Gengineered E. Coli Eat Sawgrass, Crap Jet Fuel

[Tyrannical]

You need to study the US ethanol subsidy program a bit more carefully.

It needs to go away. They can grow sawgrass if they want. It won't make any difference to how much food there is to eat. And it won't hurt their income stream any either.

Looks like farmers are being paid to grow switchgrass, meaning they are growing fuel crops instead of food crops. I'm sure switchgrass could be grown on more marginal land, but I'd like to see evidence of new farms springing up on less desirable land.

[Schneibster]

Why? The problem of starvation is not a problem of production, but one of distribution.

Quite simply they can't do anything that's worth feeding them for, not by their own fault but simply because of where they were born. So much for freedom.

When you look at this, it's a banking fail. Again. Food is rotting and people are starving. Resources are being wasted because of greedy fucks. Again.

[JimC]

Why? The problem of starvation is not a problem of production, but one of distribution.

Quite simply they can't do anything that's worth feeding them for, not by their own fault but simply because of where they were born. So much for freedom.

When you look at this, it's a banking fail. Again. Food is rotting and people are starving. Resources are being wasted because of greedy fucks. Again.

Certainly distribution and world economic issues are a major contributor to people going hungry now, no question. The problem that concerns people thinking about biofuels from crops, specifically crops grown in places where food might be grown, is the future. If the world goes down the path of producing a significant amount of its liquid transport fuels this way, then, as crude oil shortages grow, there will be growing tension between land use for fuel, and land use for food.

The concept of an intelligent combination of the two via utilising the non-food cellulose waste for fuel is an efficient one, and at some stage in the future may be vital.

[Schneibster]

If we get some sort of handle on population this century, we have enough land area for both.

If we figure out what to do about global warming.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm going to have to bring this up with the WUSTL guys. Washington U are big into studying (potentially) invasive species. We have a small bamboo forest at the Center. In Missouri, FFS.

[Warren Dew]

Looks like farmers are being paid to grow switchgrass, meaning they are growing fuel crops instead of food crops. I'm sure switchgrass could be grown on more marginal land, but I'd like to see evidence of new farms springing up on less desirable land.

At present the ethanol subsidy subsidizes ethanol made from corn. It's a large enough subsidy that it's worthwhile for farmers to use fertilizer made from oil to grow corn to turn ethanol into fuel. More of the energy in the ethanol comes from oil than from the sun.

It's a classic example of how government interference in the economy messes things up. We need to get rid of it, and allow the free market to reward those who come up with biofuel solutions which actually work.

[Robert_S]

Looks like farmers are being paid to grow switchgrass, meaning they are growing fuel crops instead of food crops. I'm sure switchgrass could be grown on more marginal land, but I'd like to see evidence of new farms springing up on less desirable land.

At present the ethanol subsidy subsidizes ethanol made from corn. It's a large enough subsidy that it's worthwhile for farmers to use fertilizer made from oil to grow corn to turn ethanol into fuel. More of the energy in the ethanol comes from oil than from the sun.

It's a classic example of how government interference in the economy messes things up. We need to get rid of it, and allow the free market to reward those who come up with biofuel solutions which actually work.

I agree with you there to a point, but I have a hunch that it is immeasurably important to future research that we have cars running on alternative fuels right now. It places non-petroleum transport in the realm of the familiar, rather than a future dream with the personal jetpacks and flying cars. That's got to do loads of good for getting funding for more research.

[Warren Dew]

I agree with you there to a point, but I have a hunch that it is immeasurably important to future research that we have cars running on alternative fuels right now. It places non-petroleum transport in the realm of the familiar, rather than a future dream with the personal jetpacks and flying cars. That's got to do loads of good for getting funding for more research.

I think the whole point of the original post is that we don't have to get the cars running on alternative fuels, because we can turn the sawgrass and cornstalks into oil instead of alcohol. That has big advantages, because oil has a substantially higher energy density, which means less energy is wasted carting it around.

[laklak]

Reminds me of an old joke.

The bad news is aliens have landed in D.C. The good news is they eat Congressmen and piss gasoline.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Reminds me of an old joke.

The bad news is aliens have landed in D.C. The good news is they eat Congressmen and piss gasoline.

"Aliens landed in Washington and killed everyone in Congress. Later it turned out they were hostile."