consumption per capita increased over the last 20 years? If so, why?

In terms of individual consumption, how adverse do you think our lifestyles would be forced to change in order to significantly reduce our consumption per capita? There are reasonable solutions out there...enough for us to restructure many aspects of our everyday lives without too much of a hindrance with enjoying life.

Edited April 8, 2008 by Mister Fancypants

[peejay 327]

All these alternative energy sources just supplement petroleum and delay the inevitable. That and conservation may buy enough time for a possibility of science and technology to come up with a miracle. These alternatives don't replace petroleum and are incapable of doing so on the scale of current consumption. There is nothing feasable in the wings today to allow for a seamless transition out of the petroleum age. Prove otherwise!

The "market" ain't going to find the answer. Unfortunately I think it will take government to lead the way just like they did with the space programs and the market will follow. It's debatable if that or anything else can save the day when the inevitable happens.

I agree the market isn't going to find the answer either, but in terms of oil consumption per capita, where does the U.S. stand right now? And has our consumption per capita increased over the last 20 years? If so, why?

In terms of individual consumption, how adverse do you think our lifestyles would be forced to change in order to significantly reduce our consumption per capita? There are reasonable solutions out there...enough for us to restructure many aspects of our everyday lives without too much of a hindrance with enjoying life.

Personally I believe this problem will not come to a head abruptly, but will be a long term erosion in quality of life and the ability of humans to maintain these huge populations that have occurred in a relatively short amount of time so recently in human history. Hence the name of the book I'm always hawking amply titled, "The Long Emergency".

Sure...people enjoyed life during The Plague and The Dark Ages, but those times weren't so kind to everyone. These times aren't so kind to millions even today. Humans adapt and endure or they perish. Some survive...some don't.

I cannot predict the future or predict how things will eventually turn out. I'm just stating facts as I interpret them. You see the glass being half full and I see it as being half empty. I don't consider myself a diehard pessimist, but think of myself as a realist. I think humanity is in for a real rocky road in the future...I just don't know how soon it will happen or how bad it will be. Reality won't be kind to lots and lots of people in the future.

I think when world oil production peaks and wanes the future for most of humanity won't be so bright. Those that adapt and endure will survive. The rest will suffer and perish. The natural world trumps the folly of man. How many more billions are sustainable as the petroleum age wanes and human population continues to increase expotentially from the bounty the petroleum age enabled? Solar panels, wind farms, methanol, etc. just ain't going to cut it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

All these alternative energy sources just supplement petroleum and delay the inevitable. That and conservation may buy enough time for a possibility of science and technology to come up with a miracle. These alternatives don't replace petroleum and are incapable of doing so on the scale of current consumption. There is nothing feasable in the wings today to allow for a seamless transition out of the petroleum age. Prove otherwise!

The "market" ain't going to find the answer. Unfortunately I think it will take government to lead the way just like they did with the space programs and the market will follow. It's debatable if that or anything else can save the day when the inevitable happens.

I agree the market isn't going to find the answer either, but in terms of oil consumption per capita, where does the U.S. stand right now? And has our consumption per capita increased over the last 20 years? If so, why?

In terms of individual consumption, how adverse do you think our lifestyles would be forced to change in order to significantly reduce our consumption per capita? There are reasonable solutions out there...enough for us to restructure many aspects of our everyday lives without too much of a hindrance with enjoying life.

Personally I believe this problem will not come to a head abruptly, but will be a long term erosion in quality of life and the ability of humans to maintain these huge populations that have occurred in a relatively short amount of time so recently in human history. Hence the name of the book I'm always hawking amply titled, "The Long Emergency".

Sure...people enjoyed life during The Plague and The Dark Ages, but those times weren't so kind to everyone. These times aren't so kind to millions even today. Humans adapt and endure or they perish. Some survive...some don't.

I cannot predict the future or predict how things will eventually turn out. I'm just stating facts as I interpret them. You see the glass being half full and I see it as being half empty. I don't consider myself a diehard pessimist, but think of myself as a realist. I think humanity is in for a real rocky road in the future...I just don't know how soon it will happen or how bad it will be. Reality won't be kind to lots and lots of people in the future.

I think when world oil production peaks and wanes the future for most of humanity won't be so bright. Those that adapt and endure will survive. The rest will suffer and perish. The natural world trumps the folly of man. How many more billions are sustainable as the petroleum age wanes and human population continues to increase expotentially from the bounty the petroleum age enabled? Solar panels, wind farms, methanol, etc. just ain't going to cut it.

That sounds reasonable to me. I have hope that humanity will rise to the occasion, but there's no telling just how bad things may get before they get better. Population is another matter, but all indications that I've seen, population growth has leveled off or even decreased in more developed countries.

Edited April 9, 2008 by Mister Fancypants

[Heracles 417]

Steven, making fun of engineers is not nice!

Yep, pity the engineers, since with no energy, they will have a lot less to do....

We will never not have energy...because without it, we'd all be dead...photosynthesis and all that sort.

I'm talking about the kind of energy that makes today's civilization possible.

Let's rub two rocks together and plant a few marijuana plants. That'll do it.

And if it doesn't, at least we'll all be too stoned to realize.

Do you ever stop talking ####? You seriously have absolutely nothing genuine to write, ever. We all give each other ####### for their ideas but when I look at your post history I cannot find any ideas. Apart from posting irrelevant ####### you have found on google.