Peak Oil — that most controversial and elusive of concepts. Everybody seems to have their own opinion. There are experts on both sides who alternately claim we have at least 30 years before we reach it and those who claim we’ve already reached it.

So, for a top-level official in an agency with the respect of the IEA to state that we’ll reach an oil supply plateau around 2020 is pretty substantial news — especially considering that his own agency has previously stated that the date was 2030.

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According to Dr. Peter McCabe, a world-renowned scientist currently working at CSIRO in Australia, any realistic analysis of future energy sources can only conclude that, barring some complete and miraculous harmony between all the world’s economic superpowers, fossil fuels will dominate our energy mix for at least the next few decades — and we should just accept it.

To get a perspective on where Dr. McCabe is coming from, it struck me that he is a man who thinks in terms of quadrillions of BTUs and exajoules of energy. His views come from an analysis of global markets and global energy use. To him it probably seems that a grassroots coordinated global effort is beyond the reach of humanity.

Being a bit of a realistic skeptic myself, it seemed like it would be worth my while to temporarily suspend my deep held belief that not only is it possible for the U.S. and most of the rest of the world to kick its oil habit within a decade, but also a simple requirement for survival, and take Dr. McCabe at face value.

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It didn’t surprise me to learn that the Department of Defense is the number one consumer of petroleum in America.  And so neither did it surprise me to learn that the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) was granted a $4.7 million contract by the Department of Defense to research alternative and renewable sources of fuel.

My interest was piqued when, a few days ago, the EERC claimed to have invented the world’s first 100% renewable jet fuel.

JP-8 fuel is a petroleum-based fuel currently in wide use by the military.  The EERC has created a substitute for the fuel, using renewable feedstock made from agricultural products and/or waste oils. The process developed by the EERC can produce propane, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel that are identical to the fuels derived from petroleum.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/worlds-first-100-renewable-jet-fuel-is-created/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/theft-of-grease-for-biodiesel-on-the-rise-ca-adjusts-laws/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/theft-of-grease-for-biodiesel-on-the-rise-ca-adjusts-laws/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:41:33 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/theft-of-grease-for-biodiesel-on-the-rise-ca-adjusts-laws/ By cutting fees for the legal transportation of kitchen grease used to make biodiesel for personal use from $400 to $75 per truck, California hopes that would-be backyard biodiesel grease thieves will pony up and go legit.

Prices for regular diesel have been historically high nationwide, and all over the U.S. people are turning to backyard biodiesel as a way to make cheap fuel — a fairly straightforward process that can be accomplished for less than $1/gal.

One of the most copious sources of inedible oil to make biodiesel is the nasty, used fryer grease leftover from commercial kitchens — and what cheaper way to obtain it than stealing?

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/theft-of-grease-for-biodiesel-on-the-rise-ca-adjusts-laws/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/asian-oil-palm-plantations-are-no-substitute-for-rainforests/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/asian-oil-palm-plantations-are-no-substitute-for-rainforests/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:19:19 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/asian-oil-palm-plantations-are-no-substitute-for-rainforests/ As the global market for biofuels heats up, much of the demand for biodiesel is being satisfied by clearing virgin rainforests to create oil palm plantations. But, as it turns out, these plantations are an awful substitute for rainforests.

A group of British, German and Danish researchers has found that the biodiversity of oil palm plantations is far lower than that of tropical rainforests and that no amount of plantation management changes could ever possibly make them come close to replicating rainforest diversity.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/asian-oil-palm-plantations-are-no-substitute-for-rainforests/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/04/petroleum-gets-a-free-pass-while-biofuels-are-torn-apart-opinion/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/04/petroleum-gets-a-free-pass-while-biofuels-are-torn-apart-opinion/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:45:56 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/09/04/petroleum-gets-a-free-pass-while-biofuels-are-torn-apart-opinion/ In what he describes as misplaced behavior, Nikola Davidson, program director for the Northwest Biofuels Association, has raised a good point in a Seattle Weekly article — why is it that biofuels are becoming the ire of green activists while petroleum appears to be getting a free pass?

