Posted on 02/08/2007 7:35:28 PM PST by Kitten Festival
Energy: Could lowly switch grass mow down the petropower tyranny of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez? A U.S.-Brazil ethanol pact signed this week may supply the fuel to do just that.
Chavez's hostile anti-American dictatorship grows worse as his oil earnings pile up. With the U.S. as his best customer, buying about a quarter, or 1.1 million barrels, of Venezuelan crude oil each day, the bitter coda is that every barrel we buy fuels his anti-U.S. actions.
These range from crazed speeches to colonial acquisitions like Bolivia to rogue-state alliances with Iran and Zimbabwe to menacing moves against neighbors like Dominica, Guyana and Colombia with $4 billion in weapons purchases.
High oil prices, low supply and his own expropriations of foreign oil partners in Venezuela only increase Chavez's oil cash and clout. The U.S. has been largely helpless, because it has few alternatives to buying Venezuelan crude.
But a new deal announced with Brazil to pool ethanol technology and produce greater quantities of ethanol in both countries could help. ...
The ultimate aim of the ethanol deal is to create a commodity market. This could give every country in the region alternatives for energy buying. In turn, it will undercut Chavez's monopoly and abusive influence.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who flew to Brazil to iron out the deal, made no secret of that. "Energy has tended to distort the power of some of the states we find to be negative in the world — Venezuela, Iran," said Burns, quoted in the Washington Post. "And so the more we can diversify our energy sources and depend less on oil, the better off we will be."
...this signals an impressive new U.S. diplomatic offensive
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I have no objection to going after oil, especially if it's a choice between our getting it and letting Castros' Chinese goons take it out of our offshore locations.
I can even get behind trying to underwater mine methane hydrates.
But I also see great potential for growing much of our own fuel. If I were a farmer, that would be one of my first projects; trying to find a way to reduce my own energy bill.
Whether it was a solar still for ethanol, or an algae project for biodiesel, I'd be getting into something!
Naw,I guess switch grass is just a fast growing celulose
No (bleepin) way!!! It'll screw-up the sea otter habitat, don'tcha know??? I'ma gonna go tella GovernMental EnvironMentalista on you!!!
made a mistake..#2 wouldn't be carbon reducing...sorry
You should hear what I have in mind for polar bears and penguins.
I gotta buncha that celulose in my attic for insulation!!!
Can they grow that "switch grass" on golf courses? Do they have to sow it with gasoline/diesel tractors. Do they use fertilizers that drain off into the "wetlands" (aka swamps) and pollute the waters of the United States of America???
That is the truth if we came up with another fuel alternative that is economicaly viable to oil it would really make these middle eastern states begging us to buy dates from them.
I was originally thinking years ago about making algea pellets and burning them, but biodeisel is "IN" right now.
It's all good until you have real numbers to deal with haha
All valid points. As Ive said,its not sustainable but it is a resonable stopgap poke in the eye to chavez
I'll forgive you for that, but just don't go figuring out a way to breed kudzu that makes carbon fiber or carbon nanotube strands.
That stuff is nasty enough already.
Everytime you figure them in, the idea of petroleum goes to the head of the class, over and over and over again!!!
Lord NO!!! Say it ain't SO!!! They can swim and dance, ya know...
If that gits away from you, it'll create a much bigger environmental disaster than ANY oil spill!!!
Switchgrass is an original prairie meadow grass. It is best fertilized by the American Bison, preferably in large herds, and is only properly combusted in peace pipes.
peace pipes eh?
Couldn't we just send some PeaceCorps volunteers, or some AmeriCorps paid volunteers down there along with some of our more militant GovernMental EnvironMentalists down there to him in an effort to export Liberalism to help him create the World's Worker's Paradise? Too bad Jim Jones isn't still alive, I'm sure the Carters would introduce him to Chevez!!!
Properly combusted, yes.
There are other ways to use it, but who cares?
They dont need more socialist L0L
Its an academic debate! Im sure there are loads of switch grass fans. Heck, someone has the POTUS using it as a buzzword. LoL
Oh... That was GREAT!!! I'm still laffin as I type this here... Now I know yer just blowin smoke!!! (wide, cat eating glue grin)
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