[Greenbuilding] bio fuels and ethenol

[Tim Martens]

Ross
Thanks for that little bio diesel life cycle, I need to know that those associations are being made....great!

I do think though, that there is a place for people to 'ring the alarm bells', that is a good thing, otherwise, I wouldn't of had any idea about the newly formed aversion to bio fuels. Now I can see some of the problems that need to be overcome.

On the fuel crop idea, there is lots of land in Ontario that has been depleted by growing crops that only take nutrients without giving back and no longer support much except maybe switchgrass and hemp. Other lands should never have been put under the plough in the first place and now only exist to increase deer populations to insane levels.   Now, if I had it my way, the first priority is to reforest them, create wildlife corridors and begin to re-connect many of the natural associations that have been destroyed and that help humans live within the context of their environment.  There shouldn't be any displacement of food crops with the amount of land available . Of course, the question is, how do you keep a particular piece of land from supplying the fuel industry if it's capable of supporting soybeans? The answer, of course, is you can't.   But, if these considerations are happening at a very local level instead of this crazy globalized economy,  a community based decision can make the appropriate decisions because the decision was in their best interest.

BTW   I've recently purchased an old diesel vehicle to eventually run on waste oil or homegrown biodiesel. Unfortunately, I'm too busy right now gearing up for the building of my first straw bale building this spring which incorporates as many energy saving ideas I can think of.

Tim Martens