Turtle Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 Well, no one has mentioned the obvious 800 pound plant not allowed in the US garden, so I don't mind pointing it out. :) Hempcar.org-Pollution: Petrol vs Hemp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Non drug hemp should be used for lots of thingsbanning it is insane. Why are biofuels getting this sort of publicity. No one is upset about Brazil which practically runs on ethanol, or even the (once disasterous environmentally) Indonesian Oil Nut industry.How can Africa afford to buy USA corn in the first place?O, I know- because Aid is tied to US goods?Biofuels: A Lose-Lose Strategy. By Stephen Leahy, IPS, January 27, 2008 DEVELOPMENT: Biofuels a Lose-Lose Strategy, Critics Say U.S. biofuels production is driving up food prices around the world, giving billions of poor people a very good reason to hate U.S. policy, say environmentalists. "The U.S. has led the fight to stem global hunger, now we are creating hunger," said Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington. The booming U.S. ethanol industry is diverting enormous amounts food into fuel: 81 million tonnes of grain in 2007 and 114 million tonnes this year, equaling 28 percent of the entire U.S. grain harvest, Brown told IPS. Previous eras of high grain prices were mainly the result of bad weather, but these price hikes are the result of government policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Non drug hemp should be used for lots of thingsbanning it is insane. More like criminal. Marijuana could provide fuel and fabrics as well as the medicinal uses. The waste growing cotton alone is shameful. I am liking the hybrid poplars too I mentioned earlier; they keep showing up with many uses, including remidiating contaminated ground. :shrug: :confused: Fighting pollution the poplar way: Trees to clean up Indiana site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 More like criminal. Marijuana could provide fuel and fabrics as well as the medicinal uses. The waste growing cotton alone is shameful.Yes the big agri-businesses here are getting out of cotton and into almonds. (?!) There just isn't enough water on the planet for cotton, but especially here I am liking the hybrid poplars too I mentioned earlier; they keep showing up with many uses, including remidiating contaminated ground. Fighting pollution the poplar way: Trees to clean up Indiana site"This site presents the perfect opportunity to prove that poplars can get rid of pollution in the real world," Meilan said.Fascinating how resilient nature can be to the crap we are giving it. I think the count is well over 60,000 new-to-the-planet, man-made chemicals nowPumpkins are supposed to be good remedial plants too.Why don't Yanks eat pumpkin? (not the ones used for 'remediation' :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Why don't Yanks eat pumpkin? (not the ones used for 'remediation' :)) Ususally pumpkin is eaten by Yanks in pies during the Fall/Winter holidays. For regular meals, this Yank grows and eats acorn squash. This year I learned that if you have them around long enough, they turn pumpkin orange. :hihi: :hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Ususally pumpkin is eaten by Yanks in pies during the Fall/Winter holidays. For regular meals, this Yank grows and eats acorn squash. This year I learned that if you have them around long enough, they turn pumpkin orange. :hihi: :) Not to mention pumpkin seeds, which are found at every grocery store and gas station in my area. My mom used to cook the pumpkin itself and we would eat it like a squash. I wonder, how much oil do pumpkin seeds have? :hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Growing Pumpkin seed for biofuel. i don't think so.it might be OK for hootch/distilling= fuel + fun? We traditionlly bake it with the 'Sunday Roast' dinner. but it is now put it on high-class pizza (caramelised). Every restaurant has its version of Pumpkin soup in winterThe favourite varieties are Butternut (a small variety), Queensland Blue and Japanese. In fancy restaurants the soup is sometimes served in hollowed-out baby pumpkins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series on biofuels. The series will look at problems with the current industry, explore how family farms and local economies might play in a better model, and offer how-to advice for creating and sustaining that model. Part 2 will run mid-August. June 30, 2004: The biomass fuels industry is exploding in the wake of war in Iraq, a country touting the second largest oil reserve on the planet. