Interesting Weather Record Set Today

[stlfisher]

I don't have anything against Ethanol, but it doesn't really do much for me. It would have had me excited 30 years go, but not so much today. We have missed the boat so to speak.

By the time we made it mainstream...which would probably take 20-30 years....other technologies would probabably show more promise. You need a lot more ethanol than gasoline to get the same results so there isn't that much cost difference between the two. Depending on how it is developed and how much more you of it you need it may not be all that much better for the environment. Once all factors are considered is it really worth all the infrastructure change,cost, and limited environmental benefits for something that is marginally better? There is a good chance that other thechnologies will likely be available by the time we could implement Ethanol that will be more effective. Let's find those technologies instead of a marginal one.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Fracking is something that is hard to pin down. Those against come up with all kinds of scenarios, and those for deny everything. I know that PA is a hot spot for anti fracking, but with their coal mine problems it's hard know what is true.

NG would, or should be only a temporary solution and I know without any information other then common sense that a lot more people could convert to cheap natural gas decades before they can buy a 40K electric car running on coal produced electricity.

With the huge amount of money destined to be lost by some corporations if there is a conversion to gas, what makes you think you're getting good information?

[ozark trout fisher]

Even if you don't believe the concerns about possible poisoning of drinking water, earthquakes, or some of the other "dramatic" effects, the process of hydrofracking definitely requires the dewatering of nearby streams. Where else will they get all that water from? That in itself is a major concern, especially considering the general trend towards more drought-like summers. It could easily be the last straw for some of the effected watersheds.

And then there are those more dramatic concerns already mentioned, which we haven't fully seen yet but seem like more of a ticking time bomb than anything else...It appears to be just a matter of time before something goes terribly wrong. How would we know all of the possible negative effects of such a new (and potentially harmful) method of gas extraction? We don't, and with some of the chemicals being used, just guessing and finding out we were wrong later doesn't seem like a good plan. We've tried that approach too many times already and usually haven't liked the results...See the BP oil spill and similar disasters.

[Wayne SW/MO]

the process of hydrofracking definitely requires the dewatering of nearby streams

What is your source for this statement? I realize that the process uses large volumes of water, which is why the fear that chemicals used are that much of a threat. Ethanol production requires large amounts of water also, the present amount is given as 3 gallons of water for every 1 gallon produced.

A typical ethanol plant capable of producing 40 million gallons of ethanol per year, could use up to 330,000 gallons of water per day or 120 million gallons of water per year.

That would be considerably more than the one time shot in fracking. I don't know how safe fracking is or if the worries are justified, but I do know that it isn't a new process and many point out that it has been kinder to the environment then many things we seem to accept. There's also the fact that common sense tells us that the big oil companies DO NOT want to see NG become a vehicle fuel.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Water Comparisons

Water used in other industries: Product

Gallons of water

1 gal. of gasoline

2 to 2.5

1 gallon of ethanol

3

1 can of fruit

9.3

1 gallon of paint

13

1 lb of sugar

14

1 lb of plastic

24

1 lb of synthetic rubber

55

1 lb of cotton

101

1 Sunday newspaper

150

Source: U.S. Grains Council/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

[Mitch f]

Water Comparisons

Water used in other industries: Product

Gallons of water

1 gal. of gasoline

2 to 2.5

1 gallon of ethanol

3

1 can of fruit

9.3

1 gallon of paint

13

1 lb of sugar

14

1 lb of plastic

24

1 lb of synthetic rubber

55

1 lb of cotton

101

1 Sunday newspaper

150

Source: U.S. Grains Council/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1 tube of KY jelly

300

[eric1978]

It requires 150 gallons of water to produce ONE newspaper? For some reason I find that hard to believe.

[ness]

You're forgetting the water required to float the logs downstream, quench the thirst of the workers poling those bad boys, make the wood pulp, work the steam presses and fuel the Stanleys that deliver them.

[ness]

I wish I had kept all my papers from college. I wrote one in about 1981 about how the fuel required to farm the fields about offset the ethanol that could be created from the crop. Of course, I was a big consumer of ethanol in those days, and didn't want the added demand to drive up the price. Dollar pitcher night didn't come around often enough as it was.

[kirbydog]

I think those numbers don't take into account the recycling of water in the production process-it

may take alot of gallons to produce one newspaper but I'm guessing that water is used over and over again.