Keith Addison wrote: >Hi John and Jon > >>Hi Jon- >> >>Welcome. With regard to the modification issue, it really breaks down to >>a philosophical, moral, economic and technical choice whether you want >>to run SVO (straight veg. oil) or Biodiesel. >> >> >Three choices >1. Mixing it >2. Straight vegetable oil >3. Biodiesel >http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#3choices > >>Be aware there are strong >>opinions on both sides that can become rather heated in some cases. Even >>thought this list is technically a biofuel list, ethanol and biogas are >>rarely mentioned, making this a de facto BD/SVO list. >> >> >I don't agree with that at all. Neither does the archives: > >Ethanol - 3,433 hits >Biogas or methane - 757 hits >Biomass - 837 hits > I stand by my statement; I said rare, not nonexistant. Would you feel more confortable had I said uncommon?
The Archives pull up 6119 hits for biodiesel, suggesting BD is discussed 8 times as much as biogas and 7 times as much a biomass. With regard to ethanol, the fault is mine for not being more clear, I meant discussion of ethanol as a straight fuel rather than as a feed stock in BD production. Of those 3400 hits for ethanol, how many are in the context of making biodiesel? I'd suspect a majority but am unable to verify this in the archive. I tried searching +ethanol -biodiesel but it didn't work correctly. >Many other biofuels topics also regularly discussed. This is a >general biofuels discussion list. But - it's a great place for >biodiesel too! > >>Places you should definitely check out are tdiclub.com and >>biodieselnow.com. TDIclub just added a biodiesel forum >>(http://forums.tdiclub.com/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB44) although some >>BD stuff still ends up in the Fuels&Lubricants forum. >>Frankly, I think biodieselnow.com is the single best starting point for >>a US novice. Keith's journeytoforever.org site is an excellent, >>excellent resource but it can be a little overwhelming at first. >> >> > >Well, thankyou! But, overwhelming? > >Make your own biodiesel: > >Where do I start? >http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#start > >What's next? >http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#next > >And so on. What could be simpler? I mean it - if you think it could >be simpler, please tell me how. > Well, I say overwhelming because you have so much information that it can be hard to find at times. This is due in part to the layout and navigation but mainly is due simply to the large volume. When I first learned about this whole biodiesel thing, I did a quick google search to find more info, as is my custom. Of course, I ended up on your excellent site. Even having suffered through far more chemistry than the average bear, I still found it rather hard to wrap my head around the idea, not for lack of info, but for lack of a good point of entry, both in terms of the what and the why. Obviously, your focus is global and not Amerocentric but assuming the US is the major problem given it consumes 25% of the world's energy, it is the single greatest place to make a major impact. In my estimation, the two biggest selling points of BD for a North American audience are national security and domestic jobs, not global warming or social justice or sustainable development. Not that these aren't important, but if we want to really sell this idea to mainstream middle America, we need to couch it in terms to which they can relate. Alternative fuels will always be a lefty fringe idea in the US until we can package it as something other than a feel-good fuzzy pet project of a bunch of granola eating greens. A soybean farmer in Iowa works 15 hours a day trying not to lose his land to the bank and doesn't have any time to worry about global warming and flooding in Bangladesh. However, he does worry about having a market for his product. Likewise, an upperclass suburban mother is too busy balancing her career and getting the kids to soccer practice to worry about the $8.00/hr cafeteria worker at her children's school. However, she does have time to worry about her 17 yr old son getting drafted. Like it or not, these are the people we need to reach if alternative fuels are to become a legitimate energy source. If can help prevent global warming and unsustainable agriculture along the way, these are ancilary benefits. *This* is my reason for asking Todd to tone down his remarks. As much as I respect his right to strongly express his views and admire the strength of his convictions, I'm afraid such vitriol may be offputting to some potential converts and as such be counterproductive. But now, I must run some errands. Slainte Mhath John Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
