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Location: Transportation
Discussion: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Keyword tags:
bikes
biodiesel
biofuel
carbon emissions
carbon neutral
cars
commute
congestion
ethanol
highways
traffic
trains
trams
transportation
trucks
walking
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 Randall_Berger |
Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Feb 19 2008, 11:33 PM EST The government should remove all or some of the excise on transport fuels that contain renewable, Australian-made, farm grown biofuels, like biodiesel and ethanol. Just tickle the ol' hip pocket nerve and watch how fast Australian motorists turn green! Not only do biofuels help the environment, but support Australian industry and the rural sector. They burn cleaner, are for the most part carbon neutral and can actually improve performance. They are made from farm products like sugar cane and canola. All unleaded vehicles an use E10 (10% ethanol blend). This means one tank in 10 grows on trees. 10% is better than zero. Some flexible fuel cars are coming out that will use up to E85, like the new SAAB. All diesel vehicles can use B20 (20% biodiesel blend) or B100 (100% pure vege diesel), though you made need a filter change eventually, as biodiesel tends to clean out the engine. With B20, 1 tank in 5 was a planted on a farm 200 days ago. With B100, your car is now a vegetarian and an Australian farmer is singing your praises. So is Mother nature. You don't have to wait to do this. You can start the next time you fill up your petrol or diesel car or truck, be it a Mini or a Kenny. For more information, you can look on www.conservo.com.au 66 out of 82 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Anonymous |
RE: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Feb 24 2008, 7:03 PM EST Now that Sir Richard Branson and Vigin have proven BioAvGas, they should encourage airlines to use that, too ... 14 out of 16 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Randall_Berger |
RE: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Feb 29 2008, 6:22 PM EST Now that they're talking about a 10% carbon tax on petrol, it makes even more sense to make renewable biofuels more attractive price-wise. Because the renewable component is for the most part farm grown from plants or recycled cooking oil, it is carbon-neutral ... the carbon you emit has already been absorbed by a plant once ... so you are not emitting new carbon, like that which has been locked in oil for 300 million years. 5 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |
 McManly |
RE: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Mar 3 2008, 3:36 PM EST The elements of a solution are there, but they do not mesh, so far. There is a gullible belief that "renewable" fuels are good. In the first place, the carbon cost of producing them (clearing, ploughing, planting, tending, spraying, reaping, processing, transporting, not to mention the loss of normal productivity) needs to be factored in. Then there is the loss of a valuable food resource. Like radium underpants and uranium-laced dentures, this is the product of the mind of a fevered con-man -- not you, Randall, but the people who are glibly flogging these schemes. If you must, remove the excise, but only after due regard to the real costs. Planting trees to repay carbon debt is equally a con -- most of the carbon in trees has a half life (on my guesstimate) of around 20 years before it returns to the atmosphere. If fuel could truly grow on trees, coming from plantation trees grown on marginal land, that would be a real boon. I would most certainly take the excise from THAT. 9 out of 10 found this valuable. Do you? |
 dra_red |
RE: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Mar 9 2008, 9:54 PM EDT I agree with McManly. Biofuels will be great if they are being produced in a sustainable manner. Supposedly a big increase in biofuel use in Europe is being produced by land clearing in Indonesia which is have the effect of increasing Carbon emmissions. Schemes such as this need to be thought out to ensure they are having the intended results. cheers, Dale 6 out of 7 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Randall_Berger |
RE: Remove Excise From Renewable Fuels
Mar 14 2008, 7:59 PM EDT Hey, I agree with both McManly and Dale ... the current generation of bio fuels are just a stop gap. On the plus side, it is home grown, takes only 200 days from seed to tank, gives jobs to Australians and helps Australian farmers. It still takes less energy to make ethanol than petrol. Most cars can run on pure ethanol with very little re-tooling. Methane is also a possibility. The holy grail of Hydrogen is incredibly energy intensive, and that's what supposedly killed the electric car. The ultimate step is to make most biofuels out of waste or carbon emissions themselves ... on huge algae plantations next to coal fired power plants ... and powering electric cars. Algae can be grown on marginal land in waste/grey water and you just suck it up. Petroleum is to valuable and inefficient to waste as a fuel ... it should all go into petro chemicals, medicines and plastics. Then most countries can get by on their own reserves and stop playing soldier in the Gulf. Running petrol and diesel cars on Australian farm grown fuel will have a double benefit. Removing the excise on biofuels is a "priming of the pump" ... it gets people thinking seriously about it if there as a saving. Right now, price parity makes it a commitment. People have been recycling waste cooking oil for their "greaser" cars for 20 years now. 7 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |