RE: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Anthony,
I think that is where we are all heading and I wish I was there already.
Individuals will have to do it because we have no energy leadership in
Washington or from our traditional suppliers.
I dont think there is any Washington solution because they are short term
thinkers and are owned by the oil interests. If our children were short term
thinkers as Washington they would be in theraphy. America has swung to far
to the right especially with the American neocon nazi's.
With power outages and brownouts across the country this summer with people
dying of the heat and many people freezing to death during the winter
already recently, thousands of Americans will probably die when gasoline,
diesel, and heating oil reaches $5 per gallon and hundreds of thousands will
die if it reaches $10.
I expect to have passive electric for my house within 2 years and will look
into creating some sort of bio-fuel in my garage too. My state New Jersey
has a little gasahol (mostly gasoline with a little ethanol) but no E85. If
I could be free from my electric provider and have a 10 to 15 year life and
payback on costs, I would jump at it, meaning $18,000 cash plus rebates and
tax incentives for electric alone. If I could also elliminate my natural gas
used for cooking and clothes drying I could add another $5,000 cash. I could
spend twice that amount more money for the bio fuel theoretically, since I
am frugally spending up to $200 at the pump each month.
We celebrated reaching 200 million in population in 1968 and will increase
50% to 300 million during the first week in November 2006. Nobody can tell
me we maintained the 1968 infrastucture and developed 50% new infrastructure
to prepare for another 100 million in population. All of the Jimmy Carter
energy program has been rolled back long ago an we dont even have
conservation now. We do have more and bigger cars per capita, larger homes,
and more and larger appliances in our homes now. We are also importing 6
times more foreign oil than during Carter's presidency. The energy industry
did not adequately add investment to their supply chain in America also
creating artificial shortages. And Chevron, I think bought and removed from
the market competitive items such as advanced car batteries that can run
long distances with one plug charge. Some oil companies have fields in
America that they have neglected to tap or are very slow to draw crude from
with very high known reserves. This is a perfect case for Eminent Domain to
find developers willing to move rapidly and provide the needed fuels.
By the way. I am a pragmatic free trader... The markets, business, and
government cannot always be trusted...we are paying 2 or 3 times for
gasoline and heating oil as we really should be paying. We should maintain
most industries in America and Americans trained and educated to perform the
work and allow moderate international competition. America should balance
the trade. America let 40,000 chinese illegal aliens free from immigration
holding because China will not take them back this week...what a load of
bull.
Bob Crawford
Read one of my blogs:
http://nationalholiday2006.blogspot.com for more info. I worked for fortune
500 companies in Information Technology for about 30 years until my job got
shipped overseas and I belonged to many professional organizations, some as
officer. I dont know anyone in the business anymore. Many people dont know
that up to 90% of the IT groups and also engineers, accountants,
researchers, writers, graphic artists, and attornies of most US fortune 1000
companies are alien nationals mostly working overseas in their home
countries but many as resident visitors H1B's in America. Indian doctors are
reviewing your radiological tests and sending their findings over the
Internet back to the hospital overnight. I am trying to start over. Many of
us had to sit and train our Indian, Philipino, Irish, or Australian
replacements or be fired immediately without severance.
I also sell since 2002, thousands of imported commodity type gifts, and
other things wholesale to everyone. http://www.vsqigifts.com I have at least
20,000 competitors, probably more like 50,000. I am the poster man of
commodity imported manufactured goods...I should have taken John's course
earlier and followed his advice to go into unique items...I have several
ideas already that I am working to put into motion.
-----Original Message-----
From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
M A Granich
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:04 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
OK, Here is an import idea that could be developed,
but be warned, doing so could change the world.
A closet sized home alcohol fuel manufacturing unit.
One that could fit into a corner of the garage. On
one end, the homeowner drops in grass clippings, yard
waste, apple cores, banana peels, etc... The
cellulosic process transforms the waste. The other
end stores your alcohol fuel.
By the lowest estimate I could find, the cellulosic
process will produce 1 gal of ethanol per 30 lbs of
waste. The byproduct of the process can fertilize
your garden. The heat from the processing could warm
your house.
There are already "make your own bio-diesel" kits, why
not Alcohol?
No government regulations to stop you. Don't have to
worry about an infrastructure to deliver the product.
A black market in yard waste could spring up. Theft
of trash would be a serious concern. Arab governments
would collapse.
Anthony
PS, The NSA has probably read this post. The whole
Spiers group could now be considered subversive.
--- John Spiers
> Anthony,
>
> My arrgument is fuel is fuel, no matter where it
> comes from, and I'd cast any shortage or other
> crisis as a misallocation problem, borne of govt
> meddling in the markets.
>
> Anything that takes a subsidy cannot be a great
> idea, and any great idea does not need a subsidy,
> it would seem to me. We have no energy crisis,
> merely an asset misallocation.
>
> We need freedom to solve these problem, and without
> it they will only grow worse.
>
> John
> On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:55:24 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
>
>
> > Implementing alternative fuels is a political
> problem,
> > not one of feasibility. There are great ideas for
> > producing alternative fuels and increasing the
> > efficiency of the machines that use them. But, an
> > aggregate of government inaction, ineptitude and
> oil
> > company influence have stymied any attempt.
