Arkansas Blog

Does Beebe know anything about Ranchers? They don't care about biofuels. They raise cattle, not crops. Biofuels won't help Ranchers.

Actually, I think he spoke at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers meeting.
Less deoendency on foreign oil is a good thing.

How much will the conversion cost?

Good idea from Beebe. But it is too bad he wants to use more bio-fuels. East Arkansas won't have the water to grow crops needed to make the fuels. Surface water must be used from rivers to balance against the water taken from the ground. According to the Arkansas Times "Good Week/Bad Week," if the Arkansas Leg. Council gets its way, there won't be any farmland either. They want to do to farmland what the loggers did to the home of our famous Woodpecker: Destroy it. It was bad for the Woodpecker and it is a bad for Arkansas to consider doing away with farmland that we will need for the future.

I thought Hitler/Halter was going to help with this problem of our nation's oil dependency. That is what all of those commercials said before the primary! Did Beebe steal this issue from Halter? I guess Halter will just have to deal with the fact that he will be the "lap dog" for Beebe for a long time to come.

In a related story, Drew Pritt has promised to replace all of the City of Little Rock's vehicles with cars that run on KY Jelly.

is biodiesel actually more efficient? How much better is it from cost and environmental standpoints?

Instead of a coherent energy policy designed to wean us off oil, we get record profits for big oil and more costs (draining the white river, for example) passed along to the public.

I think maybe the only good thing that will come out of the years of Bush-Cheney misery will be the conversion of America to energy sources other than oil.

All my life flashlights ran on batteries. Yesterday I got to play with one of those types that make light after you shake it for a while. Sure...not the best light I've ever seen, but free light and from now on according to the package.

So all our lives we've been told our cars have to run on gasoline. Now we're finding out that's not true. Of course it took 3 buck a gallon gas to make people willing to look at bio-diesel and converting corn to fuel. Well....we're paying 3 bucks a gallon and living with it, so 3 buck a gallon gas made from corn will at least get us off the Middle Eastern tit.

As much as it will irk the Bible beaters, science will save us. Becoming energy independent will be the smartest thing we can do. We can do it.

Depends on the biofuel he uses - if he collects used grease from Mac's, etc. it will be a great saving - Denton TX has done it - no reason LR can't - stuff made from soybeans is OK - better if cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass is supported - that would have a beneficial effect on water use since no irrigation is required

Maybe he could tour the solar facilities at the Clinton library.

I think maybe the only good thing that will come out of the years of Bush-Cheney misery will be the conversion of America to energy sources other than oil.

Oh, were it so DBI. Recall the horrible fuel crisis of 70's which ended on a dud by mid 80's. During the bubble period many energy geniuses worked their way into the spotlight only to fade away. Somewhere I still have the Mother Earth News issue with pic's of that English chicken farmer powering his little car with a chickenshit-to-methane converter in the trunk. And what came of all this? Giant SUV's, bigger boats, more electric powered convienences adorning more homes, larger homes with more glass.
I'm with Art Hobson, physicist in Fayetteville, who says a good start would be $5 gal tax on gasoline.

Just like the last oil bubble this one will burst and there will result a rearrangement of economic power
which will surprise many.

Now, if General Beebe were to discuss attracting more nuclear power plants he would have my attention.
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You don't need the gov to put the tax on a gallon of gas. Next time you fill up, just mail a check for $5/Gallon you purchsed to your county or state finance department as a gift.

If you believe its the right thing to do,,,,do it.

Great news for Arkansas Eastman, which is being sold to Viceroy. Google it.
More jobs, less foreign oil. And the White River will survive.....

"Somewhere I still have the Mother Earth News issue with pic's of that English chicken farmer powering his little car with a chickenshit-to-methane converter in the trunk."

Just what I was thinking about! If the pioneers could use buffalo chips as fuel for fires, why can't we come up with something similar? NW Arkansas would have yet another money maker.
Just exactly why do we have to grow corn or soybeans, both heavily dependent on irrigation and fertilizer, for biofuel? Would honeysuckle or privet work? (I think my life's work has devolved to privet terminator.) Kudzu? Grass clippings? All those bags of fall leaves that head to the landfills? The rest of the garbage making up the landfill mountains?
Where are our innovators?

"Now, if General Beebe were to discuss attracting more nuclear power plants he would have my attention."
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We certainly don't need more nuclear power plants. Did you read the article in the Democrat (misnomer) Gazette (misnomer) on Friday about aging nuclear plants? It's scary.

"Just exactly why do we have to grow corn or soybeans, both heavily dependent on irrigation and fertilizer, for biofuel? Where are our innovators?"

Click my username R4G to see something really amazing - using hydrogen peroxide for fuel cells...

All of us are being lied too and manipulated so much about the oil being short supply. The people responsible for the price being so high should be hanged for lying to us. They are guilty of treason and should be made to pay the price. George Bush is the ring leader that started the price to jump like it has. He has no damn conscious at all. He has made an ass out of of the republican party.

Great posts here, actually discussing and staying on subject(mostly). We have got to break our dependency on foreign oil, but alternative oil is not THE only answer. Yes, the bubble will burst just like in the past. But did we learn? No, all the information has been there for 30 years and we have continued to drive bigger cars, want more things made with plastic. We have created a wasteful, throwaway lifestyle where fast food is king.
What happened to the "Reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra"? We as Amercians have grown worse and even more dependent on oil and the products(not just gas) it creates.
Do not look for Americans to change their lifestyle ever if we haven't learned by now.
And again, if alternative fuel is such a good idea why didn't Beebe introduce it sometime over the past 20 years he has been a "public servant"?

If you really want to blame high oil prices on someone, blame the Chinese and other emerging markets in the world. Their demand for oil is growing. The (Middle Eastern) producers were all pumping at near 99% capacity last year. It's supply and demand. No more supply, more demand, higher prices. That is what will help the American and Arkansas farmers. More demand for their soybean oil to make biodiesel will help to increase their income. Better to have MY money go to the farmers than to big oil!

I just want to know how these foreign governments are affording the oil at market prices?

Hey has anyone commented on what this will mean for your country when you only have to buy half as much product from the Arab countries?
Think before you make stupid comments-what about extra revenue for crop farmers,employment, trillions saved in buying that stinking rubbish from the middle east.