Live data from Hacker News

Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

studyfinds.com

221–230 of 250 posts

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#221
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it’s led to poor use of land with questionable climate impact. In the short term, yes, because they were unnecessarily using carbon energy to grow the fuel. But if we want to de-fossilise society in the long run, we need solutions for flying and long distance travel. Electric flying seems infeasible at the moment, and people are looking for suitable bio-fuels to make flying carbon neutral. Afaik the maximum planes…

I'm not sure that mass air transit has a place in a post-oil society were we try to leave at peace with the planet. Not just for the carbon impact, but also for the diversity of our species and cultures. Should every Chinese and Indian visit Venice, even though it destroys the city little by little? Should we send things as futile as watermelons by plane? Of course, the market wills it so some may think that it must…

No, we will not get to a post oil society by self flagellating like Europe, but by making sustainable options so cheap and plentiful that they displace unsustainable options. (Of course there’s some market intervention and government investment necessary to get there)

One of these days, electricity will be so cheap that we can carbon capture our way back to 0C net warming and fuel flights for every Indian and Chinese with fuel made from CO2. The developing world will accept nothing less than the abundance route to decarbonization.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#222

We shouldn't be burning agricultural products for fuels. We should be electrifying and using synthetic fuels made from CO2 and renewable energy where we can't.

> using synthetic fuels made from CO2 and renewable energy where we can't.

Guess what plants are made of.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#223
post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why? Because (ignoring the middle of the continent for a moment) "LA" is actually a very large area where having a single stop erases many of the advantages cited for trains. LA does not really have the sort of city center of most train-centric cities, and LA has poor public transit. On the other end, "NYC" has the same property, mostly because you would want to include people from other parts of the densely-popula…

If we're talking about a replacement or alternative for flying between NY and LA, a non-stop train makes perfect sense. Planes don't stop. A high-speed train can carry more passengers than a 737.

This would make sense if the US only had two major coastal cities, but that's not the case.

From another of my comments:

A realistic HSR network in the US will also involve changing trains in the midwest because there are too many pairs of big cities involved. MiamiSF, AtlantaLA, DCSF, PhiladelphiaPhoenix, etc.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#224
post #212
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likely, and then... after Mexican farms went out of business, they added biofuels, the price spiked, and Mexico had no domestic corn people could buy. It's sort of what they want for Canada. They keep trying to attack our protected agricultural sectors, and no sane country doesn't protect their food supply. Amusingly, they want 10% of our dairy market (as a start), and they already have a few percent. Yet we're 1/10t…

Yeah, but our dairy quota system is kinda fucked imo. We've created a market where the quotas are estimated to be worth somewhere between 40-45 billion. This financialization and the fact that banks have leant heavily against the quotas is part of the reason we're unwilling to move on this aspect in negotiation imo. I'm not saying that there's not value of protecting our food supply. But, in an affordability crisis,…

That's quite cheap then.

You see, the Americans are liars, as you may well know. They get upset at supply management, but they do it too. Instead of controlling production, and setting fair prices for producers, they handle it, like a bunch of nitwits, on the backend.

They buy up excess milk, make cheese out of it, to artificially keep the market price high, and then store it for decades as it rots, in large underground limestone caverns.

They buy out herds if production levels are too high. They have bought out large numbers of farms more than once, spending enormous sums, to reduce the supply.

In fact, the American government has cost the American consumer far more than a measly $250 per year, for they force higher pricing too. And to do it? They spend like crazy, they spend tax money like crazy.

But here's the thing. Every single government handles food production in some way. Every one. And the result is upward pricing pressure, almost always.

We act responsibly. Sanely. The Americans just shrug their shoulders, blather on about not interfering, then do it anyhow regardless.

Do not fall for their lies. It's all they do these days. The only goal they have, is to make us far more dependent upon them.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NAFTA and successive treaties forced Mexico to allow much cheaper corn from the USA to displace many smaller corn farms in Mexico, only larger farms could survive that and farming of corn is declining in Mexico. Also inexpensive processed food displaced traditional diet goods at the same time for the same reasons, probably contributing to obesity epidemic that only started in Mexico after those treaties.

