According to David Blume's book "Alcohol Can Be A Gas!" the energy solution is and always has been farming it.
Here in the U.S. we turn corn grain into ethanol, yet the better models Brazil & Sweden alcohol production with collection of the heating process (cogeneration) is 1,000s of times more effective at gaining energy from plant materials. . . any plant materials will work.
His selective use of plant material for North America perfects the process to gain even more concentrated energy and he often does it without increased farm land production.
There is so much to appreciate about his methods that it is well worth the time and energy to watch his google video or rent it on NetFlix. If those options are not available to you - ask for the DVD at your local library.
Products
In a nutshell - permaculture describes a method to plant once and harvest forever. Plants are purposeful native, food or energy dedicated. The main theme of all permaculturing the land is to improve the soil in whatever you do since it is THE KEY to continual harvests and it is done in ways that nature intended - microbial-ly.
After so many generations of chemical farming - our soil is dead and many areas are down to 2% fertility. If "modern" chemical use of farming continues, there will be nothing but arid waste lands that can't and won't produce anything.
The third part of permaculture is water is a resource and fresh water available on the planet makes up about 3% of all the water humans have for drinking and watering the plants - the rest is salt water. Other permaculturists promote water conservation methods of farming to help replenish the strained aquafiers.
Huge amounts of fresh water are used to drill and refine oil for our use. This practice is draining aquafiers world-wide and the United Arib Nation, India, China and U.S. are seeing the aquafiers draining at alarming rates. These practices are not sustainable and are a hidden price we are paying for oil and natural gas energy.
Products
