Failed Energy Developments

A few days a go the local paper had the following head line, ---Halts Plans to Build Biorefinery. Well, like what the hell do you expect. Any moron could figure out that this thing would never work just by doing a little math. Every piece of bio material contains a certain amount energy. It is not real hard to figure it out. All one has to do is burn it and see how much energy is given off.

Now, these dudes were going to extract the gasses and oils in the bio material and then refine it into some liquid fuels. It is a very much known process that has been around for years. There are back yard guys that learn how to run generators off wood chips by using a "digestor" to release the volatile gasses and run their gas motors. One just need some wood source, some simple plumbing, and a few other contraptions welded together.

To make 370 barrels of bio diesel a day would, which was their proposal, required a massive bunch of "bio" material but apparently someone figured they had it as it was a paper company. They got the $30 million to build the plant and the another $20 million to get it going. All tax payer coins.

Making bio diesel from bio stuff is a little more complicated than just wood gas but I am sure it can be done. Still, 360 barrels a day is a real undertaking.  The scale of the thing is profound and I am sure that the $50 million was a thought out figure. To me, there just seems like the scalability just makes no sense. The volume of bio-stuff that would have to flow into the plant would be mind boggling.

It would appear that folks forget that it took millions of years to put oil in the ground from rotting algae and somehow they think we can replace all those years just by processing a few trees.

So they apparently started and then some dude did some math and found that it was not all that simple and that the laws of thermodynamics were going to rule the day. Thus, the dumped the project as non viable.

I suspect the old rule came in play. "It is easier to capitalize on the economics of a subsidy than capitalize on the economics of reality."

Back, Rested, with New Sculpture

So we were gone, but now were are back. Just a little hiatus from doing what we usually do. I will admit that some of the "away" stuff involved actual work, like on sculpture. For that I am pleased, sorta. I have known for a long time that work is the curse of the leisure class but in order to have some leisure I have to still work at this advanced age.

It is not all drudgery, mind you. Hanging out in the primitive, but nicely warmed studio/workshop isn't toil and pain like clearing land or finishing concrete. I do feel rewarded. But now the work is off to The Edgewood Orchard Gallery in Door County I feel relieved, maybe despondent, satisfied and ready to garden, chase turkeys, play the fiddle like I know what I am doing, and then do some more sculpture.





Part of the "away" stuff also involved going to south coast of France for a few weeks. We stayed with and artist and her mom. Ann painted--this will be another post filled with comment.

So here is some of the new sculpture. Almost sounds like I am using this blog to promote my work---well?