[EternalVigilance]

Interesting piece. Thanks for posting it. Proof once again that the PC "conventional wisdom" often ain't so wise...

[randog]

Interesting perspective.

[Don Corleone]

Return of the Ludites wrapped in the colors of communism!

[crosslink]

Markets work unless the government gets involved. Ethanol would not even be produced as a fuel if it wasn't for Sen Dole and his subsidies.

[JamesP81]

If we turned every acre of farmland into corn and converted every acre of that corn into ethanol, it still wouldn't be enough.

Dependence on oil will be broken when electric cars and nuclear power become common place.

A company called Tesla Motors makes an all electric sports car with a 250 mile range. If I owned it, I could drive it to work in the morning, home in the evening, and run all my errands on a single charge (not to mention look good doing it). This vehicle is certainly not economical; it's sticker price and battery maintenance blow the fuel savings out of the water so, for now, it's merely a novelty item. However, the fact that a practically useful all electric car can be built now suggests that the idea is feasible and may be a viable solution as the battery technology gets better; and we've got all the coal and uranium ore we need to satisfy those energy needs.

[icwhatudo]

Fighting the libs on their own terms-I love it!

Oil saves the environment!!!

[jrawk]

Brilliant!

[P-40]

converting corn into fuel

That straw man must get tired of working...

[DungeonMaster]

Windmills will save the day.

[P-40]

the price of corn tortillas beyond the reach of some impoverished Mexicans

Politics and speculation drove the prices up...and now down.

[alloysteel]

Oil, petroleum, IS a renewable resource. Mother Earth is creating more all the time. Ever since the earth cooled enough so that water vapor could form ice, there has been also a formation of compounds known as "clathrates", which resemble ice, but include methane or other gaseous hydrocarbons bound up in water, and which remain stable at temperatures below about 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Being slightly more dense than water (unlike ice formed of water only), these sink to the bottom of any body of water, and collect in the sediment. They remain unchanged as long as the temperature does not exceed about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

When warmed, these compounds undergo a phase change, and become gaseous natural gas. But left undisturbed on the ocean floor, and covered with sediment, eventually these pockets are trapped under solidified rock (usually, but not always, sandstone overcovered by shale). If there is come kind of catalyst present (probably an elemental iron-nickel mixture), the methane in this compound will be converted to longer-chain hydrocarbons, forming a mixture known as "kerogen", which when extracted from the earth as petroleum, is refined into the various fractions like kerosene, gasoline, Diesel fuel, heating oil, lubricating oil, and heavier tar-like substances.

This normally takes place over a period of centuries, or eons. The process may be rapidly accelerated under laboratory conditions, so the reaction takes place in a matter of hours.

There is also another process going on, that takes place when decaying organic matter is thrust deep into the earth by geological processes, resulting in this organic matter being put under tremendous heat, and considerable pressure. Thermal Depolymerization breaks down carbohydrates, proteins and fats into water and hydrocarbons, a process which can also be duplicated in the laboratory, and in fact, has been used in a commercial basis, to convert slaughterhouse waste into a form of light crude oil.

Hey, you want to know how to make kryptonite? Learned this in a college chemistry course....

[ryan71]

"But the exercise demonstrates the burden fossil fuels have lifted from the environment, and how accustomed all six billion of us have become to eating."

I have yet to see a greenie who did not happily take full advantage of every modern convenience.

[sgtbono2002]

This story is a think piece .

[gcruse]

Good piece. I read it because I couldn't figure out the headline. Can't imagine why they didn't push nukes, though.

[jonrick46]

Ethanol from cellulose takes the energy production out of the world's bread basket. The question is how much energy will it take to produce it and transport it?

[Cucumber]

God put oil there for a reason. For us to use it and use it all. By the time oil is gone we will be mostly nuclear and will have other technologies to sustain us. Until then it's black gold. I love oil, big oil and small oil.

[xjcsa]

Wow...this is a great read.

[ggekko60506]

Great post.

The dirty little secret of most "alternative energy" sources is their abysmal BTU conversion efficiency rates. Whole States would have to be cordoned off for the production of "bio-mass" fuels in order to produce the Nation's Energy needs.

The Auhtor's reasoning is even more germane for advocating the most efficient fuel source of all which is Nuclear Power. The bio-mass footprint of Nuclear Power is even smaller than that of Oil and it is the most environmentally friendly energy source when all factors are considered.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Nice post!

[Jack of all Trades]

Mark.

Big oil saved the whales.