What do you think about bio fuel.is it really going to make any difference or it has some other effects too.?

Question

biofuel is made from jatropa plant.

Answer 1

yes it will and yes it has already. most all the answers you have so far indicates these people are misinformed and listening to the news media and not researching the real cause for the current spike in food prices. OIL IS  $125.00/ barrel. the cost of everything has went up as result of increased energy costs.yes grain prices have gone up to levels never seen by farmers, what do i say, its about time. city politians and city dwellers have been whining about farmers getting rich off of government subsidies and driving the price of commodities down in poor countries by OVER producing because of government programs. why don't they{farmers} get their money from the market like everybody else has to, let the market set the price.now what do we hear those same people, the price of food is too high because of ethanol. again for those who never resarch or read, there is only 7 cents worth of corn in a 3 dollar box of corn flakes. on average corn makes up less than 20% of the costs of food, the rest is packaging, advertising, labor and most importantly transportation. in the 300 billion dollar farm bill just passed by congress, farmers will recieve only 40 billion in 5 years, the rest of the 300 billion goes to food stamps and conservation. 8 billion per year equals one quarter of one percent of the federal budget. biofuels of all kinds will be the answer for the future. we are currently collecting used cooking oil from resturants and making biodiesel for our farm. we have been using about 30,000 gallons of diesel per year. we are trying to make enough to supply 50% of our fuel needs, we have got to do something. to one of your people who answered your question, NO, farmers are not getting filthy rich off high grain prices. our bottom line has improved, but our fertilizer has increased from 40 to 90 percent in 2 years, fuel has increased 50% seed prices up 25%,chemicals up 40% as a reult of high oil prices and oh yea, government subsidies DOWN by 75%. if congress doesn't pass a farm bill ,govt. subsidies as of today are down by 100%. ethanol has already been proven by iowa state university to have reduced gas prices from 25 to 40 cents in the midwest where it is more availiable. the price of food is finally where it should be. if not for government checks to farmers for the last 20 years keeping them in business so they could produce food and fiber below the cost of production we would be buying all of our food from mexico and china or about 5 giant agriculture companies producing our food and charging anything they want for food like our friends in the oil companies. everyone wants wants cheap food, cheap gas and cheap clothes, but the reality in 2008 is people in other countries are jealous of the food cost that we have today, they pay much more of their income to eat and clothe themselves than americans do. the emerging economies of china and india has much more to do with increase use grain than ethanol. if we abandon our biofuel industries, we will wreck our farming communities in this country that will change it forever. bilions upon billions have been invested in our biofuel indusries and it has created many jobs and brought life back to the many agricultural machinery companies. i know some people think that it is a crime against humanity for a farmer to make any money and we should just work 90 hour weeks and be nearly wiped overnight by hurricane katrina in 2005 all because we want to produce food below the cost of production. don't forget, whether you are for or against biofuels, everytime you put ethanol or biodiesel in your tank all those dollars are staying in america and providing not only farmers with a decent profit margin but also many people with jobs and OUR MONEY IS NOT GOING TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY AND KILL US.

Answer 2

Bio-fuel is mostly made from corn or sugar cane.

Food shortage already is one of the effects. The amount of corn to fill an SUV once is enough to feed a person for a whole year!!

Answer 3

Bio fuel... it takes more energy to produce, it takes water to grow corn, it takes fuel to power the tractor, and other processing equipment.  It takes food from people's mouths and drives food prices up. AND if this is not enough, it is over 20% less efficient.  Instead of 30 mile to the gallon in  a Honda, you get 20.

Answer 4

Can be made from any oil producing plant. We need to propagate this as I believe the Arabs will use it as a weapon against us.

Answer 5

YOU'LL SAVE ON FUEL NOW, BUT SOON YOUR ENGINE WILL QUIT AND YOU'LL HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE. VEHICLES WERE MADE TO USE GAS OR DIESEL AND NOTHING ELSE

Answer 6

it is also made for corn, and rice,  Ask the people rioting in Hatti and Asia about the 'other effects;'

Answer 7

The diesel engine was first developed using plant based fuel oil(for farm equip).  (check history of diesel engine).  The gas companies jumped on that with slick advertizing and made similiar product out of crude oil saying it was better.

      The trouble with biofuel is food prices will go up here as farmers rip up food producing fields to grow "fuel" producing crops"which don't need insecticides" which makes them cheaper and easier to grow.

     That will effect the cost of meat, bread, pasta, pizza, fried foods, and others.  For the car???  As you can see, not good.

Answer 8

It All Matters  has it right.

first, bio-fuel can be made from many different plants.

Brazil makes it out or sugarcane.

switch-grass is the hot plant around here.

there was an interesting news article in the last couple days that talked about making it out of corn stalks, so that the corn we eat will still be available for food --- not only for you and me and people around the world, but for cows, pigs, etc.

but, have you noticed the price increase in milk, vegetables, etc in the last few months?

that's because of the shift toward corn use for bio-fuel.

and they've not made a significant dent in the gasoline market.

obviously it's not the answer.

other than making very large profits for corn growers.

Answer 9

I like the idea of bio-fuel. Its already made a difference, Its made people think, research and explore new technologies and ideas. Both sides of the issue have very valid and true points. It is a viable solution to the oil crisis, but it has made the price of commodities go up. I'm feeding 7 horses and had to change from a corn based to an oat based feed because the corn feed prices went up about 50% in a years time. Corn ethonal has a byproduct called glute that makes an exellant livestock feed, with the exeption of horses. But thats not the only reason for the price increases, the weakening of the dollar has a lot to do with it. Draught, disease and now flooding is playing a major role in grain prices. Lobbyists have a play in it also because corn and beans have a larger government subsidy for farmers. But without these subsidies americans would be paying a lot more for there food, as in europe. The U.S. still isn't paying the prices other nations have been seeing for years,YET.  No matter which side of the issue you'r on alternitive fuel is and will be a reality. How we use it is still up in the air.