Biofuels scandal + food prices. Biofuel crisis, biofuel oil, biofuel production, cars, algae, systems and basics introduction to facts about biofuels. Conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon

[pjvdixon]

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[123THERollyboy]

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[nodaklojack]

Oh where to begin? First off my father was a commodities broker and farmer. Market prices vary due to many things and anyone who ever ever spent any real time trading on the CBOT (chicago board of trade) knows that even when commodities prices rise it has minimal impact on real consumer prices. Example a loaf of bread costs ~1.75$ how much of that cost is is the raw product wheat? Maybe 25 cents and that is being generous the real cost and transportation, production, marketing etc.

[Downfurlife]

Recent revolutions across the globe were mostly influenced by food shortage.I am not saying it was a "good thing" - I am just saying.There is currently no risk that food shortages could lead to a global war; directly/indirectly. However, even if you wish to label it 'indirect' oil has the potential to lead to an all encompassing global thermonuclear war. Therefore fuel is more important than food shortage. Hunger while serious - Pales in comparison to the global war scenarios DOD plays out.

[hrhjudy]

well i guess if its thought that theres too many people to feed, they will get rid of some by using food to produce fuel, not sure if thats what they call double jeopardy, it benefits the rich. add disease and world population will seemingly decline on what looks natural rather than premeditated. I usally think outside of what i see as normal. petrol induced famine is rather strange.. but the average folk will just be thinking, why prices rising and just adjust spending to meet their needs.

[rshanen]

Crude oil is the earth's naturally made BIO FUEL. Regardless of how man decides to create fuel, we need to find out if the product of burning that fuel is nearly as dangerous as the powerful and politicians want us to believe it is (GOOD LUCK). It's all about MONEY and not saving the damn planet

[samann95014]

as an environmental engineer/architect, i think we should use thorium for our big energy needs. renewable sources are not sufficient. biowaste should be used to producing fertilizers for food. human waste (humanure) should be used for forestry. we got technical solution but the real challenge is politics, short sighted economics and social/cultural issues related to change.

[SuperPimpjj]

burning stuff is burning stuff is burning stuff. never a good thing if its food, algae, oil, or whatever. when is the world going to wake up and realize mans fetish for fire is dangerous. if we are going to use any kind of oil for anything, use it to make things that last a life time and can be recycled. things such as plastic for windmills, solar plants, cars, or even our homes. ALL of the answers have already been found and proven on all fronts but were still acting like grunting cavemen.

[benchracerX]

oil company lackeys like yourself are responsible for the misinformation and lunacy that exist in the world today. you haven't told anyone about the fact that fuels can be made out of ANY vegatation mass, but then, that information takes money out of the pockets of the energy robber-barons doesn't it? the fact that bio-mass fuels can be made out of yard waste(which would otherwise be choking a landfill), office paper waste, and agricultural waste could be used as a cheap and plentiful raw,...

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX material to make fuel for an ALREADY EXISTING infrastructure(most american made automobiles already come ready to burn ethanol) is a threat to the monopolistic control they impose. people like you would rather utilize an eco-system damaging toxin that we subsidize foreign governments hell bent on suicide bombing us into oblivion just to get rather than supplementing the energy consumption crisis with domestically produced alternatives. these are solutions that have NO adverse,...

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX effects on either the food markets or the global energy paradigm. people like you would then say, "ok, so you don't have to grow a crop to create a sustainable raw material for fuel, and you don't have to affect the world's food supply, AND you can use material that would ONLY wind up in an ecological nightmare landfill,...you have to use energy to create the fuel by taking energy from the power grid! you'll cause and energy crisis!" and that would be true if we didn't have the,...

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX opportunity to seamlessly blend free energy technologies(wind, solar, thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, sterling thermodynamic, etc.) into the emerging infrastructure to provide the MINIMAL energy requirements to create the fuel. for everyone that doesn't know, the only energy requirements involved in ethanol production is creating heat, 180 degrees worth of heat to boil the alchohol off the mash at the VERY END of the process. alchohol practically makes itself.....

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX take raw material, add enzymes and ABRACADABRA! gas. so, let's see, you can use refuse material that has NO place in any marketplace other than the landfill market, the energy requirements to create the fuel are negligible and do not pose a threat to the power grid AND the fuels are less harmful to the fragile ecosystem we rely on for our very survival(with the added benefit that ethanol fuels are better for your engine than gasoline, they burn cooler and have greater octane rating)

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX so why is it we are never going to see this common sense domestically produced fuel source utilized in the market place? douchebags like this guy who fear-monger the information to keep people in the dark about the truth. they would rather give billions of dollars to people who would then spend that money on bombs to blow us up with on a fuel which then destroys the environment we all live in. history will not remember his kind well, think about the world you leave behind for your,.

