Archive for September, 2007

Ethanol: The Future of Energy?

{ September 25, 2007 @ 3:24 pm } · { Uncategorized }
{ } · { Comments (3) }

As I grow older my concern for preserving the environment has grown stronger. And with the threat of greenhouse gases rising along with high gasoline prices, the need to replace the billions of gallons of foreign-based petroleum consumed with alternative fuels has gained momentum.

Every interested party from environmental/policy advocates to politicians have seemingly placed their hopes on ethanol, fuel that can be derived from plants including corn, wheat, switch grass and sugarcane. Locally the need is obvious as North Carolinians use 5.6 billion gallons of petroleum-based liquid fuels a year.

My organization, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, co-published the report, North Carolina Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership and the document calls for the state to increase its consumption of ethanol and biofuels to 10 percent by 2017.

I am writing this blog to determine if ethanol is the most cost-effective and environmentally-sound alternative fuel available—more so than hydrogen and solar/wind-generated electricity. If the answer is yes, then I would also like to determine if corn is the best source of ethanol or if cellulosic ethanol is a better bet.

So what will my readers want to know from reading this blog? First, how will a wider acceptance of ethanol affect gasoline prices at the pump? I suspect the reader will also ponder how the nation’s food supply will be impacted by a greater reliance on ethanol.

Keywords

  • Ethanol
  • Corn Ethanol
  • Biomass
  • Cellulosic Ethanol
  • Alternative Fuels
  • Enzymes
  • Oil-producing regions
  • Biofuels

Preliminary Web Site List

American Coalition for Ethanol
http://www.ethanol.org
The South Dakota-based organization aims to spread the gospel of biofuels on a grassroots level through seminars and publications. The Web site offers an interactive guide that clearly breaks down the process of creating ethanol. The site’s biggest attraction for me is the state-by-state reference guide detailing all public policies relating to ethanol.

Renewable Fuels Association
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/
This is the online home for the national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry. The detailed resource center offers information on everything from renewable fuel standards to job opportunities with the industry. The site is clean and well designed.

Food and Fuel America.com
http://www.foodandfuelamerica.com/
This blog offers daily posts and links concerning a host of issues on a variety of topics, but more importantly, the site offers an unbiased look into the food versus fuel debate with ethanol. I assessed the quality of information on this site using this guide found at the Virtual Chase Web site.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/
This federal organization aims to “create market-viable alternative energy solutions.” The site offers a plethora of links to federal and private-commissioned studies and reports on alternative fuels. The site also includes information to better inform site visitors on how alternative fuels could impact their lives.

United States Alternative Fuels Data Center
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/ethanol.html
This U.S. Department of Energy Web site offers a detailed look at ethanol production and showcases it completeness by offering information on federal/state incentive laws and data on the alternative fuels market. The site also offers similar information on other fuels including hydrogen and propane.

My Corner of the World

{ September 25, 2007 @ 8:33 am } · { Class Assignment, Uncategorized }
{ Tags: } · { Comments (1) }

It seems our class assignments have indirectly dealt with the theme of creating a niche. And there are arguably no better tools then Weblogs and other personal publishing applications which help people carve out their own corner of the world. The result is an easier exchange of ideas and a greater sharing of viewpoints.

The ability to self-publish has enabled, for example, people living in countries with repressive, authoritarian governments to say things they could not otherwise say — a subject some of my classmates will explore with their Weblogs.

Whether it’s an MP3 Weblog generating word-of-mouth publicity for an unheralded band to scientists bringing context to a new discovery or an ongoing issue, Weblogs simply help draw attention to the author.

Ever-Changing Medium

It seems groups and individuals have only begun to grasp the power afforded by this ever-changing medium. As a regular reader of music and science Weblogs, I find the sites are helpful in building an audience by offering incisive commentary (Rebecca Blood) and allowing virtual conversations to occur naturally.

That means readers can post their own comments to a post or even debate a topic. Site visitors can then click on other links and explore other topics. The technology has made maintaining a web presence inexpensive and easy to use, thus, freeing the writer to concentrate on developing content. (Tom Raftery)

The rise of Weblogs could be attributed, in part, to Howard Dean’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The former Vermont governor, who had little money in his coffers, enlisted the use of Weblogs to communicate his political aims and strategies. By late 2003, Dean was seen as a leading candidate for the nomination before John Kerry ultimately became the party’s top choice.

Now I will attempt to follow Dean’s lead and start an exchange of ideas on strengthening global communication while exploring the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. Dean and others have carved their own niche.

It’s time I followed their lead with this Weblog.

Bienvenue!

{ September 24, 2007 @ 10:41 pm } · { Uncategorized }
{ } · { Leave a Comment }

Photo Taken From Jim Henson ProductionsWelcome to the It’s a Gas  blog created and maintained by Boris H. I plan on posting my class assignments for JOMC 713: Global Impact of New Communication Technologies and reveal the findings on my research topic: ethanol and other sources of alternative-energy.

So visit often and witness how I carve my own niche on the World Wide Web this class blog. And remember, as in life, this blog is always under construction!