Americas News
Mar 29, 2007, 19:59 GMT
Castro ends 8-month silence to slam US ethanol plans (2nd Roundup)
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Older Talkback
It is stupid to convert food into fuel.
Hail to Castro!
Castro hit the nail on the head on this one.
Corn for ethanol is a counter productive theory.
The process requires more energy than it produces, and it's dependent on growing conditions. (drought, etc)
Jim
Who cares what Castro thinks. He's a tyrannical communist dictator who beats and tortures his politial opponents.
This all smacks of Marxist mentality. What belongs to USA's crop producers is none of his business. Perhaps Castro should mind his own country's business and try to feed HIS poor. Castro needs to just hurry up and expire and do the world a favor by leaving.
Besides, it is no longer the USA's responsiblity to feed the poor. If the world has such a large 'problem' with the United States, it can feed the poor on it's own. That's right, United Nations, it is your responsiblity now.
America would already be out of debt if we didn't give trillions in free money assistance programs to Third World countries.
How can anyone say 'Hail Castro'? This is an evil man who has taken away all private businesses and homes. He is starving the people in his own country. Who is he to criticize the US? He should have been killed years ago!
And in case you are wondering - I was born here - but my parents are Cuban! What a horrible situation - to be forced to leave your country because you have no freedom.
Do not speak of what you don't really know!
It all sounds like a massive chemical and farm lobby to me. It takes so many resources (fuel, labor, land, and lets not forget the most expensive piece of agricultural production, chemicals for higher yeilds)to make these fuels. Hydrogen and Nuclear, or more efficient currently existing mainstream fuels like petro seems the smarter way to go. I agree with Castro that shifting all of those resources, esp. land, to produce 'food to burn' seems like a waste.
Now he is thinking in the rest of the people, why he has not let his own peolpe come out in public and really express the anger, frustation of the Castro tirany. Now he worries about the poor people he is just a hipocrat in decadence.
Castro, What a leader, he has kept Cuba in a state of economic disaster since he took power. The Population of people in Cuba are very poor and live in a slum type atmosphere. He can comment all he wants, but the real problem for fuel needs must be met. At least people of the free world are working on different types of alternatives. Castro could trade his sugar cane for other types of food for his people. Does he do this?
The question may be: Is the use of corn to produce ethanol is another government concession to the ever successful lobby of Archer Daniels Midland? Check out the June 2006 Corpwatch.org article which may give you some insights into that.
There are grasses that are far more efficient per acre, not that the whole ethanol paradigm is necessarily a good one to begin with
(see: futurepundit.com and the reference papers on the subject (they won't let you post links here, sorry).
It is unbelievable that there is a new structure built in the US today that does not have at least some form of solar, if nothing more than to heat hot water when the sun is available.
Other lighting sources are also a highly viable energy saving option, although the answers there are more specific to the user and the application than just fluorescents (but they are certainly a huge improvement).
For more insight into that check out: treehugger.com's article on lighting efficiencies.
and bush isn't a dictator (look it up in the dictonay - it's a political leader who siezes power against the will of the populace) who imprisons people (including american citizens) without due process, has them torurured, and uses the military to carry out his will even though the majority of the populace is against its use? i'm no fan of castro but i'm less of a fan of gw bush... at least castro came to power without having his father's influence and wealth assure him of position. castro came to power because the people of cuba were sick and tired of the 'bush' types of thier generation and chose a path. if we're not careful the radical right will force the american people to the left - opening us to a 'bush' from the liberal / communist left. sorry about the spelling...
The question may be: If the use of corn to produce ethanol is another government concession to the ever successful lobby of Archer Daniels Midland? Check out the June 2006 Corpwatch.org article which may give you some insights into that.
There are grasses that are far more efficient per acre, not that the whole ethanol paradigm is necessarily a good one to begin with (see: futurepundit.com and the reference papers on the subject (they won't let you post links here, sorry).