> >
> > Anthony
>
>
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com
Friday, August 11, 2006
Ethanolonomics
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Anthony,
if you are serious, then why not make this your project?
AS to the NSA, don't worry, if the oil problem is solved, then they'll move onto
another
bogeyman.
John
On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:04:12 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
:
>
> OK, Here is an import idea that could be developed,
> but be warned, doing so could change the world.
>
> A closet sized home alcohol fuel manufacturing unit.
> One that could fit into a corner of the garage. On
> one end, the homeowner drops in grass clippings, yard
> waste, apple cores, banana peels, etc... The
> cellulosic process transforms the waste. The other
> end stores your alcohol fuel.
>
> By the lowest estimate I could find, the cellulosic
> process will produce 1 gal of ethanol per 30 lbs of
> waste. The byproduct of the process can fertilize
> your garden. The heat from the processing could warm
> your house.
>
> There are already "make your own bio-diesel" kits, why
> not Alcohol?
>
> No government regulations to stop you. Don't have to
> worry about an infrastructure to deliver the product.
> A black market in yard waste could spring up. Theft
> of trash would be a serious concern. Arab governments
> would collapse.
>
> Anthony
>
> PS, The NSA has probably read this post. The whole
> Spiers group could now be considered subversive.
>
>
> --- John Spiers
>
> > Anthony,
> >
> > My arrgument is fuel is fuel, no matter where it
> > comes from, and I'd cast any shortage or other
> > crisis as a misallocation problem, borne of govt
> > meddling in the markets.
> >
> > Anything that takes a subsidy cannot be a great
> > idea, and any great idea does not need a subsidy,
> > it would seem to me. We have no energy crisis,
> > merely an asset misallocation.
> >
> > We need freedom to solve these problem, and without
> > it they will only grow worse.
> >
> > John
> > On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:55:24 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
> >
> >
> > > Implementing alternative fuels is a political
> > problem,
> > > not one of feasibility. There are great ideas for
> > > producing alternative fuels and increasing the
> > > efficiency of the machines that use them. But, an
> > > aggregate of government inaction, ineptitude and
> > oil
> > > company influence have stymied any attempt.
> > >
> > > Anthony
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
OK, Here is an import idea that could be developed,
but be warned, doing so could change the world.
A closet sized home alcohol fuel manufacturing unit.
One that could fit into a corner of the garage. On
one end, the homeowner drops in grass clippings, yard
waste, apple cores, banana peels, etc... The
cellulosic process transforms the waste. The other
end stores your alcohol fuel.
By the lowest estimate I could find, the cellulosic
process will produce 1 gal of ethanol per 30 lbs of
waste. The byproduct of the process can fertilize
your garden. The heat from the processing could warm
your house.
There are already "make your own bio-diesel" kits, why
not Alcohol?
No government regulations to stop you. Don't have to
worry about an infrastructure to deliver the product.
A black market in yard waste could spring up. Theft
of trash would be a serious concern. Arab governments
would collapse.
Anthony
PS, The NSA has probably read this post. The whole
Spiers group could now be considered subversive.
--- John Spiers
> Anthony,
>
> My arrgument is fuel is fuel, no matter where it
> comes from, and I'd cast any shortage or other
> crisis as a misallocation problem, borne of govt
> meddling in the markets.
>
> Anything that takes a subsidy cannot be a great
> idea, and any great idea does not need a subsidy,
> it would seem to me. We have no energy crisis,
> merely an asset misallocation.
>
> We need freedom to solve these problem, and without
> it they will only grow worse.
>
> John
> On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:55:24 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
>
>
> > Implementing alternative fuels is a political
> problem,
> > not one of feasibility. There are great ideas for
> > producing alternative fuels and increasing the
> > efficiency of the machines that use them. But, an
> > aggregate of government inaction, ineptitude and
> oil
> > company influence have stymied any attempt.
> >
> > Anthony
Free Trade In Homeland Security
Folks,
Apparently a dozen or so potential terrorists have gone missing in USA, a story
a week old,
and the first time I see any pictures of the lads is in a story about a private
company that is
taking on a role in homeland security.
Scroll to the bottom and see the guys email address... pretty funny...
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/hagmann081006.htm
Recall it was private flight school instructors who fiigured out something was
up prior to 9-
11, as is always the case, private citizens figure these things out first.
I'd feel safer if some of the people on this list got into the anti-terrorism
biz.
John
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Anthony,
My arrgument is fuel is fuel, no matter where it comes from, and I'd cast any
shortage or other
crisis as a misallocation problem, borne of govt meddling in the markets.
Anything that takes a subsidy cannot be a great idea, and any great idea does
not need a subsidy,
it would seem to me. We have no energy crisis, merely an asset misallocation.
We need freedom to solve these problem, and without it they will only grow
worse.
John
On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:55:24 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
:
> Implementing alternative fuels is a political problem,
> not one of feasibility. There are great ideas for
> producing alternative fuels and increasing the
> efficiency of the machines that use them. But, an
> aggregate of government inaction, ineptitude and oil
> company influence have stymied any attempt.
>
> Anthony
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
why not use Kudzu to make gas? people in the southeast will probably pay you to
take it away it is such an enthusiastic plant with a HUGE starchy root (used to
cure alcoholism, too!) People beg you not to plant it because it takes over
everything - edible & medicinal for humans and livestock and probably great for
alcohol - sounds like what we need - i love it when one problem is a solution to
another!
chris
--- On Thu 08/10, John Spiers < john@johnspiers.com > wrote:
From: John Spiers [mailto: john@johnspiers.com]
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Date: 10 Aug 2006 23:38:16 -0000
Subject: Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Anthony,if you are serious, then why not make this your project?AS to the NSA,
don't worry, if the oil problem is solved, then they'll move onto another
bogeyman.JohnOn Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:04:12 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich
developed,> but be warned, doing so could change the world. > > A closet sized
home alcohol fuel manufacturing unit. > One that could fit into a corner of the
garage. On> one end, the homeowner drops in grass clippings, yard> waste, apple
cores, banana peels, etc... The> cellulosic process transforms the waste. The
other> end stores your alcohol fuel. > > By the lowest estimate I could find,
the cellulosic> process will produce 1 gal of ethanol per 30 lbs of> waste. The
byproduct of the process can fertilize> your garden. The heat from the
processing could warm> your house.> > There are already "make your own
bio-diesel" kits, why> not Alcohol? > > No government regulations to stop
you. Don't have to> worry about an infrastructure to deliver the product. > A
black market in yard waste could spring up. Theft> of trash would be a serious
concern. Arab governments> would collapse.> > Anthony> > PS, The NSA has
probably read this post. The whole> Spiers group could now be considered
subversive. > > > --- John Spiers
> > > My arrgument is fuel is fuel, no matter where it> > comes from, and I'd
cast any shortage or other > > crisis as a misallocation problem, borne of govt>
> meddling in the markets.> > > > Anything that takes a subsidy cannot be a
great> > idea, and any great idea does not need a subsidy, > > it would seem to
me. We have no energy crisis,> > merely an asset misallocation.> > > > We need
freedom to solve these problem, and without> > it they will only grow worse.> >
> > John> > On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:55:24 -0700 (PDT), M A Granich> >
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
I've heard Pollan's arguments before; it's
regurgitated oil company propaganda and talking
points. Say it enough and people start believing it.
Pollan is believing it. He needs to research his
story a little more.
Not all ethanol comes from corn, and not all ethanol
is produced the same way. Pollan's article almost
fails to mention cellulosic ethanol. Here is his one
sentence, nearly asinine statement...
"And although the technology for making ethanol from
grasses (cellulosic ethanol - distilled from plant
cellulose rather than starch) is not quite there yet,
it holds real potential."
The cellulosic technology would take minimal effort to
implement. It takes less than a 1/3 of the energy to
make the alcohol as traditional methods. Pollan only
mentions grass, but you can convert nearly any plant
biomass, ie plant waste such as husks from corn,
sawdust, straw, lawn clippings, wood chips, etc....
Switchgrass shows a lot of promise. It covered the
Great Plains with no human intervention at all, no
fertilizer, no cultivation.
Implementing alternative fuels is a political problem,
not one of feasibility. There are great ideas for
producing alternative fuels and increasing the
efficiency of the machines that use them. But, an
aggregate of government inaction, ineptitude and oil
company influence have stymied any attempt.
Anthony
--- Alan Fishman
> Here is a guest columnist article that appeared in
> the New York Times in May on the feasability of
> ethanol...
> alan
>
> The Great Yellow Hope
> By Michael Pollan
>
>
>
> Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of "The
> Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural history of Four
> Meals," which was published in
> April. His previous books include: "Second Nature,"
> "A Place of My Own" and "The Botany of Desire," a
> New York Times bestseller.
>
> A contributing writer for The New York Times
> Magazine, Mr. Pollan is the Knight Professor of
> Journalism at the University of
> California, Berkeley. Many of his food articles can
> be found at michaelpollan.com
>
>
>
> I've been traveling in the American Corn Belt this
> past week, and wherever I go, people are talking
> about the promise of ethanol.
> Corn-distillation plants are popping up across the
> country like dandelions, and local ethanol boosters
> in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa
> and even Washington State (where Bill Gates is
> jumping into the business) are giddy at the prospect
> of supplanting OPEC with a
> homegrown, America-first corn cartel. But as much as
> I'd like to have a greener fuel to power my car, I'm
> afraid corn-based ethanol
> is not that fuel.
>
>
>
> In principle, making fuel from plants makes good
> sense. Instead of spewing fossilized carbon into the
> atmosphere, you're burning the
> same carbon that a plant removed from the air only a
> few months earlier - so, theoretically, you've added
> no additional carbon.
> Sounds pretty green - and would be, if the plant you
> proposed to make the ethanol from were grown in a
> green way. But corn is not.
>
>
>
> The way we grow corn in this country consumes
> tremendous quantities of fossil fuel. Corn receives
> more synthetic fertilizer than any
> other crop, and that fertilizer is made from fossil
> fuels - mostly natural gas. Corn also receives more
> pesticide than any other
> crop, and most of that pesticide is made from
> petroleum. To plow or disc the cornfields, plant the
> seed, spray the corn and harvest
> it takes large amounts of diesel fuel, and to dry
> the corn after harvest requires natural gas. So by
> the time your "green" raw
> material arrives at the ethanol plant, it is already
> drenched in fossil fuel. Every bushel of corn grown
> in America has consumed the
> equivalent of between a third and a half gallon of
> gasoline.