[benchracerX]

@benchracerX children. is there something more important than just supporting the powers that be? is it not time for sweeping change? we can all profit and benefit from a changing of the guard where the energy providers are concerned. look at how they are manipulating us; they are lying to us all in an effort to keep their obsolete product viable; an obsolete product that has disasterous ramifications on society and the planet as a whole. do the research, learn the truth. let's move forward.

[chistjakof]

Does this guy work for BP or Shell ? 

[switchgrassfuel]

with a biogas digester you get fuel and fertilizer. and since they only use the starch from corn and the rest gets fed to livestock so nothing goes to wast. i don't see how that interferes with food production unless you are a vegetarian. the only real point you made is the possibility of cutting down trees. other than that your case against bio fuels is weak. your assuming that no one noes how to take care of their land. produce food,fuel,feed and fertilizer all from the same plot of land.

[mikehanoo33]

Free energy labeled 'economic terrorism' - The widespread adoption of these new, non-polluting energy and propulsion systems will effectively replace the use of oil, gas, coal, nuclear power, impacting 4.5 trillion dollars a year in world economic activity, replace the current? geo-political order with one based on decentralized abundance. (Examiner; March 21, 2009)

[rock3tcat]

How about biofuel from non-food crops, such as grass. Which requires no fertilizer or irrigation and can capture more energy per ton than other food crops. 

[datzfast]

by removing oil from human and animal feed stock you can eat the food without wearing it.

[pjvdixon]

Not sure I understand.

[nsk37]

This is non-sense. Equilibrium exist between supply and demand, they adjust automatically.

[tfraud]

What a lying sack of shit! What do we resort to when biodiesel is outlawed? Shut this asshole up!

[crcstunt]

What a nut. Biofuel from algae is one of the most promising new sources of oil today. Why campaign to stop a new technology before it had even been developed fully?

[willyllanes]

Last time I checked Algae = Bio fuel and I'm NO CHEMIST BY ANY MEANS BUT IM pretty sure that Algae isn't Food (.)

[pjvdixon]

YES from algae - not from food.

[Cervicconstruction]

@crcstunt

Is his research funded by the petro-chemical industry/?

[beancube2008]

The price and shortage were manipulated. Do you remember how they speculate the oil price last year? Oil in food are overly used and produced in industries anyway.

[noname7913]

Reading on several alternate fuel sources I would say everything has a downfall. The only factor that is taken into effect by corporations and the government they lobby to is profit. Even if something was super efficient with no negative environmental effects and possible to mass produce, if it's too expensive it's scrapped. I don't try to prove or disprove global warming as everyone is divided on this but I found something amusing. I found they considered the methane from cowpat problematic

[TrevorJames214]

OH I forgot to tell u i am harvesting algae in a natural pond by using recycled waste water . see my page for facts

[NotaBeetleFan]

@TrevorJames214 Algae is definitely a better option in efficiency than corn which is only 1: 1.3. Switchgrass and other non-food options are being used too.

Are you making biofuel with your algae?

[TrevorJames214]

This guy is a jackass they are growing algae to make biofuel, from water its cleaner then oil and coal>>>>>so this guy wants us to keep using oil to feed africa , smart guy the electirc car will never go as much as we need it baby steps

[osu45d]

True but far too focused on terrestrial fuels. algal fuels could replace all transportation fuel used in the usa using 2% of its land mass, which doesent need to be agricultural land deserts and rooftops work fine too. costs come down rapidly too, think how much a PS2 or a flash drive cost 10 years ago, or how much a laser pointer cost 25 years ago($100, less than $2 now)

sorry but your numbers are wrong i could be done for about $10-$30 per gallon now.(chisti, 2007 biofuel from microalgae)

[jedirock]

We can all avoid their crash, by growing as much food as we can at home. It is not hard, start small and expand, most of all start today!!

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[camdaddy09]

what people dont understand is this little thing called "cellulosic" ethanol. it uses the non food byproduct of a corn harvest (i.e. the stalk, and husk) no food required. also Switchgrass has the potential for enough biomass to produce up to 100 gallons (380 liters) of ethanol per metric ton harvested. This gives switchgrass the potential to produce 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared to 665 gallons per acre of sugarcane and 400 gallons per acre of corn.