It is unbelievable that there is a new structure built in the US today that does not have at least some form of solar, if nothing more than to heat hot water when the sun is available.
Other lighting sources are also a highly viable energy saving option, although the answers there are more specific to the user and the application than just fluorescents (but they are certainly a huge improvement).
For more insight into that check out: treehugger.com's article on lighting efficiencies.
Matt, you're an idiot. Have your heard of 'globalization'? We are all connected now because the business giants of the U.S. have interests all over the world. These business giants are like a giant octopus, with their sticky hands touching virtually every country on earth.
I'm not sure if corn is the best alternative to what we have now. But I know for SURE that we DO have a very profound impact on the rest of the world. You can no longer say 'we're not responsible for your problems' because if you look deep enough, we're at least partly responsible.
Yeah, not to mention the US only farms about a 3rd of its usable land to grow crops. What a crock, let farmers get back in the game and support their families and the American economy. Oil companies are reporting record profits in the billions, its time we say good bye forever to supporting the middle east investments.
Countries like Cuba and Iran will be begging the US to purchase their over priced oil once we have integrated bio fuels. ha ha suckas maybe lame idiots like Terhan's 'supreme' leaders will finally get the message that they are nothing special and do not deserve to be treated like royalty and start contributing something positive to this world instead of being degenerates.
Ethanol is a bad idea. But why should we expect a corrupt government to look after the interests of its citizens?
Watch 'Who Killed the Electric Car' . Very enlightening.
Corn is better used for food and not fuel, so he has a point. I think more R&D needs to be finding a way to modify some plant life into producing high sugar levels. Maybe the sweet potato could be modified into producing alot more sugar or some other plant. I think there is an even better way of getting hydrogen from water and that is under pressure in a centrifuge. The same way U235 is separated from U238. If the hydrogen molecule is smaller then the oxygen molecule then maybe a screen with microscopic holes can be used for separation and at the same time collect the energy that will come off of this separation to use for the motors that turn the centrifuge.
Who's Castro?????
There have been many advancements (very recently!) in Solar, Thermal, Wave, and Wind generation. Forget this ethanol/oil allternatives junk and put all of these new advancements into action. Places like denmark are almost completely powered by Wind Generators. Greenland has done a great job producing energy via thermal and hydrogen production. Scottland has just made plans to double their wave generating capacity. There is even a new technology out that uses some sort of material in combination with sea water to actually catalize the splitting of the h20 atoms into oxygen and hydrogen. If that technology gets to the market soon our entire country can convert to a hydrogen based society.
Also at little bit further out there but if you really start getting interested in this stuff you should also check out Zero Point Energy. Its completly theoretical but very facinating.
you must understand the American perception of Cuba has been altered by ceaseless propaganda against the country since the 1950s Castro has done tremendous help for his country, he has industrialized it, eliminated child labor, banned smoking, raised life expectancy and literacy, and helped many of the poor who were exploited by the fascist dictator Batista who came before him. just because the cuban economy has stagnated does not mean the country is a hellhole most of the people left who left Cuba after the revolution were middle wealthier middle class people who had nothing to gain from a peasant uprising.
you must understand the American perception of Cuba has been altered by ceaseless propaganda against the country since the 1950s Castro has done tremendous help for his country, he has industrialized it, eliminated child labor, banned smoking, raised life expectancy and literacy, and helped many of the poor who were exploited by the fascist dictator Batista who came before him. just because the cuban economy has stagnated does not mean the country is a hellhole most of the people left who left Cuba after the revolution were middle wealthier middle class people who had nothing to gain from a peasant uprising.
the united states could learn a thing or two about ecology from Castro if you ask me. The process used to turn corn into ethanol only provides you with a 32% gain in terms of the energy you use to turn the corn into ethynol it is not very efficient or practical.
He's becoming a Chavez puppet. USA stops using foreign oil, Chavez can't give it away to further his socialist agenda.
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