From: "Jerry W. Shepperd" <shepperd AT austincc.edu>
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [Homestead] gas prices
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:11:16 -0500
Brazil produces 35 percent of all ethanol and the U.S. produces 37
percent, and in both cases, production and consumption occur
domestically. However, as several people on this list have noted,
ethanol, as it is currently produced, is not likely to come close to
solving the U.S.'s need, not to mention the world's need, for
energy. There are at least three reasons. First, Brazil's use of
sugarcane and the U.S.'s use of corn use only the food portion of the
plant. The stalks, cobs, and leaves, which are approximately 90
percent of the plant, are not used in the production of
ethanol. Some Brazilian farmers burn the stalk and leaves to power
electric generators, but in the U.S., the stalk and leaves of the
corn crop are left in the field. Second, at the moment, there is no
viable or economical way to get the corn stalk and leaves to a
processing plant. If only the food portion of corn is used, food
costs will likelyrise, because cropland will be diverted from
producing other crops to producing corn. This is already happening
in Mexico, where corn for ethanol is being sold to the U.S., and the
price of tortillas has risen significantly. In addition, even if all
available cropland were used to produce corn, the food portion of
corn would not be enough to make a significant impact on the amount
of petroleum used.
Third, even if the infrastructure were present, the cost of breaking
down the cellulose of the stalk into ethanol at the moment is about
$2.25 per gallon, although it has dropped significantly over the past
ten years.
This past weekend, at a June 3-5 conference in Brazil, Brazilian
researchers announced that they have refined the process and reduced
the cost of processing cellulose to approximately 50 cents per
gallon, although it has not confirmed independently. If the claim
is true, then not only is it economically feasible to process the
entire corn stalk, other biomass crops, such as hemp or switchgrass
can also be processed.
At the moment, however, as James, Gene, Don, and several others have
said, while multiple sources of alternative energy are necessary,
conservation is still the single best approach.
Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
-- Confucius
He is a man of sense who does not grieve for what he has not, but
rejoices in what he has.
-- Epictetus
What matters is not what you learn but what you teach.
-- Michael Josephson
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God...