>
>
>
> And that's before you distill the corn into ethanol,
> an energy-intensive process that requires still more
> fossil fuel. Estimates
> vary, but they range from two-thirds to nine-tenths
> of a gallon of oil to produce a single gallon of
> ethanol. (The more generous
> number does not count all the energy costs of
> growing the corn.) Some estimates are still more
> dismal, suggesting it may actually
> take more than a gallon of fossil fuel to produce a
> gallon of our putative alternative to fossil fuel.
>
>
>
> Making ethanol from corn makes no more sense from an
> economic point of view. The federal government
> offers a tax break of 54 cents
> for every gallon of ethanol produced, and this
> incentive is what has generated the enthusiasm for
> ethanol refining: the spigot of
> public money is open and the pigs are rushing to the
> trough. (At the same time, the government protects
> domestic ethanol producers
> by imposing a tariff of 54 cents a gallon on
> imported ethanol.) According to the Wall Street
> Journal, it will cost U.S. taxpayers
> $120 for every barrel of oil saved by making
> ethanol. Some "savings." This is very good news
> indeed for Archer Daniels Midland, the
> agricultural processing company that controls about
> 30 percent of the ethanol market. (And, it would
> seem, a comparable percentage
> of the U.S. Congress, which has been showering the
> company with ethanol subsidies since the days when
> Bob Dole of Kansas was known
> as the senator from A.D.M.)
>
>
>
> Absurd as it is, the rush to turn our corn surplus
> into ethanol appears unstoppable, and the corn belt,
> laboring under the weight of
> falling corn prices for the past several years, is
> celebrating the great good fortune of $3-a-gallon
> gas prices. We're desperate for
> alternatives, and all that corn is waiting to be
> distilled. As corn prices rise (and the giddiness
> has already given them a bump),
> farmers will be tempted to produce yet more corn,
> which is not good news for the environment this
> whole deal is supposed to help.
> Why not? Because farmers will apply more nitrogen to
> boost yields (leading to more nitrogen pollution)
> and, since soy bean prices
> are down, they will be tempted to return to a
> "corn-on-corn" rotation. That is, rather than rotate
> their corn crops with soy beans
> (a legume that builds nitrogen in he soil), farmers
> will plant corn year after year, requiring still
> more synthetic nitrogen and
> doing long-term damage to the land.
>
>
>
> It's not easy being green.
>
>
>
> But just because making ethanol from corn is an
> environmentally and economically absurd proposition
> doesn't mean ethanol made from
> other plants is a bad idea. If you can make ethanol
> from a plant that doesn't take so much energy to
> grow in the first place, the
> economics and energetics begin look a lot better.
> The Brazilians make ethanol from sugar cane, a
> perennial crop that doesn't require
> nearly as much fossil fuel to grow. Switch grass,
> too, is a perennial crop that grows just about
> anywhere, requires little or no
> fertilizer and needs no plowing or annual
> replanting. And although the technology for making
> ethanol from grasses (cellulosic
> ethanol - distilled from plant cellulose rather than
> starch) is not quite there yet, it holds real
> potential.
>
>
>
> So why the stampede to make ethanol from corn?
> Because we have so much of it, and such a powerful
> lobby promoting its consumption.
> Ethanol is just the latest chapter in a long, sorry
> history of clever and profitable schemes to dispose
> of surplus corn: there was
> corn liquor in the 19th century; feedlot meat
> starting in the 1950's and, since 1980, high
> fructose corn syrup. We grow more than 10
> billion bushels of corn a year in this country, far
> more than we can possibly eat - though God knows
> we're doing our best, bingeing
> on corn-based fast food and high fructose corn syrup
> till we're fat and diabetic. We probably can't eat
> much more of the stuff
> without exploding, so the corn lobby is targeting
> the next unsuspecting beast that might help chomp
> through the surplus: your car.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "spiersegroups"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 9:27 AM
> Subject: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
>
>
> Folks,
>
> Brazil is offered as the way for ethanol, so let's
> hear a Brazilian voice on the topic.
>
> http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/desousa1.html
>
> John
Ethanolonomics
Re: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Here is a guest columnist article that appeared in the New York Times in May on
the feasability of ethanol...
alan
The Great Yellow Hope
By Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A
Natural history of Four Meals," which was published in
April. His previous books include: "Second Nature," "A Place of My Own" and "The
Botany of Desire," a New York Times bestseller.
A contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, Mr. Pollan is the Knight
Professor of Journalism at the University of
California, Berkeley. Many of his food articles can be found at
michaelpollan.com
I've been traveling in the American Corn Belt this past week, and wherever I go,
people are talking about the promise of ethanol.
Corn-distillation plants are popping up across the country like dandelions, and
local ethanol boosters in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa
and even Washington State (where Bill Gates is jumping into the business) are
giddy at the prospect of supplanting OPEC with a
homegrown, America-first corn cartel. But as much as I'd like to have a greener
fuel to power my car, I'm afraid corn-based ethanol
is not that fuel.
In principle, making fuel from plants makes good sense. Instead of spewing
fossilized carbon into the atmosphere, you're burning the
same carbon that a plant removed from the air only a few months earlier - so,
theoretically, you've added no additional carbon.
