The new age of sail

…Let us drop the conceit that these are “problems,” and that they can be “fixed.” Let us instead try an experiment: let us dissociate from human history, and free-associate our way into the next chapter of natural history, which, let us bravely assume, a member of our ecologically challenged species will still be on hand to narrate.

Whither cellulosic ethanol?

We are … biotechnologists, as well as chemical engineers and have successful processes going today… Our carefully considered view, for which we will be happy to provide abundant evidence is that severe barriers remain to ethanol from lignocellulose. The barriers look as daunting as they did 30 years ago.
(The latest salvo in the Khosla-TOD debate about biofuels.)

Biofuels – Aug 14

Due Diligence: An Oil Drum reader’s response to Khosla (on biofuels) /
Deconstructing the Virdian case for ethanol /
China Targeting Growing Biofuels 12x by 2020; 15% of Transportation Fuels /
Biodiesel Boom brings Demand for Vegetable Oil to Record heights