The issue stems from activist and Green Party candidate for Washington governor Duff Badgley’s attempts to drive customers away from a new biofuel station in northwest Seattle. Allegedly Badgley and his group, One Earth, have been harassing customers by taking pictures of their license plates and passing out leaflets that proclaim biofuels as a “scourge on humankind.”

Biofuels certainly have a hard row to hoe in terms of reaching sustainability, and the activists have some valid concerns, but a “scourge on humanity”? Really? It’s almost laughable.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/04/petroleum-gets-a-free-pass-while-biofuels-are-torn-apart-opinion/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/20/biodiesel-alliance-requests-input-on-future-sustainability/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/20/biodiesel-alliance-requests-input-on-future-sustainability/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:48:34 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/08/20/biodiesel-alliance-requests-input-on-future-sustainability/ The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA) is a non-profit organization created to promote cradle-to-grave biodiesel practices for verifying that all points in the production and distribution chain are sustainable.

And now they want your input on what those sustainable practices and standards should be — they’ve released the first draft of their “Principles and Baseline Practices for Sustainability” (PDF) to the public under a 45-day comment and review period.

So, if you’ve ever questioned the wisdom of growing our own fuel, or you’ve wondered how biofuels can be considered sustainable at all given other seemingly cleaner options like solar, wind and geothermal, now’s your time to speak up.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/08/20/biodiesel-alliance-requests-input-on-future-sustainability/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/08/biodiesel-boom-starts-new-trend-nasty-used-grease-theft/ http://gas2.org/2008/08/08/biodiesel-boom-starts-new-trend-nasty-used-grease-theft/#comments Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:49:34 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/08/08/biodiesel-boom-starts-new-trend-nasty-used-grease-theft/ Rotting, leftover fryer grease has turned into gold in the race to our energy future — and thieves have taken notice.

It’s early in the pre-dawn dark hours of the morning. A group of Northern California pseudohippies just finished a game of Zonk — or rather, the game just stopped because somebody quoted a line from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and everybody forgot what they were doing.

Yet, by a stroke of luck, the conversation about Harold and Kumar reminds the group of their real reason for staying up so late. They pack into a truck and head down to the local fast food joint looking to load up — but it’s not the food they’re loading up on, it’s the nasty, half-rotted, leftover fryer grease.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/08/08/biodiesel-boom-starts-new-trend-nasty-used-grease-theft/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/samsung-to-invest-163-billion-in-indonesian-biodiesel-project/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/samsung-to-invest-163-billion-in-indonesian-biodiesel-project/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:39:19 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/samsung-to-invest-163-billion-in-indonesian-biodiesel-project/

According to an article in the Jakarta Post, an official from the Indonesian government has spilled the beans on Samsung’s plans to invest up to $1.63 billion dollars in what’s sure to be a controversial acquisition of land for growing oil palms and construction of a biodiesel plant in Indonesia.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/samsung-to-invest-163-billion-in-indonesian-biodiesel-project/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/17/opinion-biofuels-food-prices-and-global-warming-roundup/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/17/opinion-biofuels-food-prices-and-global-warming-roundup/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:58:50 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/07/17/opinion-biofuels-food-prices-and-global-warming-roundup/ The current rate at which biofuels are falling out of favor is largely founded on biased ideologies, which have been shaped by widespread political and corporate agenda-pushing from all sides of the fence.

But first, a digression.

Part 1: When an egg was just an egg

I remember a time when an egg was just an egg. Nobody argued about that. It was a blissful time. Yet, for all its strengths, it was a fragile time held together by unsupported conclusions and limited knowledge.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/17/opinion-biofuels-food-prices-and-global-warming-roundup/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:15:02 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/

Revetec, a little known company from the Gold Coast region of Australia, may be on to something huge: they’ve created an engine that is 50% smaller, 50% lighter, has 50% lower emissions and is cheaper to manufacture than a conventional internal combustion engine of the same horsepower. Oh yeah, did I mention that it doubles the fuel economy too.

What that means is a car like the 2007 Toyota Yaris, which is rated at 40 mpg on the highway, would get 80 mpg with a Revetec engine.