Sounds pretty green - and would be, if the plant you proposed to make the
ethanol from were grown in a green way. But corn is not.
The way we grow corn in this country consumes tremendous quantities of fossil
fuel. Corn receives more synthetic fertilizer than any
other crop, and that fertilizer is made from fossil fuels - mostly natural gas.
Corn also receives more pesticide than any other
crop, and most of that pesticide is made from petroleum. To plow or disc the
cornfields, plant the seed, spray the corn and harvest
it takes large amounts of diesel fuel, and to dry the corn after harvest
requires natural gas. So by the time your "green" raw
material arrives at the ethanol plant, it is already drenched in fossil fuel.
Every bushel of corn grown in America has consumed the
equivalent of between a third and a half gallon of gasoline.
And that's before you distill the corn into ethanol, an energy-intensive process
that requires still more fossil fuel. Estimates
vary, but they range from two-thirds to nine-tenths of a gallon of oil to
produce a single gallon of ethanol. (The more generous
number does not count all the energy costs of growing the corn.) Some estimates
are still more dismal, suggesting it may actually
take more than a gallon of fossil fuel to produce a gallon of our putative
alternative to fossil fuel.
Making ethanol from corn makes no more sense from an economic point of view. The
federal government offers a tax break of 54 cents
for every gallon of ethanol produced, and this incentive is what has generated
the enthusiasm for ethanol refining: the spigot of
public money is open and the pigs are rushing to the trough. (At the same time,
the government protects domestic ethanol producers
by imposing a tariff of 54 cents a gallon on imported ethanol.) According to the
Wall Street Journal, it will cost U.S. taxpayers
$120 for every barrel of oil saved by making ethanol. Some "savings." This is
very good news indeed for Archer Daniels Midland, the
agricultural processing company that controls about 30 percent of the ethanol
market. (And, it would seem, a comparable percentage
of the U.S. Congress, which has been showering the company with ethanol
subsidies since the days when Bob Dole of Kansas was known
as the senator from A.D.M.)
Absurd as it is, the rush to turn our corn surplus into ethanol appears
unstoppable, and the corn belt, laboring under the weight of
falling corn prices for the past several years, is celebrating the great good
fortune of $3-a-gallon gas prices. We're desperate for
alternatives, and all that corn is waiting to be distilled. As corn prices rise
(and the giddiness has already given them a bump),
farmers will be tempted to produce yet more corn, which is not good news for the
environment this whole deal is supposed to help.
Why not? Because farmers will apply more nitrogen to boost yields (leading to
more nitrogen pollution) and, since soy bean prices
are down, they will be tempted to return to a "corn-on-corn" rotation. That is,
rather than rotate their corn crops with soy beans
(a legume that builds nitrogen in he soil), farmers will plant corn year after
year, requiring still more synthetic nitrogen and
doing long-term damage to the land.
It's not easy being green.
But just because making ethanol from corn is an environmentally and economically
absurd proposition doesn't mean ethanol made from
other plants is a bad idea. If you can make ethanol from a plant that doesn't
take so much energy to grow in the first place, the
economics and energetics begin look a lot better. The Brazilians make ethanol
from sugar cane, a perennial crop that doesn't require
nearly as much fossil fuel to grow. Switch grass, too, is a perennial crop that
grows just about anywhere, requires little or no
fertilizer and needs no plowing or annual replanting. And although the
technology for making ethanol from grasses (cellulosic
ethanol - distilled from plant cellulose rather than starch) is not quite there
yet, it holds real potential.
So why the stampede to make ethanol from corn? Because we have so much of it,
and such a powerful lobby promoting its consumption.
Ethanol is just the latest chapter in a long, sorry history of clever and
profitable schemes to dispose of surplus corn: there was
corn liquor in the 19th century; feedlot meat starting in the 1950's and, since
1980, high fructose corn syrup. We grow more than 10
billion bushels of corn a year in this country, far more than we can possibly
eat - though God knows we're doing our best, bingeing
on corn-based fast food and high fructose corn syrup till we're fat and
diabetic. We probably can't eat much more of the stuff
without exploding, so the corn lobby is targeting the next unsuspecting beast
that might help chomp through the surplus: your car.
----- Original Message -----
From: "spiersegroups"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 9:27 AM
Subject: [spiers] Ethanolonomics
Folks,
Brazil is offered as the way for ethanol, so let's hear a Brazilian voice on the
topic.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/desousa1.html
John
Compete on Design!
www.johnspiers.com
Ethanolonomics
Folks,
Brazil is offered as the way for ethanol, so let's hear a Brazilian voice on the
topic.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/desousa1.html
John
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
More Healthcare, Mexican Nursing Homes
Re: [spiers] More Healthcare, Mexican Nursing Homes
I agree John. My grandmother is 95 years old and still going strong. She walks,
takes her own bath and converses intelligently. Of course, we have to scream at
her because she is "half deef", as she calls it.
I truly believe that if she were in a nursing home she would not be alive and
well.
But then, there are lots of folks who prefer to live their last days in a
sunny climate
pampered by someone other than relatives. Or perhaps, they don't have
relatives.
I have to admit, when I read the article, it appealed to me. I would not want
to die of old age away from my family, but during my better years, I would love
to live in such a
comfortable home giving my relatives a vacation destination for visiting!
