Ethanol has taken its lumps as a fuel, both for its energy costs and its displacement effect on crops people eat. Now, researchers have found a new way to break down lignocellulose, the basic material of plants, which with more work may permit energy- and cost-effective use of crop waste as a fuel.
Category: Biofuels
The hidden costs of fossil fuels – and biofuels, too
The National Research Council just reported that the costs of electricity from fossil fuels were $120 billion just on air pollution’s impact on health, not counting the effects of mercury, ecosystem damage, or the climate warming impact of carbon emissions. Natural gas is ‘cheaper’ than coal; ethanol’s hidden costs are similar to coal’s. Cars have
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Can biochar save the planet?
We here at ClimateYou aren’t farmers or agronomists, so we present this article from CNN without comment. Biochar sounds too good to be true, so we wonder how much energy is used to produce biochar from biomass, and how many greenhouse gas emissions are produced converting biomass into biochar. We are hoping that some of
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