[Camel Joe]

Don’t let them get their panties into too big a bunch, corn is only a stop gap bio-fuel source. Sweet potato crops that can be grown as far North as Canada will produce much more ethanol per acre than corn using chipping spud cultivation equipment that already exists will replace corn in short order. While I hate the name this site has some good info.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/tobacco_farmers.php

Also this study sheds some additional light.

www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-260.html - 18k

[jrawk]

Currently it takes 11 Acres of Annual Agricultural land to make enough bio-diesel for one car for one year.

http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/outreach/publications/2006/biofuelconversions.pdf

There are approximately 224,000,000 cars driven annually in the U.S.

Currently US Agriculture is at maximum capacity. Just a 9% switch in existing Acreage has affected a rise in prices. So these would have to be additional acres. Even if we were to get that down to 1 acre per year for production we would need 224,000,000 additional acres.

The entire state of Texas is 167,550,080 Acres. 261,797 sq miles times 640 acres per sq. mile.

“Biofuels” or agriculturally produced fuel, is a niche fuel and an over 100 year old technology that should remain a niche fuel.

My opinion: for as long as possible I would rather get my energy from a 4” hole, than acres of land.

I would rather be dependent on foreign oil, than foreign food.

— lates
— jrawk