Keep Biofuels Out of the Gas Tank

[Kernos]

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/co ... 508/3?etoc

Biofuels work better if you don't put them directly into your car. That's the conclusion of a new study that shows that ethanol derived from corn and switchgrass allows cars to drive farther and emit less greenhouse gases if these crops are converted to electricity for powering electric vehicles rather than pouring the ethanol into the gas tank.

If you have access to Science, see Greater Transportation Energy and GHG Offsets from Bioelectricity Than Ethanol

[Dryadia2]

Thanks for sharing this Kernos!
It's way over my head, and although I don't understand the technical stuff, I'm hoping that there are people in the upper echelons (ie, our governments), that will make good decisions about funding support for alternative fuel sources.

/|\

[Corwen]

We shouldn't be using biofuels derived from food crops at all, in any way. This market in the US has pushed the price of food up around the world and resulted in widespread hunger, especially in some Asian countries.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/03/biofuels.renewableenergy

The technology isn't yet there to utilise non food crops like wood waste for ethanol production, and using food crops is crazy in a hungry world. It looks like the rich countries by using food as fuel are staving off global warming but in the process starving the third world. Not good.

[Badger Bob]

A recent traffic survey showed that 90% of the traffic into Derby along the road I use to cycle to work was on a journey of 2-3 miles total distance. If all these people would only cycle in to work we wouldn't need anywhere near the fuel and the local cycle-making industry would not be failing. A journey of 2-3 miles would hardly tax an electric vehicle either. The problem is, how do we stop the vanity associated with excessive pointless car usage?