Better Than Switchgrass

Stories about producing any sort of biofuels completely ignore the fact that droughts are a part of nature. We don't know when another will happen. Relying on biofuels for our energy needs puts us at the mercy of ever changing and natural climate variances.

"Only 9.3 percent of U.S. cropland would be required" What increase in food prices does this equate to? Will we be able to increase the amount of land used for farming if an ethenol process using Miscanthus becomes viable?

Nobody is talking about “Relying” on bio-fuels. We are talking about expanding the domestic production of bio-fuels to reduce our "reliance" on non renewable foreign oil.

PS: Relying on foreign oil puts us at the mercy of ever changing and natural “POLITICAL & ECONOMIC” climate variances. (The weather is much easier to predict.)

Strategic Miscanthus Ethanol Reserve?????

It would make sense to just build 200 Maglev Turbines to power all homes and electric vehicles in the USA.

1 Maglev Turbine Last Over 200 YEARS and can power 750,000 households. Cost about $80 Million to build one.

200 Turbines Would Only Cost About $16 Billion... compare that to what the US spends on the Iraq war in a couple months!!!

There forgetting the study that plants dying produce carbon monoxide and using any plant as source of fuel will have a greater impact on global warming... Its all propaganda!

JohnGalt1982, I think you got it sort of wrong.
About the drought, ChitownMatt commented something smart, and otherwise you don't starve to death or die of thirst when a drought comes around.

About the soil, it is clearly stated that Miscanthus doesn't need such good soil, thus it can be planted in areas where crops can't be planted, or where crops grow poorly.
The food prices: because of the previously stated, food prices won't explode, and i think the difference in food prices won't be as big as the difference in fuel prices after a project like this (especially because after a project like this, fuel prices would stabilize)

p.s.: Shome, you might want to get your definitions of propoganda straight, and coal factories produce WAY much most carbon monoxide and gases that add to global warming and the greenhouse effect

I think Shome's got it right. I actually feel guilty for breathing in Oxygen and producing CO2. I've been trying to quit, but its a nonvoluntary response. Methane's a problem too. I really have to fart. I've been holding it in for weeks!

Shome - Back to school with you (I don't blame you, I blame public schools). Remember conservation of mass and energy? The plant pulls carbon out of the atmosphere during its growing cycle and gives it back when we burn it. No loss, no gain.

Who is John Galt?

This article highlights how creativity under R and D will ultimately reduce the cost of new sources of energy and make them more viable. The shame is that we pulled the trigger on ethanol too soon. It was not and is not a practicle source of energy yet.

Biofuels such as Miscanthus and switchgrass actually absorb more carbon than it gives off when it is made into fuel. depending on how it is harvested that is since carbon is also fixed in the roots and they are not harvested for fuel, so, along with the fact that they don't require the kind of fertilizer that corn does I'd say the advantages are pretty clear.

biofuels are a lost cause. with the technology of hydrogen cars, we would never have to worry about hydrogen prices or what it would do to the atmosphere. honestly i wonder if the government really does put a cap on these technologies so they wouldnt lose all their tax money.

ok so biofuels in the long run may not be the answer, and yes the hydrogen economy would be the best option, but it will take tens or hundreds of years to implement those technologies. Cellulosic ethanol is a stop-gap solution until we can find a more permanent fix.

Additionally, the only reason why corn is being used for ethanol production today has nothing to do with its efficiency. Its only being used because it is so heavily subsidized by the government. If the US government would subsidize cellulosic plants the same as corn Miscanthus and Switchgrass would be economically feasible options

Bunch of idiots the lot of you-introducing sterile hybrid grass into the environment, geez what will happen when it crosses over to breed with the native grass hhmmmm?
can you feel my oozing sarcasm!

Bunch of idiots the lot of you-introducing sterile hybrid grass into the environment, geez what will happen when it crosses over to breed with the native grass hhmmmm?
can you feel my oozing sarcasm!

idratherbegolfi and ninjaturtle456,

the hydrogen economy is hoax. There is absolutely no reason to use hydrogen to power a car.

Read "The Hydrogen Hoax"
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-hydrogen-hoax

and you will never mention such nonsense as "hydrogen cars."

If biomass is produced worldwide then the problems of localized droughts would be minimized. A virus or disease would be the biggest worry.

I don't think we will ever produce all our fuel needs with biofuels but it can help fill the supply and demand gap we now face with oil production. It's something we know how to do now and doesn't require some massive "Manhattan project."