Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

Close but no cigar.  Gasoline is not a net energy loss.  That's the problem. 
It's not, and sources like ethanol and hydrogen are. Anytime it takes more 
energy to produce than you get out of it, it's a no-starter. Nobody's going 
to make a product when it costs more to make it than they can sell it for. 
That's why we've been using oil like there's no tomorrow, instead of ethanol.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------
The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our 
most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its 
renewal is our only hope.
   - Wendell Berry
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 4/28/2006 at 8:56 PM Scott Berkey wrote:

>How much energy does it take to make one gallon of gasoline?  First
>millions
>of years ago you grow tremendous amounts of plants and animals, then they
>sit in the ground under unimaginable pressure, then you have to drill,
>pump,
>float across the ocean, refine, truck, and then finally pump it into your
>car.  What's the net energy loss there?
>
>Every fuel you could conceivably use to power an automobile suffers net
>energy loss.  Electricity as a fuel.  Now there's a waste.  Take perfectly
>good fossil fuel and use it to power a turbine at 80% efficiency then loose
>another 15% to distribution loss.  Oh, the horror!  (End dripping sarcasm)
>
>I can't believe some scientists are so dense.
>
>The energy in ethanol comes from the sun - a little inefficiency ain't any
>big deal.  There's plenty to go around.
>
>Ditch the government subsidies and let ethanol compete in the free market.
>If it wins it wins.  You can't fool the market.