[MURDERyourLEADERS]

I'm guessing you provide your services for free?

I've never seen a commodities price chart with a gradient like that, that lasted very long.

[pjvdixon]

True - we live in times of great instability, complexity, inter-related factors (globalised), huge velocity of change, but also with fundamental, relentless challenges of which a major one is resourcing a total of 9 billion people that will soon live on the earth, all wanting the kinds of lifestyles that those in developed nations take for granted.

[AlexRawlings]

I don't know why corn or beet are still the main references for the biofuel industry. They yield the lowest amount and take up the most space. Algae has no competitive crops and takes little space to grow with modern cultivating methods. It is like all the arguments are based on out of date info. Corn should be taken out of the debate entirely.

[pjvdixon]

Yes I am talking about use of food for fuel. There are many other potential biofuels where arguments are very different. But right now, it is mainly food that is being converted into fuel.

[christo930]

I'm a huge fan of using Algae for biofuel, but I recently read that it costs nearly $100 per gallon with existing methods of production. I'm quite sure they can bring that down, but the questions are, how far and how fast?

[NotaBeetleFan]

@AlexRawlings Definitely remove food and use cellulosic sources.

There's an issure already of the increase use of fossil fuel derived fertilizers and herbicides that decrease soil ability to absorb Nitrogen from air, and over use of land and poor soil conservation causing salinization. Not to mention increase water demand for irrigation plus loads of water is used in production of cars, computer chips for washings, etc.

We are presently becoming unsustainable.

Now burn food?

[ronichols]

What he says, Its all lies

[1amendoza1]

hey, vato, check out all the pelones on this video.lol

[UsualMike]

I agree that American biofuels policy is a disaster. But perhaps you should save some outrage for the ban on genetically modified crops that is being perpetuated by many EU states, and is contributing at least as much to starvation in lesser developed countries, especially those in Africa.

[Xchaoslord]

I see I see, so that's why rice prices are going high in my country... Thx... Economics is rather facinating :)!

[finan2004]

Actually there are two lobbys one for biofuel (mid west) and the great 'oil' companys. These two are big vote and money banks. Bio fuel is not a complete solution but may be a part of solution. Lets have biomass as we can have, using unused lands and second generation feedstocks without affecting food production. And cut down as much oil from those middle eastern dictators.

[776281]

There really isn't a viable alternative to diesel for long distance heavy haulage.

There have been some advances but there is still a lot we could do to improve efficiency, particularly in trailer aerodynamics. The tractors are streamlined but the trailers are blocks.

[pjvdixon]

Agreed.  The question is how to make it and from what raw materials. Patrick

[GentleGrace]

do a google search on corn ethanol and the horrors of it, put in Dashal and Obama they are hooked into this. The prototype for bio fuel was done by Brazil and that was sugar beets, which can be grown anywhere, corn ethanol can not be grown anywhere, it ruins the earth and it will become the OIL OPEC of bio fuel for the greedy ones who want to take the market. Corn Ethanol it is BAD BAD, Horrors BAD!

[islandmantraveler]

ACTUALLY,Biofuel IS the answer to our food problem. You might not have looked into something very important. Algae Biofuel. 1- it burns clean. 2- it's unlimited 3- when producing algae fuel, there is approx 50% biomass waste. This biomass waste can be used to feed farm stock. When you use this to feed farmstock, you do not need to use our farmlands to grow corn for FEED OR FUEL. We can use the land to grow human food.

And with Origin Oil's invention, we don't need farmland to grow algae either.

[pjvdixon]

Thanks for this - I agree the algae solution is interesting but depending on the method can have other implications including water use. The video here really is about the use of food to create fuel. There are many other biofuel alternatives. I have done another video on Stagecoach use of old cooking oil to power buses for example.

[dolfan984]

The solution has to be a multi-pronged attack at the base problems. Production of both food, and algae can be done through modular, cheap, reliable, easily produced designs. This could be picked up by BD powered trucks to be converted into BD.

This needs to be worked into a new form of business, specializing in retrofitting as well as new construction, and ongoing maintenance. Green materials would be used where possible, such as biodegradable plastics (made from algae feedstock).

[dolfan984]

Government action can be both the problem and the solution. The perception of business can also be both the problem and the solution.

Every CEO, in every company in America can embrace this technology, incorporate it into their buildings, and be the start of a global sea-change! Algae is nature's solar collector, and is probably the major component in most of the world's oil. It would also create a lot of jobs, as companies would be created around maintaining these systems.