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has initiated a slowing of oil production and the Pentagon warns us about the eminent dangers of global warming and greenhouse gasses. Fuel prices continue to rise while fuel consumption steadily increases. In searching for solutions to these challenges, renewable and cleaner-burning biomass fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are gaining ground with environmentalists, economists, farmers, and the general public. However, it seems good public relations and government support for biofuels are being exploited by the corporate giants now forwarding commercialization of the technology. The current agribusiness model for biofuels’ cycle from the farms to vehicles is more a house of cards—and a profitable one until it collapses—than a logical fuel infrastructure. Exploiting clean energy for profit SEE too, the discussion hereView topic - Switchgrass as biofuel - Permaculture discussion forum Biofuel Denialists? We had a comment a few days ago from someone taking us to task for letting up on Biofuel. Yet haven’t we been beating the drum the loudest? In our post “Reforesting vs. Biofuel” the reader will see links to just a few among dozens of reports posted here, warning how carbon credits fund rainforest destruction which causes climate change. Here is an excerpt: “Our concern for what we consider to be a global catastrophe is well documented, in posts such as Deforestation Diesel, Brazilian vs. Californian Ethanol, Biofuel Monocultures, Biofueled Global Warming, Biofuel is NOT Carbon Neutral, Biofueled Deforestation, Ethanol & Water, Biofuel or Biohazard?, When Green is Brown, Is Biofuel Water Positive?, and many others. Check all our posts in the Biofuel category, or the posts in our Global Warming category. We haven’t wavered.”EcoWorld - The Global Environmental Community - Nature and Technology in Harmony What Crop is Best for Manufacturing Biofuel on a Small-Scale?Jetta Wong Q: We want to grow, harvest and produce our own crop to manufacture our own biofuel, for our farms. What crop do you recommend? We've been looking at sawgrass. –Joseph from Tempe, ArizonaA: Whether you want to grow a feedstock, such as sawgrass, for your own 'on-farm' use or for commercial facilities it is important to answer several key questions before embarking on the production of bioenergy feedstocks. Anyone interested in producing bioenergy should take these questions into consideration even if you are in a 'biomass rich' state. These questions to think about include: 1. What feedstocks do you have available or that could be available? How are these feedstocks currently being used or disposed of?What Crop is Best for Manufacturing Biofuel on a Small-Scale? Biofuel Crops : Cultivation and Management (Jatropha, Sweet Sorghum and Sugarbeet)Author: K. Vairavan et alYear: 2007This book can therefore be considered as a book on the application of practical knowledge in energy crops in general, but Jatropha and biodiesel production in particular.Biofuel Crops : Cultivation and Management (Jatropha, Sweet Sorghum and Sugarbeet) Economist: Think Small with Biofuels Crops. . .. .. One other hard reality is that Americans consume more than 320 million gallons of gasoline a day, and there’s not a biofuel crop on the planet that will replace the gasoline anytime soon, Goodman says. Yes, corn is a viable ethanol source that has been proven time and time again. But even under the most ideal conditions, it would take an additional 400 million acres of corn to produce the ethanol required to replace the gasoline currently consumed annually — basically, all of the open land currently available in the United States, including pastureland, he says. "At the margins, we’re going to use this stuff," says Goodman. "It’s going to ease our dependence but it’s not going to be a panacea based on the technologies we have available now.. . . Researchers stress that they have every reason to believe that some profitable way will be found to produce biomass ethanol on a large scale. But for now, the search continues.. . . One especially appealing factor associated with canola is that it could be grown in winter, much like wheat, so that farmers would be freed up in the summer to raise other crops, he says.. . .On the other hand, there are low-quality peanuts, known in the business as seg 2 and 3 peanuts, which have traditionally worked to depress the overall price of peanuts. Why not press them instead — into oil that eventually could be processed into biodiesel? Goodman asks.. . ."There is a pile of cottonseed in every gin in Alabama," Goodman says. "So why can’t we have a mill for extracting oil, which would be worth about 40 cents a pound.". . .Economist: Think Small with Biofuels Crops | The News is NowPublic.com Change crops for greener biofuels, scientist saysLast Updated: Friday, January 18, 2008 | 5:56 PM ETCBC News Canada should be looking at different crops for biofuels because the original reasons for promoting ethanol have changed, plant physiologist David Layzell said. The use of food crops like corn to make ethanol is pushing up food prices and consuming a product that can sustain people. Switchgrass has potential as a biofuel that doesn't reduce food supplies, David Layzell said.Switchgrass has potential as a biofuel that doesn't reduce food supplies, David Layzell said. (CBC) Instead, Layzell told CBC.ca on Friday, Canada should be looking at crops like