pstarr wrote:You don't understand davep. Grazing land is grazing land because crops don't grow on it, no soil no water, wrong inclination wrong drainage wrong place. So in order to do what Graeme wants done, water and fertilizer and heavy equipment would be required. That is dumb and criminal.davep wrote:How many cattle per acre on this "grazing land"? If it's that arid, the cattle density per unit area will be tiny. So your starvation jibe is comes across as a bit hyperbolic in that context.
davep wrote:pstarr wrote:You don't understand davep. Grazing land is grazing land because crops don't grow on it, no soil no water, wrong inclination wrong drainage wrong place. So in order to do what Graeme wants done, water and fertilizer and heavy equipment would be required. That is dumb and criminal.davep wrote:How many cattle per acre on this "grazing land"? If it's that arid, the cattle density per unit area will be tiny. So your starvation jibe is comes across as a bit hyperbolic in that context.
The grazing levels are minuscule, so your original comment was indeed hyperbolic. And there are crops that can grow in arid conditions without extra water etc, but they couldn't be intensively farmed. I have no idea what the yields would be though.
To be honest, they'd be better off trying to get drought-resistant perennials planted anyway, whether some is used for fuel or not, in an effort to improve the arid lands. Grazing just inhibits growth of any potential locally-adapted perennials.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) will begin accepting applications on June 30, 2015, from foresters and farmers seeking financial assistance to harvest and deliver biomass to generate clean energy. The support comes through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was re-authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
For 2015, USDA has reserved up to $11.5 million to assist with the cost of removing woody or herbaceous residues from farm fields or national forests and woodlands for delivery to energy generation facilities. A majority of the funds are expected to support the removal of dead or diseased trees from National Forest and Bureau of Land Management public lands. Orchard wastes, and agriculture residues such as corn cobs and stalks, also qualify as energy-producing feedstock.
To be eligible for the retrieval incentives, the biomass must be delivered to FSA-approved biomass conversion facilities. For a list of approved facilities, visit fsa.usda.gov/bcap.
By 2050, 1.2 Gha of remaining land could be considered as available for other uses including bioenergy feedstock production (Table 9.5). This can be compared to the estimate by WWF/Ecofys/OMA (2011) of 0.7 Gha of available land using more conservative assumptions. This available land is assumed to come exclusively from pasture lands where there is enormous potential for increased efficiency and intensification of livestock production.
The report finds that land availability is not a limiting factor. Bioenergy can contribute to sustainable energy supplies even with increasing food demands, preservation of forests, protected lands, and rising urbanization. While it is projected that 50 to 200 million hectares would be needed to provide 10 to 20% of primary energy supply in 2050, available land that does not compromise the uses above is estimated to be at least 500 million hectares and possibly 900 million hectares if pasture intensification or water-scarce, marginal and degraded land is considered.
Even as world governments continue to encourage the production of biofuels, ethanol remains subject to particular criticism.
The highest-volume feedstocks for ethanol are still plants like corn or sugar cane, which take up farmland that in some cases could otherwise be used for food.
Which is why two companies have paired up to try to make large quantities of ethanol in a very different way.
ArcelorMittal--the world's largest steelmaker--plans to collaborate with a small New Zealand company called LanzaTech on a system that can turn carbon monoxide into ethanol.
The key is a microbe found in a rabbit's gut that can complete the seemingly unlikely transformation, according to the Financial Times (subscription required).
This system will be installed at ArcelorMittal's plant in Ghent, Belgium, later this year, at an estimated cost of 87 million euros ($96 million).
(PhysOrg.com) -- A unique fungus that makes diesel compounds has been discovered living in trees in the rainforest, according to a paper published in the November issue of Microbiology. The fungus is potentially a totally new source of green energy and scientists are now working to develop its fuel producing potential.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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