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To: sphinx

All those initiatives you cited, wind, ethanol, bio diesel are feel good palliatives. They’re not effective. If that’s Bush’s legacy it’s a poor one.


25 posted on 06/17/2007 7:59:03 AM PDT by saganite (Billions and billions and billions----and that's just the NASA budget!)
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To: saganite
All those initiatives you cited, wind, ethanol, bio diesel are feel good palliatives.

Corn based ethanol is on track to supply the equivalent of about 10% of U.S. gasoline usage within the next couple of years. That's significant.

Cellulosic ethanol still needs to be demonstrated at a commercial scale. I expect that within two years. (I ain't an expert but I've talked to some who are.) The first generation plants, which are under construction now, may not be worldbeaters but they will be viable.

Where it gets interesting, however, is that the underlying cellulosic technology -- both on the feedstocks and the enzymes -- has open-ended potential for improvement. There's a multi-billion dollar market just now opening up. The bioengineers are working on cheaper to grow/higher energy yield/easier to convert feedstocks as well as cheaper and more efficient enzymes. I wouldn't bet against them.

Wind's potential is limited mainly by the esthetic objections to turbines. Given the current, relatively modest subsidy structure, the economics are there. We can do it if we want to.

33 posted on 06/17/2007 9:12:13 AM PDT by sphinx
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