This chart https://statbase.org/data/mex-prevalence-of-obesity-among-ad... Says that obesity was shooting up in Mexico before that. The obesity rate doubled in the 15 years before NAFTA. After NAFTA the rate doubled again in about 30 years. I can't really see any obvious change after 1994. Are these numbers incorrect, or were you meaning some other metric of obesity or obesity epidemic?

Good point. I should have written something like correlated with urbanization and other factors. But ever increasing percentage is a correlation. The USA obesity rate has stabilized for a year iirc, but those of Mexican heritage have some unique vulnerabilities to obesity as well so a multi factorial issue.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that mass air transit has a place in a post-oil society were we try to leave at peace with the planet. Not just for the carbon impact, but also for the diversity of our species and cultures. Should every Chinese and Indian visit Venice, even though it destroys the city little by little? Should we send things as futile as watermelons by plane? Of course, the market wills it so some may think that it must…

No, we will not get to a post oil society by self flagellating like Europe, but by making sustainable options so cheap and plentiful that they displace unsustainable options. (Of course there’s some market intervention and government investment necessary to get there) One of these days, electricity will be so cheap that we can carbon capture our way back to 0C net warming and fuel flights for every Indian and Chinese…

I don't understand, you want to create a copy of Venice?

The issue is not just the pollution from air travel, but also the types of consumption and ways of life that it enables. Besides ressources are not unlimited so even if you have fee energy, you still need to extract aluminium etc from the ground, and pour concrete on land to build airports and oversized infrastructure.

Ecology is not just a CO2 optimization game.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that mass air transit has a place in a post-oil society were we try to leave at peace with the planet. Not just for the carbon impact, but also for the diversity of our species and cultures. Should every Chinese and Indian visit Venice, even though it destroys the city little by little? Should we send things as futile as watermelons by plane? Of course, the market wills it so some may think that it must…

Why not stop other Europeans from going as well?

I'm not against restricting internal tourism as well, at least the most destructive forms, such as cruises for instance.

It's not just a question of CO2 pollution, but of human ecology as well: cities like Venice, Lisbon and Barcelona are being eaten out by tourism. What made them interesting is disappearing due to the local economy being highly disrupted by the massive inflows of tourists around the world.

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#228
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If trains were more effective Well they're more convenient by virtue of being faster. The well off will inevitably pay for convenience if allowed. > If California has taught us anything it's that implementation of high speed rail is a joke. The only thing California stands as an example of in that regard is political dysfunction. A hypothetical benevolent dictator could have built out high speed rail there on time…

You’ve got the answer with CAHSR. The only form of government that can build high-speed rail well is one like the CPC: a dictatorship which doesn’t need the consent of the governed. If we put them in charge of CAHSR they would have the job done in a couple years, but we would have to allow them to nationalize every single property in their way, by force if necessary, and cities, towns, unions, etc. would have no righ…

France has an extensive medium and high-speed rail network and is not an authoritarian state. This is purely an administrative issue. Why do HN believe that there are only two alternatives : the US and China?

Re: Coconut oil jet fuel matches kerosene's efficiency in engine tests

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that mass air transit has a place in a post-oil society were we try to leave at peace with the planet. Not just for the carbon impact, but also for the diversity of our species and cultures. Should every Chinese and Indian visit Venice, even though it destroys the city little by little? Should we send things as futile as watermelons by plane? Of course, the market wills it so some may think that it must…

> Should every Chinese and Indian visit Venice, even though it destroys the city little by little? Should we send things as futile as watermelons by plane Who are you to dictate where Chinese and Indians can and cannot visit or enjoy delicious watermelons? If someone wants to eat a watermelon like a dirty slave that is their business and you are not going to deny them that right. This is pure insanity. China and Indi…

Have you considered that the goal in life is not necessarily for societies to maximize dollars in the bank account? Or that pushing the strategy to its limits may be short sighted, and come with massive long term costs and externalies?

In the case of Venice, and other places in Europe, the influx of tourists is just too much and displaced local populations, and erodes the infrastructure. And for what? To rush through cities in a week end and take photos on instagram that have millions of duplicates?

Alternatively, have you considered improving your city to make it a place worthy of a visit?

Post reply on HN