Re: What is work? (was Re: Writing courses)

In article <MPG.1efa4805495967eb98975f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Joann Zimmerman <jzimm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <12910ldsmehff2b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, pwrede6492@xxxxxxx
says...

It'll probably be easier to adapt plants -- they're already making
biodiesel
from soybeans, and I've heard tell of cars and trucks converted to run on
cooking oil recycled from the fryers at places like McDonalds. And that's
without any specialization of crops at all. Of course, if we start getting
energy-fuel from the same land and crops that are currently used for food,
it will do interesting things to grocery prices...

You were thinking of corn subsidies?

Not subsidies. I was thinking of what happens if someone comes up with a
good, inexpensive process for turning agricultural waste, such as corn
cobs, into fuel. I've seen claims about doing it, but I suspect if it
had really been done I would have heard more.

I'd also get interested in weather effects and monoculture. All of a
sudden one particular crop is absolutely essential to the ecomony's
functioning in a way that there wasn't before. Don't know how you manage
droughts, tornadoes, permanent hurricanes and insurance with all that.

I don't think that's likely to be an issue, for two reasons. First, if
it's waste products, it's likely to be many different sorts--what you
need is a way of turning cellulose into fuel. Second, there would still
be fossil fuel sources. Indeed, it might make sense for people with oil
wells to only pump when fuel prices are high--for instance when weather
problems have reduced the agricultural supply. A cheap way of storing
oil.

--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of _Harald_, a fantasy without magic.
Published by Baen, in bookstores now
.

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