Spirituality and Ecological Hope

Today from Margaret Swedish:

A column in today’s NY Times business section got me back on line looking at what the research says about the feasibility of switching from oil to biofuels for our cars.  The column first of all delineates the relative cost of different fuel sources - the cheapest being electric cars (cost of coast-to-coast trip, some $61).  The electricity would require coal, of course, a dirty option.  

“On the high end were E85/ethanol, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline at $425, and M85/methanol, 85 percent methanol and 15 percent gasoline, at $619.  And then there was hydrogen.  It would require 16,000 cubic feet of hydrogen to power General Motors’ Hywire concept car: $804.”

And then there’s the land requirement to produce ethanol.  Citing the magazine Wired as source, the column notes that:

“One acre of soybeans can produce 50 gallons of biodiesel fuel. There are 427 million arable acres in the US. The average American driver uses 464 gallons of gasoline a year and there are 198 million drivers in the US.  All of which means, ‘Arable acres needed to make enough: 1.8 billion.’”

In other words, don’t let them fool you.

Here’s another source I found, the Organic Consumers Association.  And as you read this post on the potential damage that could come with a massive switch to biofuel production, check out their web site.  Lots of good info here.