Robert Rapier, from The Oil Drum, weighs in on alternative fuels and the State of the Union

Robert Rapier of the blog The Oil Drum gives his opinions on alternative fuel sources, and compares them with traditional fossil fuels. In fact, below is a list of topics he covers, and links to matching articles from us here at AutologGreen.

• Liquid Fossil Fuels [Here for articles from ABG]
• Grain Ethanol [Here for articles from ABG]
• Sugarcane Ethanol [Here for articles from ABG]
• Cellulosic Ethanol [Here for articles from ABG]
• Biodiesel [Here for articles from ABG]
• Biomass Gasification [Here for articles from ABG]
• Wind and Solar [Here and here for articles from ABG]
• And he includes a section on Conservation [Here for articles from ABG]

Each of these topics is compared on these points:

• Is the energy source sustainable?
• What are the potential negative externalities of producing/using this energy source?
• What is the EROEI, or energy returned on energy invested?
• Is it affordable?
• Are there better alternatives?
• Are there other special considerations?
• In summary, are the advantages of the source large enough to justify any negative consequences?

These are all good questions to be asked, and I suggest at least checking out what he has to say on the points above. The site focuses on oil in general, and, according to their front page, "Discussions about Energy and Our Future". Left off his list is Hydrogen. Here are ABG articles dealing with the State of the Union.

Note, the links I provided are by no means the only articles here at ABG on each topic, they are merely the tip of the iceberg.

[Source: Robert Rapier / The Oil Drum]