Dave Hanna - I think you miss the point. Oxidation of any carbon-compound releases carbon dioxide. It includes combustion of fuels, weathering of wood -- even exchange of gases from human metabolism. I'm not one to tell you to "stop breathing" to reduce the carbon dioxide build up in the planet's atmosphere. Certainly not! What does make sense to me is to reduce the amount of fossil fuel that is burned. That means use of plant residues from the current growing season, solar power, wind or tidal, etc. Biodiesel is one version of "use of plant residues." Others include fermentation to yield other oxygenated fuels and direct use such as refuse-to-energy plants.
A commitment to "alternative fuels" by our federal government would probably be a good thing. Even in its absence -- or token support by the Department of Energy, for example -- the private sector is doing a pretty good job. Witness the astounding interest in and by members of this group. The problem that I see is the response by the rest of the world. I realize that the United States was castigated by others due to the fact that we declined to agree to the Kyoto accords. But so long as we are actually DOING something, is formal acceptance really necessary? I don't think so, particularly when other nations just seek to increase their fuel use at our expense. This attitude has a name. It is called "jealousy." Look at China, as the worst example. Their use of fossil fuels is burgeoning. Who calls on them to find other sources? Besides, anyone who dared would be ignored. And the type of fuel most abundantly burned is called "stone coal," named by the fact that it contains so much sulfur that it is hard, like a rock. When it is burned, it releases massive amounts of sulfur dioxide which, in the presence of water vapor, forms sulfuric acid. Further, there are only minimal pollution controls or efficiency standards so, beside releasing sulfuric acid, they belch forth massive amounts of oxides of nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide. Dave, global warming is real. Migration of species from lower to higher latitudes, more severe weather-related disturbances, drought bands, proliferation of economically unimportant grasses (i.e. --"weeds") are all components. To say that global warming is " ...an attempt by the extreme left to control the activities of society," is dismissive of reality as well as expressing naivety to the extreme. Study the work of the late, great oceanographer Roger Revelle, in the 1950s, from Scripp's institute. He studied global warming by the responses of the ocean. His work was panned by those who feared the upset of the status quo. But he was right then and he remains right now. -- Jay L. Stern In a message dated 08/27/2004 7:21:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Andrew, > > Global warming is in my opinion an attempt by the extreme left to control the > activities of society to the extent that they'll control all of human > activities. This is about power and the lefts never ending desire to regulate free > people. > > Trying to control CO2 is an exercise in futility. Hydrocarbons are in > constant change. It's a part of nature as surely as the water cycle. These people > even come up with ridiculous hypotheses that would enable them to control the > amount of cattle allowed to be on farms. Cattle produce methane gas you know. > The same microbes present in the digestive system of cattle can be found every > where in nature. The grasses the cows eat will eventually be consumed by > these microbes in or out of the cow. > > If you don't believe this, take some grass clippings, put them in a plastic > bag with a couple of quarts of water and let it set in a warm area. Tie the > bag up and you will soon see the bag swell. The gases,CO2 and methane ,are > being produced by the bacteria. After a few days you can dump the contents of the > bag and you'll find a product very similiar to cow waste. > > There may be some real reason for hope in resolving the energy crisis with > the new technologies being developed today. The advancements being made by such > corporations as Changing World Technologies, certainly is a sign of good > things to come. If we can really take virtually any hydrocarbon and expose it to > say 600 psi @ 500 degrees F for relatively short periods of time and produce a > useable oil, think of the possibilities. > > Thank you for listening to my rambling note. > > Sincerely, > Dave Hannah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
