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56 comments on Montana could supply the whole US with fuel!

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Roger on August 26, 2005 - 1:48pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Come on Ericy, get real. The Fischer Tropsch methode is real and it works.
This has been demonstrated for a long time. It was used to fuel the whole German war-machine during WOII. South Africa is using it for a long time.
But I agree that it would be preferable to use only Bio-mass.
But still, we're working on a clean methode now in the Netherlands.
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ericy on August 26, 2005 - 2:32pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Yes, I know it is real, and I know it works.  

The only thing I really hate is that they want to use coal as a feedstock.

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Anonymous on August 26, 2005 - 5:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Why do you hate coal?
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ericy on August 26, 2005 - 5:38pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

It isn't that I hate coal - I just wish it would stay buried in the ground.

Coal is a non-renewable resource, and the consumption of coal leads to global warming.  The mining of coal leads to huge environmental problems too.

If we just replaced all of our oil-derived fuel with coal-derived fuel, what we have succeeded in doing is replacing peak oil with peak coal.  The dynamics are of course different, but you get the idea.

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Anonymous on August 26, 2005 - 11:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Coal is a non-renewable resource,

And how is oil shale/oil sands different than using coal?

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ericy on August 27, 2005 - 2:07am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Who said it was any different??  Tar sands are even worse than coal.  You consume a good deal of energy to extract the stuff.

My only point is that the same F-T equipment could be used for biomass-to-liquid.

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Anonymoose on August 27, 2005 - 6:00am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I agree. Biomass-to-liquid makes more sense than anything else. The hemp plant can give us both ethanol from its cellulose and biodiesel from its oilseed. You can even do ok with the lesser plants -- just not maize. hahah maize.
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JLA on August 28, 2005 - 7:38am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
How strange that hemp is always the answer to everything.  Too bad we can't smoke switchgrass or sugar cane...we'd have an instant special interest group lobbying for it if we could.  
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Anonymous on August 27, 2005 - 12:51pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Netherland has no coal production any more. Where do do they think they get the necessary coal?
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Roger on August 28, 2005 - 2:08pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
There is enough coal left in our neighbouring country Germany. The only thing we have to do is to declare that a nasty dictator is ruling Germany and that we will "Libarate Germany" and "bring freedom" to that country. Then we can smart bomb their cities and grab the coal ;-)

Well... we could also buy it, or use biomass....

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