Re: Is Alkane-Aquanol the Oil-free answer?

[Jones Beene]

Jed Rothwell writes:   >>The tonnage of available future biomass is not clear - but it could be as >>much as an order of magnitude greater than once thought at a fully >>sustainable level.   > Again let me point out that Pimentel and others show that the total annual > biomass production in North America amounts to half of our fossil fuel > consumption. Jed, with all due respect - why do you persist in quoting this flawed study by Pementel as it were not completely debunked already? Did you read the criticism of Pimentel in the cited piece or on numerous other web sites? If not, let me quote it for the benefit of those who do not realize that almost every detail in the work has been discredited by honest experts (and some just as dishonest as Pimentel but coming from the other side of the argument), and morevover the qualifications and expecially the motivation of Pimentel, who is openly racist, are dubious. Who is David Pimentel? Pimentel’s educational background is in the study of insects. A professor of insect ecology at Cornell University since 1955, Pimentel has published four studies dating back to 1991 that claim ethanol is a net energy loser. Each of his studies has been thoroughly discredited by government and university researchers.   Pimentel also produced a study in 2000 that claimed milkweed leaves dusted with heavy concentrations of Bt corn pollen are toxic to Monarch butterfly larvae, a notion that was disproved and soundly rejected by the scientific community. Additionally, according to MSNBC, Pimentel publicly encouraged the Sierra Club to call for restrictions on U.S. immigration, saying the nation’s growing population and its consumption of natural resources are the greatest threat to the environment.   Sierra Club leaders warned that anti-immigration forces (spearheaded by Pimentel) were trying to take over the organization and its $100 million annual budget, according to MSNBC. Pimentel also sits on the board of directors for the “Carrying Capacity Network,” an anti-immigration activist group. The April 22, 2004, San Francisco Chronicle quoted Pimentel as saying, “I have said I support reducing the U.S. population ” Pimentel is NOT an Ethanol Expert or an agronomy expert and has not denied that he is an anti-immigration, anti-latino racist with extreme views on may important personal issues. He should not be trusted on this issue for which he has zero credentials, unless there is substantial backup from real experts, which does not appear to be the case...   ...but, having said that, neither is the Agriculture lobby going to be totally honest regarding ethanol - that is why I prefaced the piece with "who do you trust?" Why do the media continue to report on Pimentel’s work as if it is scientifically valid? It is clear neither Pimentel nor Patzek have expertise in agronomics, ethanol or the economics of energy which is on par with other researchers who have studied this subject intensely with fewer prejustices. The professional backgrounds of Patzek and Pimentel raise several questions about both their competencey and true motivation - especially since Patzek has recived direct funding from petroleum interests, and Pimentel has extreme personal views, and has openly expressed racist views thinnly disguised as science.   Jones