Thursday, August 28, 2008

Fuel For Our Cars

It's no secret that many people will soon be faced with cutting spending on many things, including necessities, to offset the rising fuel prices. Many families already have found themselves forgoing other expenses just so wage earners can continue to commute to the place of work. This alarming trend means that US desperately needs alternative fuel sources in order to offset our dependence on oil and counteract rising fuel prices.

Many people believe that biodiesel produced from food crops such as corn and soybeans provide the best solution to our fuel needs, but food crop biodiesel is not without its own set of problems. Biodiesel produced from food crops displaces the crops that would otherwise be grown for consumption. While replacing oil as a fuel source is a good thing, taking away from food production is not and will mean increased food prices. Making biodiesel from corn and soybeans is also not as efficient as making it from algae. It takes much more corn and soybeans to produce biodiesel than it takes to produce it from algae. An acre of algae will produce approximately 10,000 gallons or more of biodiesel per year while an acre of soybeans will only produce about 50 gallons and an acre of corn only about 20 gallons. This large difference in efficiency is one of the major reasons why algae biodiesel is quickly becoming the top runner for the fuel of the future.


As economically friendly as crop based fuels seem, it will take an enormous amount of space to create new farms to produce enough crops to make biodiesel that will fulfill the country's fuel needs without displacing too much of the nation's food. In contrast, it will only take 15000 square miles of algae farms to produce enough biodiesel to power all the cars, motorcycles and trucks in the country.


It is also possible to create algae biodiesel at home. The process is not one that can be undertaken without knowledge and skill, but the majority of consumers can create their own algae biodiesel in their homes to meet their own energy needs. This aspect of algae biodiesel will reduce the individual consumer's dependence on oil even more. Making your own biodiesel is possible with the right knowledge and equipment and algae biodiesel produced on a widespread scale may eventually almost eliminate our need for fossil fuels. We also have to come up with a solution to make
tires from other thinks without using crude oil.

Friday, August 15, 2008

A Unique Look At Driving With Biodiesel

Here is one driver's unique look at driving a biodiesel powered vehicle. He was concerned about the source for the fuel he was using and learned a whole lot more. A very interesting read: here is the link.