Posted on 02/13/2006 11:01:13 AM PST by jmcenanly
Yep fuel is used, but fuel will be used in producing any type of energy in this country; it's just that this would be a quickly renewable energy source that would not be as dangerous as oil-drilling and natural gas platforms. As for water needs, plant science continues to create hybrid plants that don't need as much water. The Great Plains are very dry, but grasses grow wild there; they must not need that much water. Isn't stickgrass one of these? The President mentioned it in his SOU address.
Alcohol can work but several challenges must be met:
-cheaper, more efficient production methods (will happen if/when demand requires it)
-efficiency of the engine running on it, since currently it takes more alcohol to pack the same punch as gasoline
Actually, I think we could do better than this. IIRC, there are types of corn that are very high-yield but poor eating quality that would work well for alcohol production.
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