This isn’t some hoax… They have a prototype which has been attached to an actual vehicle and independently tested to substantiate their claims.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:58:03 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/ There are more than 5,000,000 heavy duty trucks running up and down US highways each day. Every one of those trucks gets an average of 7 mpg, carries upwards of 200-300 gallons of diesel, and spews out potentially harmful emissions.

Like it or not, we depend on them to bring us our food, fuel, and products for everyday living. It’s a connection that most of us often forget about, only remembering it long enough to curse them as they slow us down on the highway.

It’s also an industry that has recently been hit hard by soaring fuel prices, and now, with the average price of diesel in the US at $4.70/gallon and climbing, it’s sure to get worse.

Needless to say, there’s a rising cacophony of voices within the trucking industry clamoring for relief. Most of this noise currently comes in the form of wanting a break in fuel prices, but really that’s just a temporary fix. Any solution with sticking power would have to offer both economic and environmental benefit — you know, win-win.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/09/turbine-engine-no-pistons-no-lube-30-better-fuel-economy/feed/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/03/the-ultimate-green-renewable-fuel-and-food-algae-possibly/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/03/the-ultimate-green-renewable-fuel-and-food-algae-possibly/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:13:44 +0000 Shirley Siluk Gregory http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/03/the-ultimate-green-renewable-fuel-and-food-algae-possibly/ Across the U.S., researchers, startup companies and investors are exploring the potential of creating large amounts of green, renewable fuel from the humblest of sources: algae.

If you think the energy/food potential for hemp is underutilized, wait’ll you get a gander at algae. This little microorganism really packs a punch.

According to The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know is Wrong (2006, Harmony Books) (I highly recommend it, by the way — it’s packed with fascinating information and weird insights), algae breathes out more oxygen than all the world’s land-based plants and trees combined. Certain types of algae also deliver a whopping amount of protein and nutrients per farmed acre (20 times more than soy beans, in the case of spirulina).

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/03/the-ultimate-green-renewable-fuel-and-food-algae-possibly/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/01/gm-announces-new-cellulosic-ethanol-partnership-with-mascoma-corp/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/01/gm-announces-new-cellulosic-ethanol-partnership-with-mascoma-corp/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 19:38:51 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/05/01/gm-announces-new-cellulosic-ethanol-partnership-with-mascoma-corp/

General Motors announced today it would be entering into a strategic relationship with Mascoma Corp., a second-generation biofuel company with the technology to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-food sources via a single-step biochemical conversion.

The undisclosed equity share aims to contribute to joint research and development along with technology exchange, plant siting, and rapid commercialization of cellulosic ethanol technology and infrastructure. This is GM’s second investment in a cellulosic ethanol company, after announcing partnership with Coskata back in January.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/05/01/gm-announces-new-cellulosic-ethanol-partnership-with-mascoma-corp/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/15/scanias-ethanol-diesel-engine-runs-on-biodiesel-too/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/15/scanias-ethanol-diesel-engine-runs-on-biodiesel-too/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:26:28 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/04/15/scanias-ethanol-diesel-engine-runs-on-biodiesel-too/

Scania (part of Volkswagen) builds modified, heavy-duty diesel engines designed to run on almost pure ethanol (E95, or 95% ethanol, with a 5% ignition improver).

If that sounds weird, that’s because it is. US auto manufacturers make a big deal out of converting cars and trucks to run on ethanol/gasoline blends of up to 85% ethanol. Scania has done better than that for 15 years, and guess what, their engines can run on 100% biodiesel too, without any modification.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/04/15/scanias-ethanol-diesel-engine-runs-on-biodiesel-too/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/10/biodiesel-mythbuster-20-twenty-two-biodiesel-myths-dispelled/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/10/biodiesel-mythbuster-20-twenty-two-biodiesel-myths-dispelled/#comments Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:11:27 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/04/10/biodiesel-mythbuster-20-twenty-two-biodiesel-myths-dispelled/

Most of us are at least vaguely familiar with biodiesel, but how much do we really know?

