Reply #12: I agree with this fellow, up to a point [View All]

[MadHound]

We can't make enough biodiesel to fully replace oil for our fuel needs, as it stands. we have to, absolutely, cut back on the amount of oil that we use. That said, we should at least start making the conversion over to biodiesel powered hybrids, especially ones that have an extra battery in order to use less fuel. They could be plugged in at night for a recharge, preferably into an electric grid that is powered by wind.

I also agree that we shouldn't be cutting down any forests for biodiesel production. That's plain wrong. However the author is failing to take into account one crucial crop that drastically changes the equation he's set up, hemp.

Hemp can literally grow almost anywhere. Here in Missouris, the further south of the river you get, the worse the land is. Within thirty miles the ground turns into the combination of red clay and rock that is the Ozark Mts. The soil is poor, it cannot support traditional crops. However, you can grow hemp on it, lots and lots of hemp. In fact it was using these nutrient poor fields in the Ozarks that enabled Missouri farmers to lead the country in hempo production back in the first half of the century. Other soil poor states like Arkansas, Louisiana, etc. also grew lots of hemp, despite the fact that the same soil that they grew hemp on couldn't support food crops.

Can we use hemp derived biodiesel to meet our current fuel needs, no. But in combination with hybrid technologies, electrical vehicle technologies, and other alternative fuel sources along with conservation measures, we can make the transition off of oil a relatively painles one. But we have to start soon, and we have to enact the measures needed to make this a reality, and that includes legalizing the production of hemp.