Love and Light
Nurlinda
John Spiers
Now that is something that would bother me... I disagree with the practice of
'old folks
homes" since all generations thrive better longer in intergenerational houses.
It's another
one of the negative trends we are experiencing, and a better deal is to figure a
way to make it
easier to let elders live with juniors.
John
On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 00:12:51 -0000, "mgranich" wrote :
>
> I saw this on MSN.com, more medical tourism:
>
> http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=347209>1=8489
>
> and my brother, who lives in Mexico, sent me this message board
> posting about a nursing home. How can you beat 800 pesos a month
> ($74/month)!
>
> http://members2.boardhost.com/jamiefromalta/msg/1154778107.html
>
> Maybe there is room for "maquiladora" nursing homes just on the other
> side of the US Mexican boarder.
>
> Anthony
China Now Comes to USA for Cheap Labor?
RE: [spiers] China Now Comes to USA for Cheap Labor?
Not only is China coming to USA for cheap labor but it seems to be losing
its manufacturing allure to countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia due to
increased labor costs...
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115489994036428120-x8gD_CqWa81zuWhbbT
YVRE4oByw_20060813.html?mod=regionallinks
Roy Gilbert, Jr.
USA
-----Original Message-----
From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
John Spiers
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2006 6:13 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spiers] China Now Comes to USA for Cheap Labor?
To me the question is one of choice... do people who accept the jobs do so
freely...? if so,
they must surely have chosen among options... second, those who choose
freely inevitable
"conspire" against the bosses and begin to demand more of the income of the
factory...
(except in places like the United States where govt-sponsored inflation has
seen to it that
labor has not gotten an effective raise since 1973, and those who are
retiring are finding out
their pensions are bust). It seems to me the conditions in China are
precisely those we had
maybe 100 years ago, and China is using the exact same means we used to grow
rich.
John
On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:02:17 -0700, "choigrogan Choi-Grogan"
wrote :
>
> When we said that "the Chinese style labor market is with minimum wage
structure and
zero benefit structures", we are very much ill informed. The Chinese
government has
regulations in place and the employers are required to provide health
benefit, retirement
pension, and insurance to their employees. Moreover, many manufacturers
there have
difficulty finding good employees due to the tight labor market, minimum
wage without
benefit will not work per the demand and supply theory. Don't use a few
news coverage to
generalize the labor treatment there. Don't purely use the wage number
without
understanding their living cost structure.
>
> Let's say a machine operator is paid US$400-500 a month, in most cases,
the factory will
provide housing and food for them. So they keep most of the take home
paycheck without
much living expenses. They often will send the money back to their family.
If they do need
to rent, the average rent per month is about US$90-100/month. This is not
in Beijing or
Shanghai city center of course, but this is the average housing cost near
most of the
manufacturing zones. A banquet full service dinner for 30's people cost
US$100..... I don't
think we can find that kind of expenses here in the States. With this cost
scale of living here
in the States, I think some of these Chinese workers have better situation
than the US workers
in some retails and fast food or service industries.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: grp grp
> To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
grp123@gmail.com
> Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 4:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [spiers] China Now Comes to USA for Cheap Labor?
>
>
> > Another few points:
> > 1) You say "labor cannot be critical.".... Labor costs >vary among the
> present US >automakers and a new >company entering the system, with no
> legacy >pension> costs, etc., >would be expected to have >lower labor
costs
> than many existing manufacturers.
>
> > 3) Your thesis that labor costs are irrelevant is >absurd. Labor
costs
> are one component > of final >total product costs. To the extent that
labor
> is a large >component of final total product costs (vs. materials,
> >transportation, etc.) labor will be a relatively important >factor in
the
> cost of the good, its price >competitiveness and ability to compete in
the
> >marketplace.
>
> ***Little of what USA imports has a component cost of labor more than
5%...
> but that is not my main thesis, the cost of management to make baskets
in
> USA is too expensive, management oversas is cheaper. People with Ag
degrees
> go into govt, while mexicans
> manage the farms, since mexican management is cheaper than usa
management.
> The thing is management cost,***
>
> If I can take an item from $Dollar store retailer in USA, as an
argument
> for above; Which will cost a retailer .50Cents per item (for example),
to
> bring it over to USA, after all the upfront cost and don't forget you
have
> to buy in huge consignments to get best prices. With about 4 to 6
employees
> @ about $6/hr to 12/hr; retailer's cost of goods of the item can bring
it UP
> to say .80Cents per item or more; than add other retailer's cost, where
is
> the retailers margins? Even if retailer is doing the volume business!
> Somewhere, someone(s) is making lots of money minus the US retailer.
>
> When it comes to US labor; as per my opinion, are turning into Chinese
style
> labor market with minimum wage structure and zero benefit structures.
Large
> retailers and fast food chains in US have successfully been able to do
this,
> now gradually auto workers will see the same trend, if they want to work
in
> MG plant managed by Chinese management.
>
> Compete on Design: I as a consumer would prefer GM cars over KIA when it
> comes to design, because as per my opinion GM cars looks much better and
> designed much better. Than why is KIA selling more? I think it is more
than
> a design when it comes to consumers phyche!!
>
> Grp
More Healthcare, Mexican Nursing Homes
Re: [spiers] More Healthcare, Mexican Nursing Homes
Now that is something that would bother me... I disagree with the practice of
'old folks
homes" since all generations thrive better longer in intergenerational houses.