poplar, willow, switchgrass or hemp as fuel sources. "All you want is the energy," he said. Crops that produce "more kilometres per hectare," don't reduce food supplies and don't take valuable nutrients out of the soil are what are needed. Wheat can power 5,000 vehicle-kilometres per hectare per year, biodiesel 10,000, cellulose about 15,000 and biomass-to-liquid systems (whereby organic material is converted into a "synfuel") 25,000, he said.Continue Article Biofuel Review - international biofuel news updated daily - Search 4 Common Myths About Biodiesel and Food There are many articles in the news these days about biodiesel and other biofuels. The myths and misconceptions about biodiesel have propagated largely due to lack of understanding about the various forms of biofuels. Ethanol, for instance, is a biofuel that has many drawbacks, most importantly a low net energy gain. Our blog focuses on biodiesel because that is our area of expertise. With that in mind, this discussion will focus solely on the common biodiesel myths. The bulk of this article was used by kind permission from:ColumbiaFuels.com, Canada's BioHeat source Myth 1:Biofuels use valuable arable land that should be used for growing food. Fact:The two main crops used in North America to produce biodiesel are soybeans (US) and canola (Canada). The oil is extracted from the soybean and canola seed, which is then processed into biodiesel. Soybeans are actually grown for their protein, and the lesser value oil co-product only makes up 18% of the output. Of the total soy oil production, only 5% of it is currently used for non food production such as biodiesel. The increased demand for biodiesel made from4 Common Myths About Biodiesel and Food - Laurelhurst Oil Science forumsCrops for biofuel? - Home Discussion Forums Biodiesel From AlgaeManufacturing biodiesel from algae - The way forward?biomass | transportPrinter Friendly Version Print Article Biodiesel has usually been made from the oil pressed from agricultural crops such as corn, soya, and rapeseed. However there is not enough arable land on the earth's surface to grow sufficient corn to replace the amount of fossil fuel oil we use today, let alone tomorrow. There are alternatives such as Jatropha, an amazing plant which grows on the worst soils and has seeds with an oil content of well over 30%, but again enormous swathes of the planet's land would have to be dedicated to growing this crop.Biodiesel From Algae - Biomass Factory Farmed Biofuel GROWING BIOFUEL IN A BIOREACTORUSING LIGHT, ALGAE, AND CO2by Ramesh Suri Algae colors green the waters of this Tennessee catfishfarm. The best way to extract fuel from algae, however,may be through using a totally enclosed "bioreactor."(Photo: USDA) Editor's Note: With every new technology there is a lot of hype, especially when it is green technology. Biofuel is no exception. In the realm of new green energy technologies not only is the holy grail of abundant energy held forth by entrepreneurs to investors as an irresistable temptation, there is also the claim that we will save the planet. Heady stuff.Algae are microscopic, single-celled plants, growing in an aqueous environment. Biodiesel From Algae - Biomass In defence of the humble coconut By Sarina Locke Tuesday, 29/01/2008From massage oil, to driving an engine, cooking your food and lighting the lamps, the coconut is a "source of life," particularly in tropical Asia and the South Pacific. The milk and the "meat" are also highly nutritious, and studies have shown the oil has anti bacterial and anti viral properties. But Dr Dan Etherington says multinational business who have a vested interest in promoting other, hydrogenated vegetable oils, like margarines, have convinced western medicine that coconut oil is bad for you, because it's a saturated fat. Dr Etherington says in fact there is considerable evidence to show diets rich in coconuts are healthy, and it's only once people adopt a western diet full of lard and dairy food, that they become obese. For 25 years Dr Dan Etherington was an agricultural economist in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, an overseas aid advocate and for the last 16 years he's developed and manufactured a coconut press with his company Kokonut Pacific, so villagers on South Pacific Islands can make their own oil. He's been recognised for that work with a Member of the Order of Australia this year. Dr Etherington says coconut oil is used for the fat in milk for premature babies, because it is rapidly metabolised and elite athletes use it for quickly recovering energy. "But for some reason, the Heart Foundation continues to say that for normal people it's terrible and it'll do great damage.". . .With a ratchet action, the piston of the press squeezes out the coconut oil. Dried coconut contains 66 per cent oil, and two kilograms of dried coconut will give you one litre of oil. In defence of the humble coconut. 29 Jan 2008. Rural Online. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Bio-crude turns cheap waste into valuable fuelReference: 08/09CSIRO and Monash University have developed a chemical process that turns green waste into a stable bio-crude oil.4 February 2008The bio-crude oil can be used to produce high value chemicals and biofuels, including both petrol and diesel replacement fuels. “By making changes to the chemical process, we’ve been able to create a concentrated bio-crude which is much more stable than that achieved elsewhere in the world,” says Dr Steven Loffler of CSIRO Forest Biosciences. “This makes it practical and economical to produce bio-crude in local areas for transport to a central refinery, overcoming the high costs and greenhouse gas emissions otherwise involved in transporting bulky green wastes over long distances.”The process uses low value waste such as forest thinnings, crop residues, waste paper and garden waste, significant amounts of which are currently dumped in landfill or burned.Bio-crude turns cheap waste into valuable fuel (Media Release) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Some linksStudy: Miscanthus More Than Twice as Productive as Switchgrass for Energy CropGreen Car Congress: Study: Miscanthus More Than Twice as Productive as Switchgrass for Energy Crop HAYWARD--- Mendel Biotechnology Announces Acquisition of Miscanthus Breeding Program from Tinplant3/30/2007 @ 6:58 AM print this article - email to a friend - join our eNewsletterMendel Biotechnology, Inc. ("Mendel") today announced the acquisition of the entire Miscanthus breeding program from Tinplant Biotechnik und Pflanzenvermehrung GmbH ("Tinplant"), a German breeding and plant science company. Miscanthus is one of the leading candidates for dedicated energy crops for production of biofuels such as ethanol from lignocellulosic plant material. This acquisition positions Mendel to be the leading developer of Miscanthus varieties for the cellulosic ethanol industry worldwide.HAYWARD--- Mendel Biotechnology Announces Acquisition of Miscanthus Breeding Program from Tinplant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Growing Pumpkin seed for biofuel. i don't think so. Have a look at this link, it's pretty interesting. The MTN pilot project will use locally grown groundnuts, pumpkin seeds, jatropha and palm oil to manufacture the biodiesel necessary to power special generators linked to the base stations.Ericsson builds a base station that runs on pumpkin seeds and soy beans And according to this site, it would be better than corn. http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=606 Funny we've never heard about it before. :lol: Michaelangelica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 "Well bugger me", as the actress said to the bishop.That's the last time I will say 'that's not possible' when it comes to plants.I should have learnt by now. I have shot my mouth off before and been proved wrong. I was thinking of the huge pumpkins we grow with little seed. But there are small pumpkins. I am sure you could hybridise or develop varieties with more seed. I doubt if this has been done probably mostly (?) we have been looking for flesh. Still its a big waste of biomass and potential pumpkin soup (and/or beer or hootch?) The graph was interesting Avocardo was up there, and surprisingly, hemp was not. I have been waiting for the usual summer glut of mangos. By this time of the year you can buy a tray of huge, ripe, delicious mangos for $10 or so. But they are still $1 to $2 +EACH in the shops.I found out why. Truck drivers are refusing to bring them from far north Queensland as it costs too much in fuel (About 2,500 K about $4,000+ just in fuel)I will add that gripe to the top of the list of my arguments for the removal of double tax on petrol and diesel here. For my argument see View topic - Switchgrass as biofuel - Permaculture discussion forum Ericsson is trying hard. We take so much for granted. Africa sounds like a nightmare where back to basics is the absolute rule. Where do you start?In addition, Ericsson is supporting other initiatives to make its network equipment less fuel hungry or environmentally damaging. Not allowed to post graph? Napier grass- an annual cropBotanical name?Farmers start harvesting Napier grass when it is 3 months old Google Image Result for http://www.push-pull.net/images/Napier%20Cutting.