----- Original Message -----
From: goodsell
A must read. Feffer ties the issues of peak oil, agriculture and climate
change and calls for political change addressing the three as a system. In a
way he puts these elements at a tipping point which can either be affected by
policy change or by mother nature herself. It's long, but worth it.
--Martha
----------N. Korea's problems are 100% it's corrupt dictator.
Dave G.
Can Canola Fuel The Tractor?
A University of Vermont researcher and Lake Champlain-area farmers are
experimenting with canola as a possible all-in-one crop which produces
biodiesel, feed and bedding for livestock, the Burlington Free Press reported
on Wednesday. Heather Darby began her research on an Alburgh farm in 2007 and
the cost to produce a gallon of canola biofuel was $2.34. At the time, diesel
cost $2.30 gallon so the economics did not look good but fuel prices have
continued to increase, making the biofuel now feasible. While canola is not
normally grown in New England, she found it does grow well in the area. Growing
canola with Alburgh farmer Roger Rainville, the pair got "excellent" yields of
1.5 tons per acre, which is about double of the national average yields,
Rainville said. He obtained grant money to purchase a $2,900 Chinese-made
oilseed press which he used to press out oil, leaving edible meal behind, which
he fed to his cows. He chopped the stalks left in the field and used i
t as bedding. The oil is still in drums on his farm as it needs to be further
processed before he can use it as vehicle fuel. Having grown canola
successfully, Rainville and Darby need more financial data. "The question is
can we make it cheaper than buying it," Rainville said. "So far it looks very,
very good."
(Burlington Free Press, June 18, 2008)
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