It's another
one of the negative trends we are experiencing, and a better deal is to figure a
way to make it
easier to let elders live with juniors.
John
On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 00:12:51 -0000, "mgranich"
>
> I saw this on MSN.com, more medical tourism:
>
> http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=347209>1=8489
>
> and my brother, who lives in Mexico, sent me this message board
> posting about a nursing home. How can you beat 800 pesos a month
> ($74/month)!
>
> http://members2.boardhost.com/jamiefromalta/msg/1154778107.html
>
> Maybe there is room for "maquiladora" nursing homes just on the other
> side of the US Mexican boarder.
>
> Anthony
Monday, August 7, 2006
What is Design?
Re: [spiers] Re: What is Design?
----- Original Message -----
From: mgranich
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 3:19 PM
Subject: [spiers] Re: What is Design?
Malcolm wrote:
> E) Then of course, while OUR dog gets along with cats, not every
yard is so peaceful. Chasing cats becomes an interesting event, so
you can use a bird feeder to attract birds, which if properly
designed will attract cats, and then you can also use it creatively
to ENTERTAIN YOUR DOG! You can now sell a "doggie exercise and play
kit" to include a bird feeder, retractable dog chain, hiding cover,
etc. NO MORE WALKING THE DOG! With enough bird feeders you could even
start an exercise kennel business!<
Anthony responded:
I know some of these ideas are tongue-in-cheek, but... I have two
dogs and a bird feeder that attracts more squirrels than birds. Our
dogs can get so transfixed by the bird feeder action, that my wife
and I call the feeder "Squirrel TV"
Malcolm responds:
Wow, great idea!! Is the URL, www.squirrelTV.com available? You could get a
web cam, recruit other squirrel feeder filmmakers with web cams (paid on
commission), and offer a free 30-day trial, after which browsers would need to
ante up on a monthly basis. You would have three markets... bored urbanites,
senior centers, and rich dog ownes with big screen TVs - pet accessible. The
newspaper and TV publicity opportunities are off the charts!
I think I will start writing a book (unless someone is already on it...) ,
"101 Uses for Bird Feeder" or "101 Small Businesses You Can Start with a Bird
Feeder!"
And of course, fried squirrel is great southern Redneck quisine... maybe you
could get Jeff Foxworthy to provide endorsements!
Malcolm
Business Model
Re: [spiers] Business Model
John, I think you are right! The only problem I saw with the ocean-front
business model was that the pervs will be out on boats with the telephoto
lenses, and one incident could destroy the opportunity. I think a private lake
or swimming pool resort named "Women of Religion Health & Sun Spa" could strike
a market nerve. Malcolm
----- Original Message -----
From: John Spiers
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 07, 2006 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: [spiers] Business Model
Malcolm,
I bet they find plenty of Christian, indeed Jewish women every bit as
conservative as these
Moslem women who would be keen on such an arrangement. Hmmm... what would
happen if
thousands of orthodox Moslem, Christian and Jewish wives and mothers spent
summer
vacation together on an italian beach? My guess if peace would break out all
over.
John
On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 12:39:55 -0700, "Malcolm D"
>
> More on competing on design, with your business model.
> Malcolm
> -----------------------------
>
> Beach for Muslim women planned in Italy
> By ARIEL DAVID
>
> Associated Press Writer
>
> ROME - Hotels at an Italian seaside resort are eager to act on the town's
> decision to authorize the creation of all-female beach sections for Muslim
> women, with at least one hotel owner saying Friday that plans are already
> under way to open the first of such secluded areas next month.
Business Model
Re: [spiers] Business Model
John, I think you are right! The only problem I saw with the ocean-front
business model was that the pervs will be out on boats with the telephoto
lenses, and one incident could destroy the opportunity. I think a private lake
or swimming pool resort named "Women of Religion Health & Sun Spa" could strike
a market nerve. Malcolm
----- Original Message -----
From: John Spiers
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 07, 2006 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: [spiers] Business Model
Malcolm,
I bet they find plenty of Christian, indeed Jewish women every bit as
conservative as these
Moslem women who would be keen on such an arrangement. Hmmm... what would
happen if
thousands of orthodox Moslem, Christian and Jewish wives and mothers spent
summer
vacation together on an italian beach? My guess if peace would break out all
over.
John
On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 12:39:55 -0700, "Malcolm D"
>
> More on competing on design, with your business model.
> Malcolm
> -----------------------------
>
> Beach for Muslim women planned in Italy
> By ARIEL DAVID
>
> Associated Press Writer
>
> ROME - Hotels at an Italian seaside resort are eager to act on the town's
> decision to authorize the creation of all-female beach sections for Muslim
> women, with at least one hotel owner saying Friday that plans are already
> under way to open the first of such secluded areas next month.
Business Model
Re: [spiers] Business Model
Malcolm,
I bet they find plenty of Christian, indeed Jewish women every bit as
conservative as these
Moslem women who would be keen on such an arrangement. Hmmm... what would
happen if
thousands of orthodox Moslem, Christian and Jewish wives and mothers spent
summer
vacation together on an italian beach? My guess if peace would break out all
over.
John
On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 12:39:55 -0700, "Malcolm D"
>
> More on competing on design, with your business model.