[beetledan]

You bring up some very good points...This man here is a bit negative and one sided as I see it. If we keep burning petroleum at the rate we are burning it, there won't be any air or water, period! Lets work with what we have and go from there. In my mind, that's positive!

[pjvdixon]

Well the US department of agriculture I don't think would agree with you.  There have been many discussions about the progressive loss of US farmland to urbanisation year on year, more than offsetting the increase in other lands for efficient farming.

[1clevername]

When you live in Kansas like me you realize just how much more room and ability there is to produce much more crops for biofuel. Lots of area for expansion and new farmers to grow biofuels.

[pjvdixon]

Yes there are more efficient ways to use land in places like Kansas.... but in other parts of the world rising prices just mean trees are getting cut down even faster to create more farmland....

[1clevername]

Im sure enough extra room in the entire midwest to grow extra crops to supply the rest of the country with biofuels. The midwest is the answer to ending our dependency to foreign oil in this country at least.

[pjvdixon]

Biofuels scandal and food price rises: Woerld Bank report this week in depth study. Findings: 15% food price rise relates to energy costs / fertiliser price rises. 75% is linked to demand from biofuel industry. "Rapid growth in incomes in emerging economies has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for large price increases." Biofuels industry can expect major changes in government policy, regulations and taxation / subsidies.

[justinfielding]

I'm sure the oil companies didn't have any part in spreading this kind of talk. High oil prices (caused by leagalised price fixing by OPEC) have had no effect on the cost of food.

[pjvdixon]

World Bank disagrees. Report published today in Guardian shows they think yup to 75% of recent food price rises are related to biofuels purchases and related speculation by people intending to sell food for biofuels when the new US and EU biofuel requirements for vehicles in 2010. Biofuel price is set by global oil price - same market. Hence food price and oil prices are linked. Patrick Dixon

[hoppermantis]

Hemp for victory !!! 10% of food crop space would power america through hemp oil? why are we allowing our country to slowly degrade into a third world level? And now L.E.A.P. is questioning our methods against the drug concept... I truly want to understand so i can feel like patriot. Good enough to win ww2 but not the hostile management of oil overseas...

[agnosis66]

Just couldn't resist to comment this post. You don't win something you spark off because you decide what happens. That's about ww2 and all other wars that USA started.

In regards to oil. USA has enough oil to be independent. Try thinking about what is happening as about debt (of US government to countries with vast reserves in USD) issue more than oil issue...

[agnosis66]

Sorry for that post as it was supposed to be reply to hoppermantis.

[hoppermantis]

America started ww2 or was the cause ... however you meant it... wow... didnt know that. lolololol as for your debt comment.. it was mentioned.... I'm glad you couldnt resist ... i needed a good laugh.. ok im done here. Greed makes the issue moot and rewriting history ... make expressing useless.

Hint, if your goin to hit and run .... atleast dont die on impact.

[agnosis66]

don't you worry about me coz i'm doin great. it is all just the matter of having the right teachers. you have those who follow and i prefer those who think. Yes, I do believe that US was involved in the initiation of ww2 just as almost all wars we had and have. Of course I do NOT believe in any kind of superiority of your "freedom state" LOL as you are just a pawn in this game. cheers

[pjvdixon]

Sorry do not understand wierd suggestion that US started ww 2?!

[agnosis66]

Sorry, my mistake in communication. That's what happens when you are limited to 500 characters. To make the thought simple - I believe that US was involved in initiation, funding or political support of most modern wars. To name the biggest: ww2, Korean war, bay of pigs, Vietnam, Lebanon, Panama, Grenada, Gulf war, Afganistan, Iraq and the biggest and most inhumane occupation of Palestine since 1976!!!! Not enough space to mention Africa... There is no other country with more blood on its hands.

[pjvdixon]

Biofuels: Anything that is grown commercially on land will indirectly affect price of land, patterns of land use, what else is grown and not grown - and will eventually impact food prices. Patrick Dixon

[dekpun]

Well certainly affects really bad especially the Asian countries as well South AMerican this way

[pjvdixon]

That is correct and the poorest nations are suffering most from fuel and food price rises - biofuels etc. Patrick Dixon

[annadread]

Hemp as biofuel? That won't raise the price of food, or cause shortages.

Glad they're beginning to legalize growing it in some states, it is about time, hopefully soon people will begin to realize the uses of hemp.(both male and female plants)

As a second note, I agree full-heartedly with damianpaonejazz.

