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permaculture - [permaculture] Peak oil, ethanol production, energy production through waste recycing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Peak oil, ethanol production, energy production through waste recycing
  • Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 01:13:22 -0400


Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Democrat, excellent potential presidential candidate (possible Kerry running mate) mentioned tonight on the Tavis Smiley talk show on PBS that Iowa is 2nd in the nation in ethanol production and near that in biodiesel fuel. Considering the cost of production of either, in-the-field costs, storage, processing and distribution and all other costs associated with production, and following energy, environmental and economic audit trails out to the limits I wonder how much hard won net gain there is. If you're going to lower demand for oil, decrease pollution and contribute less to global warming and get serious about it I would think there needs to be a re-think about waste management and make it part of the energy equation, i.e. stop the waste of waste. CNN has a video newsclip on recycling cow manure as vehicle fuel. If the public could be pursuaded to stop dumping things they shouldn't into the waste stream
(npi) then municipal sewage could be processed in natural systems within which vast biofuel and ethanol crops could be grown. How can this be so difficult? Agricultural livestock waste would be even easier to convert into many useful products: biogas, livestock protein source (sawfly maggots), compost and worm castings for sustainable farms, paper,
wood, the growing of ornamental plants, reforestation, erosion control and windbreak plant material, landscape nursery stock and again, biofuel and ethanol production, to name just a few. This use of such a valuable source of nutrients and humus could make it possible to have vast permaculture plant nurseries providing material for road and highway plantings, parkland, farm and range land and to help stabilize wild areas and reduce the impact of or outcompete and replace unwanted invasives. Should politicians make programs built on these goals part of their agendas, included along with agriculture, the environment, reduction in energy use, especially from fossil fuels, and pollution and global warming abatement?







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