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Sweet! Sugarcane is Australia's New Renewable Energy : TreeHugger For the first time in over 125 years sugar cane farmers, in one region of Australia will not burn their crop at harvest time. Instead they will ship the still green waste and cane residue to a new 30 megawatt plants, where it will be burnt to generate power. It what has been described as “one of the country's biggest renewable electricity projects” the co-generation plants will provide baseload power 24 hours a day. The plants are a joint project between energy provider Delta Electricity and the 650 strong cane growers co-op. They are expected to provide half the power needs of the local community, upwards of 20,000 homes, when they go online with the next harvest in June 2008. The added benefit is that six month cane-burning season won’t produce its usual 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases and associated air pollution. A classic win-win. Via ABC. (Sugar Cane is versatile stuff. We’ve seen it used for a as well for wide variety of applications , as well as paper and even plates and cups. In a previous post we also looked at using macadamia nut waste to generate power.) Image by ABC’s Damien HooperSweet! Sugarcane is Australia's New Renewable Energy : TreeHugger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Just African Bush?Green Electricity, Powered by the African Bush! : EcoWorldly It seems destructive, yet they say it is a good idea. Perhaps you need to be there to understand. Hoping that a new administration in Washington could lead to changes in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration laws, the Vermont House of Representatives has approved a bill clearing the way for farmers to grow industrial hemp. The measure now moves to the state Senate for consideration.Ecoscraps - A Scrapbook of the Green World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 A GreenFuel Technologies bioreactor in operation. Gallons of Oil per Acre per Year Corn = 18 Soybeans = 48 Safflower = 83 Sunflower = 102 Rapeseed = 127 Oil Palm = 635 Micro Algae = 5000-15000Michael Briggs at the Univ. of N. Hampshire Biodiesel group estimates that using open. outdoor, racetrack ponds, only 15,000 square miles could produce enough algae to meet all of the USA's ground transportation needs. Transportation accounts for 67% of US oil consumption according to the Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2005. We'll say more about the 15,000 square mile number below. If all of this land were in one rectangular piece, it would be 120 miles by 125 miles—about 1/7th of the area of the state of Colorado. . . . GreenFuel bioreactor in field test GreenFuel Technologies in Cambridge, MA is field testing a closed system that uses the CO2 in power plant flue gases (13% of flue gases in the test) to feed algae. (3,4) In so doing, it significantly reduced the CO2 concentration in the exhaust Interesting site and claims.Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production "An ounce of emotion is equal to a ton of facts."John Junor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Vetiver?Wouldn't it be more root than anything else and difficult to harvest?What is the Wallace line pls? Wallace Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaa biological line that separates the australasian componenst from the Asianmostly..monkeys on one side - cuscus on the other its most clearly seen in Bali - Asian, it recently had its own tiger and alland the next island of Lombok which is Australasian in its fauna and flora Lecaena is a pesky weed in many placesa very good substitute are the casaurinas for Australasia and the pacific region. They are also uses as vanilla and coffee shade trees in Vietnam they have been like Leucaena in the highlands of new guinea and have mainatined the soil fertility there enough for people to continue farming it they fix nitrogen using frankia spp. actinomycetes just like alders (Alnus spp.) they grow fast, coppice well and make excellent charcoal Vetiver creates a lot of above ground biomass that is cut back and used as mulch seeing as its grown in hedges anyway itd be well suited to harvesting mechanically with a slasher , and then being pyrolisedit burns quite well even when not fully driedmy hedges are not a year old, when i take the fisrt cut ill be charring it to see how it goes my standard so far is Rhodes grassit makes a great grass char as do lawn clippings which im very keen on the idea of as they readily turn to char and come ready pulverised Napier grass above is the same Bana grass/ elephants grassx pearl millet is was talking about beforevery good for a frost free area i have got in seeds of Pearl millet and Kenafpearl millet is interesting as a grain, and becaus of its biomass and because it fixes some of its own nitrogen via association with azospirillium bacteria Kenaf is a fibre crop that is superior to hempKenaf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia might as well grow kenaf instead for biomassand just grow the proper hemp to reward ourselves Michaelangelica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Other similar or relevant hypography threads. http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/2221-future-fuels.html http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/11589-biogas-corn.html?highlight=biofuels http://hypography.com/forums/news-brief/11966-fruit-could-make-powerful-fuel.html?highlight=biofuels Burning Forests to Feed Cars: The Ecological Madness of BiofuelsPolitical Affairs Magazine - Burning Forests to Feed Cars: The Ecological Madness of Biofuels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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