Last week I wrote about how we could achieve energy independence through the use of flex fuel cars and ethanol. Today I would like to show how we could produce ethanol without impacting food production and at the same time we can clean up the environment.
In today’s world we need some easily implemented solutions to our energy crisis. As Anne Korin pointed out in her speech 2/3 of the oil we import is for fuel for vehicles. In order to eliminate our dependence upon foreign oil we need another fuel. But why do we need to eliminate foreign oil? Let me explain.
America’s need of foreign oil has steadily risen of the years. We American’s are a very mobile society. As we have become more mobile and put more cars on the road we have needed more and more oil. Through a combination of our continent not having vast oil reserves and our government not allowing more oil drilling, we produce only a very small mount of oil. And as a result we have to import oil into the country in order tokeep our society moving.
One thing that we do have vast supplies of is biomaterial. We are the breadbasket of the world! We also are one of the biggest polluters and have vast amounts of biowaste. A company called Coskata has an awesome solution to our energy needs.
Coskata’s process can utilize virtually any carbon-containing feedstock. This includes cellulose-based energy crops such as switchgrass, wood chips, agricultural residues (bagasse, corn stover, etc.) as well as waste streams such as old tires and municipal solid waste. Feedstock flexibility allows the Coskata process to utilize non-food, locally abundant raw materials.
Garbage and many other waste streams can be used in their process. Their process works best with materials that have low moisture and low amounts of non-combustibles like glass and metals.
This would be an awesome solution to our energy crisis. It would be a major leap in American energy independence and would free us from the stranglehold of OPEC and the Middle East. Below you will find a video that explains the process and a link to their website.
It is my hope you find this illuminating and it will encourage you to email, write, and call your representatives in congress to pass a bill to mandate the production of flex fuel cars and to start producing ethanol through the Coskata process.
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