satchip--You must be an oil man, because that's the same spin they use in the media. With Exxon alone making +10 billion a quarter, they wield a powerful lobby to thwart any kind of research into alternative energy. They're also responsilbe for most of our current energy policy. If you do some open-minded research you'd see there are many possiblities out there. We just need our government to invest in research and infastructure to support it. It's a shame many of our powerful politicians will put our environment, economy, and national security at risk to support big oil's agenda. Here is a bit more info in addition to your last post.
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArti...ArticleID=1219
"Government policies (tax structure and subsidies) and issues such as the Kyoto treaty are encouraging fossil fuel alternatives. For example, the European Union's goals by 2010 include having 22% of its electrical power come from renewable sources. Zwolinski thinks similar gains are possible in the U.S. with the right incentives and technology gains. "There's enough wind power potential from North Dakota to Texas to feed the entire U.S." (Some research suggest S.D. alone with the lastest technology)
Zwolinski says the new turbine will become commercially available in 2004. His current line-up has wind generators rated at 750 and 900 kilowatts and 1.5 megawatts. A single 1.5-megawatt wind turbine can supply about 400 American households, says the American Wind Energy Association." (With the new 3.6 MW turbines, that's over twice as much)
And a little about switchgrass:
http://www.physorg.com/news84469375.html
“Switchgrass is a native plant of the tall grass prairies. It grows 12 feet tall in one season and produces 10 tons of plant material an acre, more biomass per year than most other plants,” said Albert Kausch, a University of Rhode Island plant geneticist on the cutting edge of switchgrass research. “I’m confident my lab can make it produce 20 tons an acre using the tools and personnel we have right now.” And because switchgrass is a perennial plant, it doesn’t require replanting year after year." (Meaning much less expense, like cutting hay)
"Despite having studied corn for many years, Kausch believes it may not be best choice for ethanol production. “Some critics argue that there is not enough good quality arable land available to grow the amount of corn required for biofuels, and all that we produce now is used for food instead of fuel,” he said. “Corn is also very expensive to grow compared to switchgrass.”
Kausch has launched Project Golden Switchgrass at the University of Rhode Island, which he hopes will develop “the variety of enhanced switchgrass that everyone needs.” He said that native switchgrass grown commercially today could produce ethanol for approximately $2.70 per gallon, but by genetically improving a number of plant traits he believes the production price could get as low as $1 per gallon."
-Just for your info, it's not the price of corn driving food prices up, it's the price of gas to transport it!