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Aurora
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 8491
Location: Llareggub
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 Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 7:00 pm Post subject: Could the future for UK biofuel be oilseed rape and hemp? |
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| Quote: | Times OnLine - 03/03/10
Intensive agricultural practice of any sort rarely uses less fossil fuel energy than the solar energy that it conserves as biomass.
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woodburner
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1440
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| Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Can't see the article. Probably have to subscribe, so I am excluded. I hope people stop this dumb idea that it's ok to use food crops to run vehicles and heat houses. People will have to change their lifestyle. Tough. |
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kenneal - lagger
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Joined: 20 Sep 2006
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Location: Newbury, Berkshire
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| Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:04 am Post subject: |
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I shall not contribute to Murdoch's funds. He can go whistle! I shan't be buying the News of the World by Another Name either, not that I ever bought the old one.
When people start getting hungry they might stop putting food into cars. Until then it must be BAU.
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It is very, very, very serious indeed. This is the big one!" Professor Tim Lang, APPGOPO, 25/03/08. And he was talking about food, not oil or the economy! |
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adam2
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Joined: 02 Jul 2007
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Location: London UK
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| Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:09 am Post subject: |
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I see no harm in the small scale use of oil seed rape as fuel, especialy for agricultural machinery or essiential purposes.
Is growing a modest amount of OSR to "feed" a tractor any worse than growing oats to feed a horse ?
It might be preferable if one remembers that a horse needs feeding daily, but a tractor only consumes fuel whilst working.
Large scale use though, no way ! too much land taken up that is needed or will be needed to grow food.
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woodburner
Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1440
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:19 am Post subject: |
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| adam2 wrote: | I see no harm in the small scale use of oil seed rape as fuel, especialy for agricultural machinery or essiential purposes.
Is growing a modest amount of OSR to "feed" a tractor any worse than growing oats to feed a horse ?
It might be preferable if one remembers that a horse needs feeding daily, but a tractor only consumes fuel whilst working.
Large scale use though, no way ! too much land taken up that is needed or will be needed to grow food. |
The way OSR is grown at present needs a lot of fossil fuel derived fertiliser. In growing and harvesting and processing the OSR, the net energy gain is less than 1.5:1. And it was grown using a subsidy to begin with so I wonder where the benefit is. A horse energy demand is small compared to a tractor, and it does provide nutrient when it pegs out.
The current UK flock of horses for play are not much benefit IMO. They are taking up significant amounts of land for grazing, hay production (fossil fuels again) and then many get incinerated when they peg out (more fossil fuel since Margaret Beckett presided over a decision that it was unacceptable to use the animal fats to fuel the incinerators. The fats have to be processed as controlled waste. Clever huh?) |
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