[Vision2020] Inconvenient Truth -- What WE REALLY HAVE TO DO: " Apollo Project"

[Ted Moffett]

Chris et. al.

Yes, that was Donovan's idea about high gas taxes, and of course many think
gas taxes should be raised, though some call it a "carbon tax" that could be
used to develop the infrastructure and technology to transition away from
fossil fuels.  It's hard to see how addressing fossil fuel depletion and
global warming can be economically pain free... However, raising gas taxes a
lot is almost politically impossible.

Thanks for the detailed info on the biofuels project you are working on.  I
agree there is good evidence that biofuels can be practical and efficient
enough in some applications, as your discussion of the biofuels projects in
Alaska indicate.  Wait for the final implementation, though.  As they say,
the devil is in the details.  Brazil, it appears, has a self supporting
biofuels program based on sugar cane, much better than corn for biofuels,
that supplies a lot of their fuel.  From the analyses I have read, however,
biofuels are not a dominant solution to supplying the USA, not to mention
India and China, with the fuel we/they need, given current and expected
future consumption levels, at least not with internal combustion engines.

I would like to hear more about this wood based biofuels program in Alaska.
It must be based on what is called "cellulosic" biofuels.  I posted to
Vision2020 the suggestion that the Moscow/Pullman area could have its own
biofuels plant to produce fuel locally from the forest/agriculture biomass
resources available in our greater area.  I did not get a single response to
this suggestion, but what the heck, it's only Vision2020.

I don't think Vision2020 readers should need a "Warning" about your
discussion of the biofuels projects in Alaska being boring.  The same ideas
might be applied here for affordable renewable biofuels at a local biofuels
plant... If that's boring, I suppose Vision2020 readers will find 10 dollar
a gallon fossil fuel gas to be very exciting!

Ted Moffett
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