> A new list member (hi there!) told listadmin this a > few days ago:
>> Ethanol has been introduced in Manila just this >> month and I'm getting excited about it. The rising >> costs of fuel is really a burden here and through >> this list, I hope I would be able to gain lots of >> knowledge about Ethanol. Our government is >> encouraging us to use this fuel, they're telling >> us that we don't have to convert our engines in >> order for us to use Ethanol. I'm a little bit >> >> hesitant but I guess they're right coz I've been >> reading various sites from the web and they all >> said that there's no for us to have our existing >> engines converted nor there are any bad effects in >> using Ethanol. > Any comments? > Best wishes > Keith Hi Keith, Cocodiesel, yes. But I haven't seen ethanol outside of the media yet. There are still a few problems to be worked out - growing sorghum or sugarcane, where is it going to be grown and who is going to grow it, setting up the plants to process it, and getting it into the tanks of our vehicles. If they're going to use sugarcane, what happens to our sugar supply? The oil companies here have big bucks invested in their facilities and it might not be in their best interests to have ethanol easily available unless there's money to be made for them. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2005/08/31/news/gas.firms.doubt.ethanol.can.be.used.as.alternative.fuel.right.away.html "Gas firms doubt ethanol can be used as alternative fuel right away" There's also the problem of monoculture and growing the crop sustainably. Mrs. Arroyo is in a bind here with the questions raised about the credibility of her election, Peak Oil, and Climate Change so I'd think she'd like to give our people a few straws to clutch. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2004/12/philippines_clo.html "Philippines Close to National Ethanol Program" http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2005/08/29/news/ethanol.plant.to.benefit.davao.bukidnon.zubiri.html "Ethanol plant to benefit Davao, Bukidnon: Zubiri" These say we should have a 25% blend of ethanol by 2010, *if* our Congress passes the Energy Bill. However, if this can be done on a village level, there might be something in it. But it would still take a while to set it up. I wouldn't hold my breath just now. :-) In the meantime, I'll start homebrewing BD in January. And I don't have to wait for our government or anyone else to do it for me. :-) Regards. Vin Lava Manila, Philippines ______________________________________________________ Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
