Writings and videos about science activities with an emphasis on environmental science and energy measurement

Showing Tag: "biofuel" (Show all posts)

Environmental Consequences of Growing Fuel on Land Confirmed

Posted by Antonio Chaves on Sunday, October 18, 2015, In : environmental news 
I have always been strongly against used land to grow fuel as both costly and bad for the environment. This article finally documents some of the adverse consequences that up to now had only been a matter of speculation.
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More on the Ethanol Racket

Posted by Antonio Chaves on Sunday, March 1, 2015, In : environmental news 
This article about the European Union's Ban on First Generation Biofuels contains two videos that succinctly describe the damage of the ethanol racket on the environment and politics. According to the first video the mandate was started by George W. Bush, but Obama pretty much ran with it. The second video describes how congressman Charles Grassley goes after an oil company that chooses not want to sell E-85 (an crappy product that almost nobody wants due to its low energy density and destruc...
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The Ethanol Mandate Versus Reality

Posted by Antonio Chaves on Thursday, February 26, 2015, In : environmental news 

Grain prices are dramatically lower due to high yields and lower demand for ethanol fuel. I have never been a fan of setting aside land to grow biofuels, and I have always regarded the ethanol mandate (for putting ethanol in gasoline) as a particularly egregious example of politicians implementing bad policies just to buy votes. While I feel for tenant farmers struggling to pay the rent, they partly have themselves to blame for their participation in this charade. 


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Algae Biofuel from Sewage

Posted by Antonio Chaves on Saturday, August 23, 2014, In : environmental news 
I am never a fan of land-based biofuels because they are worse for the environment than fossil fuels, and I regard algae fuels as problematic due to the difficulty of separating phytoplankton from water. However, this use of algae as a means to treat sewage as well as serve as biofuel is noteworthy because it also serves to remediate an environmental liability. I proposed this in an article I published five years ago where I question the use a switchgrass as a sustainable biofuel. I suggested...
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About this blog

This blog was originally created in January 2013 to serve as a means for providing updates on science activities from the environmental science lab manual Ecology, Development, and Sustainability. I have now expanded its purpose to include other items of interest to science teachers. 

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