> Malcolm
> -----------------------------
>
> Beach for Muslim women planned in Italy
> By ARIEL DAVID
>
> Associated Press Writer
>
> ROME - Hotels at an Italian seaside resort are eager to act on the town's
> decision to authorize the creation of all-female beach sections for Muslim
> women, with at least one hotel owner saying Friday that plans are already
> under way to open the first of such secluded areas next month.
When to start and quit
Re: [spiers] When to start and quit
On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 18:04:24 -0700, Paul Snyder
wrote :
In particular, I would
> like to understand more about the people you are teaming with, what
> their interests, are, and how you determine ahead of time, when/under
> what conditions to shutdown the project.
***the first question is very good, it gets to working with the best in the
world... the fellow
running the show now is the son of the fellow who founded the biz in Hong Kong
in the
1940's, and I worked mostly with his aunt, the founders sister, over the years,
although she
was the same age as the current manager. She has since retired. Here in
Seattle we are
laying down a baseline of quality and service, those noncompetitive items, and
then the
prices of what we are dealing in. As we set these benchmarks, we'll have to
regularly check
our resources against otehr potential sources. it will be ongoing.
as to when to quit, that is something we should all have in mind as we develop a
project. It is
important to know how you can tell when it won't work, if it won't work.. When
I know what
the system is for say tailored clothes, and I hypothesize that i can make good
money, my
requisite $250 an hour, serving a neglected customer, with newer and better, and
have fun
and support my lifestyle, then I develop a theory. Say Hong Kong has an
inventory including
the best the world has to offer in fabric. Hong Kong management of inventory
control is best
on planet earth. Hong kong talent in tailoring is world class.
Communications and transportation has improved to the point where getting
measurements
from usa to hk is cheap, and moving a fully cut suit to usa is cheap and easy.
Although congress tried to ruin this kind of biz in the 80's, anyone who
understand customs
form 7501 (and I do) can make quick work of the hurdle the govt set up. (This
same hurdle
did cause usa tailors to rely on a few usa 'cut to order' factories to thrive,
such as Oxxford in
chicago, but they have all the style and quality of a firm that does not have to
compete.).
What is open? the best fabrics in the world, bone buttons and best zippers,
finest thread,
expert tailoriing, plus style, at prices comparable to what you'd pay at
nordstrom... or more,
but we are different.
And the result is, everyone along the chain makes more money on what they do for
me in less
time than they do working with others.
That's all theory, so it gets tested... valid? invalid? if valid, is it
reliable...can others do the
same? if it becomes valid and reliable, then it is science.
If invalid, it does not work, and I find the errors cannot be fixed, then I know
to quit, and i
and a few others have ended up with some gorgeous clothes, and time free to work
on
something else.
I still get excited about these things, in a self-defeating way. it is very
easy to get excited
about "I will own a tailoring biz..." when i should be clear on "I will be
serving others..." there
is a necessary sort of Zen self-abnegation that is required to get these things
to work. But
that gets easier as one gets older, I guess.***
>
> This discussion is relevant to me, as I have 2 projects going on, and
> I am wondering what my "shutdown" criteria should be. I have had
> dialogues with vendors, both, coincidentally in Taiwan, and they each
> have produced samples (products are as different as chalk and
> cheese). One of the vendors has worked long and hard on a sample
> that frankly, doesn't look too good in the photos he has sent to me.
> Yet some of his other products look good. So I am chalking part of
> it up to lousy communication, the other to the possibility that I
> simply have the wrong vendor. I plan to obtain samples in September
> and take them to the retailers I have already engaged, in order to
> get their feedback. If they pan the sample, as I frankly expect, I
> will be stuck with whether to a) stop the project, or b) switch
> vendors, or 3) evolve the product with that vendor.
>
> I plan to travel to both vendors in September to pick up the samples
> (yes, mail is cheaper, but I am combining it with a vacation
> elsewhere near that time zone, part of the allure of this business),
> and that will give me an opportunity to clarify requirements for the
> products. Which brings me to another question. Although I am an
> experienced spec writer, my opinion is that foreign vendors just
> don't have the time nor the ability to understand details of specs,
> no matter how simplistic I write them. What is the role of the spec,
> and when is it appropriate to visit the vendor in order to discuss
> requirements? I understand that you recommend to minimize costs by
> having the vendor mail samples and you improve the product by phoning
> in changes. But if we are developing innovations to existing
> products (or creating entirely new products) is it realistic to
> develop a sample entirely remotely?
***Sounds to me like a classic "biz is lifestyle approach", a good thing, and
the troubles with
vendor and 'getting the product right' is par for the course. one just keeps
working the
problem, and if the samples are wrong, keep at it. You quit if you find enough
of your theory
is invalid and will not work, you were just plain wrong about what would work,
and working
with customers and suppliers you found you were wrong. If I cannot find enough
people who
want the best the world has in fabrics for clothes, to make it worth my while,
I'll quit...
But now hang on, my motivations on this one are slightly different... i feel a
bit freer because
i am tinkering with something I'll offer to my daughter to run with in a couple
of years, if she
so desires...
O dear me... I think I have only confused the issue... the questions are
excellent and I'll have
to work mor eon the answers... consider thjis a rough draft... has anyone else
addressed the
issue of "when to quit?"
john