While biodiesel is easily the most popular alternative fuel available, it’s commonly misunderstood or misrepresented by inaccurate information. Since the most frequent question I get is, “So what exactly is biodiesel, anyway?“, I decided to write a tome covering all the basics—a one stop shop for all your biodiesel- related questions.

It’s been exactly one year since I published the first Biodiesel Mythbuster on GreenOptions.com, and its popularity made a sequel inevitable. By way of a short introduction, here’s what I wrote last year:

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/04/10/biodiesel-mythbuster-20-twenty-two-biodiesel-myths-dispelled/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/03/farmers-invest-in-diesel-producing-trees/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/03/farmers-invest-in-diesel-producing-trees/#comments Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:57:51 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/04/03/farmers-invest-in-diesel-producing-trees/

Farmers in Northern Queensland, Australia, are investigating another approach to producing renewable fuel: growing diesel trees. As weird as that sounds, it’s real, and it isn’t a scientific breakthrough. We’ve actually known about the trees for over 300 years.

As Treehugger reported earlier this week, farmers in the more tropical region Queensland purchased about 20,000 Brazilian diesel trees, or Copaifera langsdorfii, with the intention of having a living oil-mine in 15 years. According to Purdue University, a 100 acre plot of trees could produce about 25 barrels of oil per year.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/04/03/farmers-invest-in-diesel-producing-trees/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/25/how-solar-panels-could-power-90-of-us-transportation/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/25/how-solar-panels-could-power-90-of-us-transportation/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:26:57 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/03/25/how-solar-panels-could-power-90-of-us-transportation/

In January, Scientific American writers unleashed an ambitious plan to halt global warming, eliminate our dependence on petroleum and the substantial trade deficit, boost the economy and create 3 million jobs, and brighten the dismal forecasts for the mid twenty-first century.

The plan is conceptually simple but would be substantial to implement:

• Construct a 30,000 square mile array of solar panels in the Southwest,
• along with concentrated solar power arrays and,
• a massive direct-current power transmission backbone to distribute electricity throughout the country.
• Excess power produced by the photovoltaic arrays would be distributed and stored as compressed air in below-ground caverns.

Development of such a system could provide almost three-quarters of the nation’s electricity by 2050.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/03/25/how-solar-panels-could-power-90-of-us-transportation/feed/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/03/07/cardboard-is-fuel-of-the-future/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/03/07/cardboard-is-fuel-of-the-future/#comments Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:56:11 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://ecoscraps.com/2008/03/07/cardboard-is-fuel-of-the-future/

It just looks like a pile of trash to most of us, but a new cellulosic ethanol facility may start making a renewable fuel from cardboard and other wood wastes. See the story here.

Photo Credit

]]> http://ecoscraps.com/2008/03/07/cardboard-is-fuel-of-the-future/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/07/first-cellulosic-ethanol-plant-goes-online-makes-fuel-from-wood-waste/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/07/first-cellulosic-ethanol-plant-goes-online-makes-fuel-from-wood-waste/#comments Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:17:59 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/03/07/first-cellulosic-ethanol-plant-goes-online-makes-fuel-from-wood-waste/

The first commercial cellulosic ethanol facility to convert waste wood materials into a renewable fuel went online last month near Upton, Wyoming. After 6 years of development, KL Process Design Group, in conjunction with the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, has produced a proprietary enzymatic method to break down wood and waste materials, such as cardboard and paper:

KL’s cellulosic ethanol plant is converting waste wood into a renewable fuel. “It is now possible to economically convert discarded wood into a clean burning, sustainable alternate motor fuel” said Randy Kramer, president of KL Process Design Group, a design firm that has been working in corn ethanol. “We’re proud of what this small company has accomplished, and believe that our design will be a cornerstone from which we can build our country’s renewable fuel infrastructure providing a better source of motor fuel, starting today.”

The press release makes no mention of production volumes or plans for expansion (I’m currently contacting KL about this), but the company could be the first to capitalize on the massive potential of cellulosic ethanol, namely, making fuel from waste products (see earlier post).

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