Pathetic Open Land Farming vs. Aeroponic Speedbox Production

[TerraformingMaster]

1 year return on investment for the government plus 1 to 2 hundred thousand for the gov't in fees, maybe $50,000 for a melon rights lottery since the profits are less. It gets the boxes built, fast and cheap. It also creates a protective price floor for strawberries and melons if handled responsibly.

[TerraformingMaster]

The farmer can never grow strawberries ever again, unless they are fuel class strawberries, with the government setting the price, for 2-5-dimethylfuran octane replacement production. The farmer is required to build two more acres of speedboxes with his windfall, and one of these two acres MUST always produce DMF strawberries. Farmer merely breaks even on the DMF crop, but still has two other acres for some good profit. Hold a melons crop lottery also, leveraging the 2 most profitable crops.

[TerraformingMaster]

The key is regulating strawberry and melon prices to avoid overproduction, keeping strawberries from falling below $.85 / $.90 cents a pound wholesale. Each US State holds a yearly lottery, and 1500 winners each get a loan to build an acre of Speedboxes to grow strawberries. End of year, farmer has at least $600,000 net after paying back the loan for the land and the boxes. Government takes $100,000 or $200,000 of that. Catch is, the farmer can never grow strawberries, ever again.

[TerraformingMaster]

$30,000 an acre using prisoner labor and prison factories, much better than $130,000 an acre.

[jksatte]

I wish there was audio.

[TerraformingMaster]

This doesn't add up. If the interview is correct, then the Speedbox produces (3000000 / 16500) 181 * 5.4 times as much fuel for 1/9th the cost of slime, not 5.4 times as much. 981 times as much fuel, not 5.4 times as much, for 1/9 the cost.

This is reminiscent of "hydrogen cars" in California.

[TerraformingMaster]

w w w algaeindustrymagazine dotcom /aim-interview-sapphire-energy­s-ceo-dr-jason-pyle wikipedia --> sapphire energy --> click the 10th reference (interview)

According to Pyle's own words, "a one million barrel annual production would require three million acres".

But earlier, the PDF file from Sapphire Energy's web page had stated one million gallons from 300 acres. If the earlier estimate were accurate, it would only take (300*55 gallons) 16500 acres to produce a million barrels.

[Submanca]

A nice thought but not very practical. I farm 30 acres of land now and make about $10,000 a year off it. Now it would be nice to make $540,000 per year but I don't have the $3.6 million nor do I think I could borrow it, it would take to build these speed boxes. I agree that farming is going to have to become more intensive to support the growing population. I think it will be more home gardens and people producing their own food.

[TerraformingMaster]

@Submanca This math does not compute. 3/4 of 1 acre would net $540,000 at a cost of $90,000.

[TerraformingMaster]

@Submanca And if you are growing strawberries, you don't have to wait a year to finally get a crop in the second year. You get a crop the first year, 'right out of the box' so to speak.

[malchar2]

audio doesn't seem to be working

[TerraformingMaster]

@malchar2

The slime people took it. No, I appreciate your pointing it out, but none of the animations contain audio.

[zoquibax]

I'm not saying this isn't feasible, gravel, plastic sheeting, greenhouses, sprinklers are used on a large scale in the developed world despite the costs needed to cover a large area but you can't expect anyone to believe the claim it can replace oil in 10 years without experimental proof that it can work on a large scale. I'm pretty sure you will have to iron out a lot of technical details concerning everything from advertising to training the labor force to cheap mass production.

[zoquibax]

Businesses won't be interested in anything other than the costs of production. How often do they have to replace the boxes? If growth is 4 time quicker what will be the additional irrigation, pesticide and fertilizer requirements? How easy is it to distribute these to the plants in the boxes? Can this be done on a regular basis without excessive labor costs? How can they be sure there aren't any unseen consequences applying this technology on a large scale?

[phaquetoob]

This guy is batshit insane

[TerraformingMaster]

@phaquetoob

You are gay

[phaquetoob]

@TerraformingMaster

See what I mean? What kind of person with revolutionary ideas that could change the world forever would even bother responding to the comment I posted? "you are gay" speaks volumes about you, mister TerraformingMaster

[TerraformingMaster]

@phaquetoob

What, you said I was insane, I said you was gay. No need to cry at night over it. Quit being gay and actually address the issue or move along. Contained in my school records is the result of my IQ test: 180. 160 is genius level. Average IQ in the USA is 98. You are obviously on the low side of the average. I merely called you gay because I thought you could man up to it but might cry if I called you a retard.

Go back to 4chan

[phaquetoob]

@TerraformingMaster

You're digging yourself deeper and deeper. IQ is a test of pattern recognition, nothing more. True genius does not come from a test score, it comes from you actions and your impact on the world. You are very idealistic, but I see no results coming from this.

I remember you posting on /sci/ a while back, if in fact that was you, you said something about the Chinese buying this technology very soon. What happened there? Wheres the progress?

[TerraformingMaster]

@phaquetoob

Here, I will play some for you

watch?v=E1egv4NSbm8

[allin1readerwriter]

@phaquetoob Many geniuses were batshit insane. So this guy might be a genius... or he's merely batshit insane.

[allin1readerwriter]

Based on my understanding, you think the oil crisis can be averted through plant based biofuels, but this system is ridiculously slow, inefficient, and a waste of space. Algal biofuels and genetically modified organisms that produce oil will be the future, not this system.

[TerraformingMaster]

@allin1readerwriter

Au contraire, google "algae columbus new mexico". Read the first ten hits.

$2 million an acre to build algae, $130,000 an acre for Speedboxes. Costs 9 times as much.

1 million gallons synthetic crude oil from 300 acres of slime, 5.4 million gallons of ethanol from 300 acres of Speedboxes. Speedbox production is 5.4 times greater for 1/9 the cost.

Speedbox beats slime. Beware of slime salesmen.

[TerraformingMaster]

@allin1readerwriter

There are specific cases where it would make sense to pay 9 times as much to get 1/5 as much, and Columbus New Mexico is such a case.

Severe fresh water shortages exist in most of NM, but brackish water is available and that is what will be used for the slime.  Speedboxes will use considerably less water than irrigation, but would still strain their puny aquifer too much, so they are not viable in Luna co., and slime is. Speedboxes cannot produce jet fuel, but slime can.

[TerraformingMaster]

@allin1readerwriter

In a decade or two, Speedbox switchgrass fuel pellet production for electrical power generation can make processing the brackish water to fresh water a viable proposition. But I doubt that Speedboxes can ever cost effectively compete against slime for jet fuel and other high octane production unless better cellulosic biomass conversion methods arise.

[TerraformingMaster]

@allin1readerwriter

I realize that this leaves out the cost of the ethanol plant, but In Minnesota, the average ethanol plant handles the crop output of a few hundred thousand acres, and so could handle the output of a few tens of thousands of acres of Speedboxes.

The cost for the ethanol plant per 300 acres of Speedboxes is no more than $50000 total. With slime, the fuel production is integrated, but with Speedboxes the ethanol is a separate industry.