[damianpaonejazz]

The gov and big oil pushed ethanol. They knew it would fail and they would look like they tried to go green and FAILED saying LET'S NEVER TRY TO GO GREEN AGAIN.

THEY IGNORE SOLAR, WIND, HYDRO, GEOTHERMAL.

ALL VIABLE, SOUND, ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL ADVANTAGES.

WILL BOOST THE ECONOMY, REDUCE COSTS OF ENERGY, CREATE MORE JOBS THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY, IS FORWARD THINKING AND THE BEST FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. THEY DON'T WANT TO SNAP OVER TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.

[urparanoia]

damianpaonejazz- Your thoughts on the situation are exactly right. The small minded will be manipulated by the "right" and will be convinced that going green is not good. Bush was warned regarding favoring ethanol. Many see this as a mistake, but his real reason was to give those favoring ethanol and a cleaner planet just enough rope to hang themselves. Typical of the radical right and their methods.

[RedArrow2007]

I agree, ever since Biofuels has been mandated it has caused more harm than good.

[pjvdixon]

Agree with above except number tons nuclear waste is actually quite small compared to tons of other waste. There are however important long term storage issues. Patrick Dixon

[triphonius2222]

Yes, long term energy storage is an issue in carbon free energy infrastructure. With an Atomic Mass of 1.007 AMU, Hydrogen is the lightest element. It is so small that pours through standard small scale propane containers and pipes. So, may be H2 can be used as large scale energy storage mediator in large reverse Water-H2 plants. Thus batteries can be used for small scale storage. Also we can build more reverse hydro power plants for gravitational storage of energy.

[triphonius2222]

I've read somewhere that the efficiency of converting the sun energy into biomass is less than 1% while the PV efficiency is (lower bound) about 10%. And the most efficient PV on sale are about 20-28%.

Imo we should improve PV/Wind/renewable technologies and as well energy efficiency and H2/Battery storage of energy. Also we have to stop boiling water with nuclear fusions and creating tons of radioactive waste.

[dmtk8]

Hydrogen economy is the most political and economic non-sence ever stated by our politicians.

Evry 20 or so years they dig it up from the archives and present it to the public like the panacea for our energy problems.

It is very inefficient and will need enormous investments in infrastructure - money that no one is ready to spend.

I would very much like to see and video about it from pjvdixon.

The energy dont grow on trees - It falls from the sky.

[triphonius2222]

Ammonia economy

An alternative way to utilize hydrogen as an energy carrier is to bond it with the nitrogen in the air to produce ammonia which can then be easily liquefied, transported and used (directly or indirectly) as a clean and renewable fuel. The toxicity of ammonia is one of the main issues holding back an ammonia economy.

[pjvdixon]

We will see! In the meantime governments are busy revising biofuel strategy because they used to agree with you but are now worried. Patrick

[pjvdixon]

Well the UN and EU now think that around 10% of the current food price spike is due to biofuels. You are right, only an element but biofuels production has hardly begun. You are right that biofuels is a highly complex area. You are also right that growth in animal meat consumption in China and India is responsible for a significant part of the rising demand for grain.

[pjvdixon]

What are your thoughts on biofuels, and the biofuel crisis. Comments on biofuels will be seen here by many thousands of people over next few months.

[MotherOfAllBombs1]

to the person who thinks biofuel is a bad idea, tis actually not a bad idea its jst not economical technologies that are at the start of their lives are always horribly inefficient but u have to power thru those times to enhance technology. When u say hydrogen is promising i agree however hydrogen itself is not an energy source if it comes from water, that is it takes energy to get hydrogen so your bac to square one however fuel cell technology is more efficient than batteries or combustion

[pjvdixon]

Absolutely - hydrogen is only an energy store since energy from nuclear, wind, coal or whatever is needed to make it - generating electricity first. Biofuels however always create added uses for land, and than means it has to have some kind of impact on land prices, food prices, woodland prices, rainforest prices..... it connects oil prices with all of the above. That is why biofuel will always remain controversial and complex.

[Nkatsikanis]

Bio fuels are an idea from people with low IQ's

[pjvdixon]

These issues are complex and people often see the future in only one dimension. Patrick

[Nkatsikanis]

There are some promising technologies that use hydrogen from water as fuel.

[stonerj0e]

BUT.. It takes huge amounts of energy to extract the hydrogen out of the water!!!

[pjvdixon]

A lot of it comes back when hydrogen is used. Do you have data on efficiency of the splitting process. In other words, what % of energy in to split hydrogen would you get back if burning it later?