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"Renewable" Petroleum
 Yes, that's right, a "renewable" form of the black gold we are all advocating against. But this petroleum is not a fossil fuel, it just combusts like one. When the founding members of LS9, Inc. asked the question..."If you removed all constraints, what would the ideal biofuel be?" Their answer was petroleum. It is no surprise that such an idea would come from LS9's President, Bob Walsh, who spent 30+ years employed with Shell Oil. Before counting the ways in which calling petroleum a biofuel is totally absurd, let's look at the science.... LS9 has patented a process for turning fatty-acids into hydrocarbons or what they call petroleum replacement products. Where are they getting the fatty acids? From "renewable" sugars. The novel part comes from the process by which they ferment the sugars to create hydrocarbons. Most of us understand fermentation as the production of ethanol and carbon dioxide, like in beer and wine, a reaction driven by yeast, the enzyme that breaks down sugars into fatty acids then alcohols and CO2. The magic of LS9 is a proprietary process that converts sugars into oils not alcohols. How do they do it? With patented microbes that have patented enzymes that convert sugars (Carbons, hydrogens and oxygens) into hydrocarbons (carbons and hydrogens) so what are the patented microbes and their patented enzymes doing with the oxygens? Where did the oxygen go? LS9 will tell you its NOT contrary to the laws of thermodynamics, its just pushing the frontiers of synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology....!?! Link | 0 comments  TRAIN Your Produce to Go Green  Last week the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council hosted a "brown bag" lunch presentation featuring Railex the newly formed closed loop track, 55 refrigerated car train line. Railex runs from Wallawalla Washington to Upstate New York in 5 days, hauling a mile long produce train of 55 refrigerated cars, each car containing 4 truckloads- roughly 190,000 pounds of produce per car - for a total of 200 truckloads per train. With the ever growing interest in local foods, Railex may not, at first, seem like a sustainable solution to our current food system. However as consumers continue to demand out of season lettuce and strawberries, a cost effective, diesel truck alternative to meet these demands is an environmental asset. Each train saves 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel and avoids the release of 85,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents. And that is just the first train route! Railex has plans to expand its territory, beginning in September they will run a similar train from California to New York, with plans to add facilities and acquire track in Tennessee and Florida, connecting all 4 corners of the US. Each route removing diesel trucks from the roadways and avoiding significant CO2 emissions from the air. Railex operates cost effectively on routes greater that 150 miles, and has therefor not pursued regional distribution from its facilities, ie. upstate NY to Hunt's Point in the South Bronx. However they are committed to building relationships and collaborating with Amtrak. Through such collaboration a distribution line from Selkirk, NY. to Oak Point and Hunt's Point may be possible....Cleaner Air for South Bronx! Link | 2 comments Archives October 2006 | November 2006 | December 2006 | February 2007 | March 2007 | May 2007 | June 2007 | November 2007 | January 2008 | March 2008 | April 2008 | June 2008 |
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