Garibaldi

Oh, quit worrying about nuclear waste - it's being spread all over Iraq and Afghanistan (and Kosovo) in the form of depleted uranium munitions - far away from you.

Part of the current biofuel footprint is that most production methods are still based on standard energy sources of petroleum and coal. Burning biofuels will produce a smaller carbon footprint, but a much larger particulate footprint.

There is still one answer - the one that's fueled all life on this planet since the beginning - SOLAR. The amount of solar energy that hits this planet every day can supply the world's needs many times over. But at its best, it's an inherently decentralized energy supply and Big Energy is fighting it at every front...

Hero999

It's all total BS what about the methane given off when it's grown?

Bio-fuels might sound nice but they're just too expensive.

If the government want to tax fuel then that's fine by me but if they're claiming it's a green tax they're lying otherwise they'd make bio diesel tax free.

There's too much BS about so-called climate change. I tend to stard to switch off as soon as someone starts talking about carbon footprints, trading and similar crap.

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3v0

IIRC the box they put corn flakes in costs more then the corn inside it. A $1 loaf of bread has 1 or 2 cents of wheat in it. I do not see a problem with the price of corn or wheat going double or triple in price. There is no reason for the consumer to see a increase. But I am sure that the corps that package the food will use it as an excuse to more the double their profits.

The price would have to go up by about a factor of 10 to make a real diff in the cost of food.

The exception would be meat and milk where the cost of feeding the animal comes into play. Even here the product processing and packaging is a major part of the cost so a doubling in the cost of milk or meat production does not require that the cost to the consumer double.

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j.p.bill

Stand by for a possibly better way...

2,5 dimethylfuran (DMF) can be made from reacting acids with fructose and glucose. It has an energy content almost as good as gas. Might be worth watching. But it probably doesn't mix well with lemonaid.

Sell those switchgrass futures.

Super_voip

It's like when the price paid for coffee doubles from a severe weather episode and there is much scare mongering in the press. They conviently forget to tell everyone that the coffee farmers are being paid a pitance for their work.

HarveyH42

Didn't know Australia grew coffee. I started roasting coffee at home about a year ago, tried a bunch coffees from different countries. Don't recall seeing anything from there. I've got one plant in my backyard, only about a foot tall so far. Takes about three years to bare fruit, hope it survives...

Super_voip

We do grow some coffee, not as much as we import though. We use mech harvesters as wages too high for manual picking. We also grow tea and sugar and have vast vineyards. You can't beat Costa Rican coffee though.

HarveyH42

I usually buy 5 pounds Costa Rican, and a pound of one or two others to see if there is anything interesting about them. Columbian Supremo is my second choice. I like strong, rich, coffee. I don't expect anything spectacular out of the plant in my yard, mostly likely won't even produce enough coffee to last a month. Just thought it would be a fun project. If it survives the winter, might put in a few more.

Guessing Australia doesn't export much coffee. Will look a little closer next time I buy, maybe I over looked it.

drolex

No they aren't. I make biodiesel. The production of "bio-fuels" is not too expensive. It is very cheap.

mneary

How much do you pay for the vegetable oil? Is the price sustainable if everyone tapped your sources? Do you pay the road taxes?

drolex

Everyone isn't going to tap my sources. That's not how it works. The goal is not to completely switch everyone to biodiesel. Commercial biodiesel production has been growing rapidly in the United States. Some other countries have been producing much more than the U.S. a while ago. The only "problem" with biodiesel is that it is not yet widely available. We're working on that. There are tons of commercial producers today. The largest facility in the U.S can produce 100 million gallons per year and that same company also has other facilities that produce 20 million gallons per year. The common biodiesel plant produces 10 to 20 million gallons per year and they are popping up all over. Biodiesel is not a concept. It's big, it's happening and it's affordable.

mneary

OK, what is the current price of vegetable oil? How does it compare to $99 / barrel crude?

If OPEC begins to lose market share to biofuels, what would they do?

drolex

There is no one price for vegetable oil. You can use all sorts of oils and fats. The price for vegetable oil depends on who you get it from, where they are located, and how much you buy. The deal you make can vary greatly. One existing price for new vegetable oil is $1.84 per gallon. I'm sure you can get it cheaper. That's new oil. You probably know that biodiesel can be made from used oils, which are much cheaper. At your $99/barrel that's $2.36/gallon for crude oil. There are many products that come out of crude oil and there are many products that can come out of vegetable oil as co-products of biodiesel. Did you know that Canada and Mexico are the largest oil suppliers for the U.S. by far? Why are you so concerned about the production cost? It's real and it's happening. I can go out right now and buy commercial biodiesel nearby for less money than diesel #2.