Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[SV650rules]

The powerful corn lobby in USA is responsible for ethanol in fuel, they saw a nice steady lucrative market, environmentalists do not like ethanol and the corn used to make it ruins the land and poisons waterways' and the reason more ethanol gets added to fuel is that as MPG of vehicles improves the corn lobby want to maintain and grow their market. Corn lobby will not rest until fuel is 100% ethanol, and then they will want to add it to milk and baby food etc....

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

The powerful corn lobby in USA is responsible for ethanol in fuel, they saw a nice steady lucrative market, environmentalists do not like ethanol and the corn used to make it ruins the land and poisons waterways' and the reason more ethanol gets added to fuel is that as MPG of vehicles improves the corn lobby want to maintain and grow their market. Corn lobby will not rest until fuel is 100% ethanol, and then they will want to add it to milk and baby food etc....

Very interesting. Sounds about right and explains a lot.(But ethanol doesn't improve mpg !)
What is supposed to be the benefit to the environment of ethanol anyway ?

[Luckypants]

The 'benefit' is that the plants it is made from absorb CO2 while growing, so the CO2 emitted while burning it doesn't count

That's oil-man maths for you.

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

The 'benefit' is that the plants it is made from absorb CO2 while growing, so the CO2 emitted while burning it doesn't count

That's oil-man maths for you.

So how does that compare with - ' environmentalists do not like ethanol and the corn used to make it ruins the land and poisons waterways' ?
ps what is smt102 ?

[Luckypants]

I don't know to be honest, but sounds like the kind of thing big oil will like. I was pointing out the 'benefit' being sold of E10 is a reduced CO2 footprint, but that its actually BS. The CO2 coming out of your tailpipe is the same, no matter what you burn.

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I don't know to be honest, but sounds like the kind of thing big oil will like. I was pointing out the 'benefit' being sold of E10 is a reduced CO2 footprint, but that its actually BS. The CO2 coming out of your tailpipe is the same, no matter what you burn.

Absolutely. It's the usual 'making the maths work' so it appears as though it's better, but nothing has actually changed . . . .

[Bibio]

the less dino juice we use in every day vehicles the more will be available for air, sea and farm. so if we add 10% ethanol then we save 3%ish dino juice. put that on a global scale and we might just keep tractors and such going for another 50 years over and above the estimate..

crude oil.... without it we go back to the 1800's until we find a more suitable alternative that the big boys can charge us for.

i'm all for electric vehicles but only if they can get the charging and infrastructure done properly. Stephens the bakers up here are already building baker/cafes with charging stations in the car parks.......

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Bibio

crude oil.... without it we go back to the 1800's until we find a more suitable alternative that the big boys can charge us for.

I am reading a book and it is describing living conditions in late 1700s through 1800's. It makes grim reading, whales being slaughtered wholesale for their oil to make lamp and lubricating oil ( whale oil much better than the 'tallow' which was rendered animal fat that stank and smoked when used for candles and lamps ). Houses were dark and cold in those days, and the ceilings and walls ( and peoples lungs ) covered with oily soot. The along came coal gas, burned as naked flames in houses which filled the places with carbon monoxide and killed many people. When oil was discovered we firstly got kerosene ( paraffin ) for heating and for lamps, which burned bright and relatively clean, and better lubricating oils. Many of the trees in Britain had been chopped down for heating and making charcoal. Crude oil has actually helped nature a lot, as without it the planet would be a treeless barren place and humans shivering in dark homes, eating uncooked food. Add to that that many of the things we take for granted these days made from fossil fuels ( roads, medicines, fertilisers, paints, plastics, oils - the list is pretty long) and our lives would still be pretty miserable ( and shorter ) without good old Hydrocarbons from the ground.

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by svenrico

(But ethanol doesn't improve mpg !)

It is not the ethanol that improves MPG ( it actually reduces MPG because lower energy content than the petrol that is being polluted by it ) but vehicle MPG has been increasing with more efficient engines and fuel injection etc ( you could say 'in spite of ethanol' ).

[Bibio]

1950's built terraced houses. the external walls are superb and built with good mortar and brick with a cavity. the internals are shocking. there must have been a shortage of nails as nothing in my house is fixed to anything else properly e.g. the internal walls. you cant buy timber as its old imperial along with the plasterbaord so nothing modern fits.

if i had the cash i would rip all the walls out and start again but the price of materials is shocking especially wood.....

good news is i like the old ogee and bead facings/skirting but could not find the one i wanted (back rebate on bead) until i went along to one of my local suppliers and found a pile on the bottom rack that was all dusty.. 90mt for £109 delivered ROFL its usually £5.49mt. a little dust down and its like new