Where does the oil in your garbage bags come from?

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Where does the oil in your garbage bags come from?

Submitted by security_six on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 9:34pm.

This article says it's from a renewable plant. Rapeseed. Rapeseed oil has many industrial uses. This firm claims they can make biodiesel from rapeseed for as little as $0.25 per gallon. A GMO variant of rapeseed is the canola plant from which we get the famous cooking oil.

Seems like a useful little plant. Perhaps instead of turning corn into fuel, more rapeseed should be planted instead.

EDIT: Forgot the link for the biodiesel firm. Oops.

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Hemp would work, too.

Submitted by The Original Yoda on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 9:49pm.

The problem with growing fuel, which we seem to be having now, is that farmers are switching to fuel crops and as a result a bag of wheat flour has doubled in price 'cause no one is growing wheat.

By God, they're eating dirt cookies in Haiti.

But don't be afraid...

Well

Submitted by security_six on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 9:55pm.

I understand dirt cookies have been eaten in Hati for a long time. Seems to me there is plenty of arable land, perhaps more of it should be opened up. Food crops should be a priority though.

I for one am not afraid. I've got about four of five steps of advantages on the great unwashed masses and I'm not talking guns either... Most of the bozos will let the gubmit heard them into camps and hope that they will get taken care of. The rest of us will run the other way as fast as we can. I could go on and on in this vein, but if a major collapse comes, be buddy buddy with a farmer, a mountain dweller or a cruising sailor, or anyone else who is self contained and can take care of themselves "off the grid"

"Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA. Ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the State." - Heinrich Himmler 1936

Well, I lived without running water or electricity...

Submitted by The Original Yoda on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 10:04pm.

...for five years. It's a lot of "chop wood, carry water". Right now, in Washington, hay is getting scarce because of fuel crops. If you raise cattle, it sucks. Don't listen to too much "Coast to Coast", six. It'll do a number on ya... ;)

LOL

Submitted by security_six on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 10:10pm.

Haven't listend to George and Art since I was in San Diego. Then I'd tune 'em in almost every night while I tried to wind down and sleep. It was good fun, and sometimes just creepy enough to be entertaining. I always liked the ones about the supernatural. The conspiracy crap drove me nuts sometimes, but was fun to listen to.

The most heartwarming radio show I ever heard though was Art talking about his wife dying suddenly. Even now that show gets to me when I think about it. It was real if you know what I'm saying.

"Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA. Ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the State." - Heinrich Himmler 1936

Oh god S6 I love ya but...

Submitted by Laurian on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 5:16pm.

And when everyone, or maybe just a million or two, decide to become best buddies with sailors, farmers, hunters and other rugged individuals, each of those folk will have a couple 10,000 friends they never knew they had and certainly will not want anymore.

Running away is not an option. If we do not hang together, we surely will hang apart.

;-)

Submitted by Guglielmo on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 10:34pm.

...

clarification

Submitted by Marcie on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 7:02pm.

Canola oil is not a GMO variant of rapeseed. It is a variant, yes, but not necessarily a genetically modified variant. There are many non-GMO canola crops being planted, but like all brassicas, they are at high risk of GMO pollution from neighboring crops. I think that there might be some restrictions in WA state about planting brassicas, but I can't seem to find it right now. If you're interested, I can try to look it up at work.

Thanks

Submitted by security_six on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 7:08pm.

My limited research indicated that canola was GMO, thanks for setting the record straight. I was about to dump my cooking oil and find non GMO soybean or corn oil. Do you know how to tell if the oil you are buying is non GMO? (I don't like olive oil for most cooking, although it has it's places.) I need a good frying oil, and something to put down in the skillet now and then.

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." The Dalai Lama (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)

Assume the worst

Submitted by Marcie on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 7:20pm.

I would assume that most cooking oils are from GMO crops, except organic oil. GMO's aren't allowed in organic crops, but they do allow for "unavoidable drift" from neighboring GMO crops if they are in the same family. So, organic might not even be totally free of GMO's, but it's as close as one can get.

Thanks

Submitted by security_six on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 7:22pm.

I need to get a gallon or so of some good organic stuff then that I can store for up to two years... Probably in smaller bottles....

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." The Dalai Lama (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)

Thanks for that...it's

Submitted by Chia on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 7:28am.

Thanks for that...it's interesting. I'd like to see change to reduce the need for fuel although I think hemp or rapeseed based biofuel would be an improvement. Have you seen The Hemp Revolution?

---------
Nonviolence Includes Animals:
audio
"PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's address to the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem"

Actually, algae seems the best bet for biodiesel

Submitted by JT on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 8:21am.

Algae can be grown, and with no affect to our food crops. Also, algae produces more oil than soy, rapeseed and other land based plants, see chart below. There are some negatives as well, and the technology is still being developed like much of the bio-mass industry. But as far as biodiesel, algae looks the best yet.

This article talks about algae and also how much fuel oil we would need to move away from petrol diesel.

It's not a perfect system yet, as the Wiki info describes.

Another article.

The yield rate of algae vs SME (soy methyl-ester) or RME (rapeseed methyl-ester) is fantastic.

Oil Yield

Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production (http://oakhavenpc.org/cultivating_algae.htm)

Gallons of Oil per Acre per Year

Corn . . . . . . . 15

Soybeans . . . .48

Safflower. . . . . 83

Sunflower . . . 102

Rapeseed. . . 127

Oil Palm . . . . 635

Micro Algae . .1850 [based on actual biomass yields]

Micro Algae . .5000-15000 [theoretical laboratory yield]

"Forgiving or punishing the terrorists is left to God. But, fixing their appointment with God is our responsibility."

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

Ever on the lookout for a moment to agree with JT

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 9:45am.

Yes, I think algae has a lot of promise, and it won't have as big an impact on food production and prices and deforestation as the other crops. Algae, yes! Turning food into fuel oil, no. Food waste products, now that's different. Let's convert that into compost or fuel.

The FLOD! Now the reason for

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 8:01am.

The FLOD! Now the reason for the Caimans is starting to become clear!

Ahh yes

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 7:14pm.

Algae... I forgot about that. You could have massive offshore algae farms... What a horrible job. :-) Heck I got some algae on my boat they can start with :-p

In China

Submitted by Rob Richards on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 9:59am.

there is a city designed by this great firm that focuses on ecological and environmental issues throughout the design and construction process. The entire city is powered from the methane produced by the wastewater treatment plant. Now that is zero waste. I think the algae idea sounds a bit better than using our food, using our food after we've gotten nourishment from it would be even better though.

Got any more info about that city in China?

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 10:10am.

Methane has a particularly nasty greenhouse effect (something like 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide), so burning it is a good trade off.

The designer gave a TED talk.

Submitted by Rob Richards on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 10:19am.

That's where I heard about it.

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