Main > Everything Else

Learning a Lesson

<< < (11/15) > >>

jbox:
Well, technically practically *anything* organic can be made into bio-diesel, but as you point out pretty much none of the suggested systems will ever break even. Bio-diesel, like hydrogen, is another technology that works best on the fringes (where it works *really* well), but ends up taking us backwards at the large scale because it doesn't solve any of the basic energy issues.

At the core of bio-diesel your "free" energy is in fact coming the sun, so you might as well go straight to solar and eliminate having *multiple* intermediate energy-losing transformations and focus your efforts on just improving that single transformation.

danny_galaga:

--- Quote from: AlanS17 on December 17, 2006, 02:23:37 am ---
--- Quote from: danny_galaga on December 16, 2006, 11:51:07 pm ---unless we develop a new technology to synthesise photosynthesis...

--- End quote ---

We already have one. It's called solar power.  ;)

--- End quote ---

without checking it carefully, photosynthesis is the process where by vegetative matter breaks down water into hydrogen and oxygen, to recombine with carbon. this happens at ambient temperature, which is quite impressive.

ChadTower:

--- Quote from: jbox on December 18, 2006, 12:55:14 am ---At the core of bio-diesel your "free" energy is in fact coming the sun, so you might as well go straight to solar and eliminate having *multiple* intermediate energy-losing transformations and focus your efforts on just improving that single transformation.

--- End quote ---

Can't currently be done on a large enough scale and there is almost zero effort in place to make it possible.

Plus Biodiesel would completely transform the US Midwest into incredibly valuable farming instead of the gov't subsidized inefficient farmland it is now.

JONTHEBOMB:

--- Quote from: AlanS17 on December 16, 2006, 10:25:07 pm ---Even though a lot of people freak out about the dangers of it, I really think atomic energy is a solution to a lot of our problems. Disposal can become an issue, but I think that's a much smaller task to tackle than depleting fossil fuels.

--- End quote ---

Nuclear waste stays radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.  Unless we want fish with three eyes we should try to avoid nuclear energy.  We need to use more wind and solar power until we can no more.


--- Quote from: ChadTower on December 18, 2006, 08:38:08 am ---
--- Quote from: jbox on December 18, 2006, 12:55:14 am ---At the core of bio-diesel your "free" energy is in fact coming the sun, so you might as well go straight to solar and eliminate having *multiple* intermediate energy-losing transformations and focus your efforts on just improving that single transformation.

--- End quote ---

Can't currently be done on a large enough scale and there is almost zero effort in place to make it possible.

Plus Biodiesel would completely transform the US Midwest into incredibly valuable farming instead of the gov't subsidized inefficient farmland it is now.

--- End quote ---

Instead of gasoline I think cars should use a combination of alternative resources.  Biodiesel could be used in states with warm climates.  The number of biodiesel cars could be limited by the government so fuel is not hard to come by.  Electric cars could be used in urban areas where people mainly travel short distances.  People who cannot use biodiesel or need a car to travel long distances could switch to ethanol or diesel fuels temporarily.  When electric car technology improves people using ethanol or diesel fuels could change to an electric car.

jbox:
Maybe we can use blinky as the alternative fuel source?  ;D
=>

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

Go to full version