At Last, Some Sense: All cars will run on 'biofuel' mix by 2010

[threaded]

You don't hear so much about the food mountains and wine lakes as such details are now covered by each member states version of the official secrets acts.

Well, they had to do something as the EU project was being made to look very silly indeed.

[OwlHoot]

Even if we ignore the fuel costs of production and use palm oil at 450 gallons per acre this means more than an acre per car is needed!!!! That is 3 acres per car for oilseeed rape. That is 60 million acres of oilseed rape (how big is all the arable farming land in the UK??) or 20 million acres not producing food elsewhere in the world.

I recently read that the net percentage of home-grown food consumed in the UK has dropped from around 75% thirty years ago to 65% today and is still falling steadily. We don't hear anything about EU food mountains any more either.

I think the UK, and the EU generally, is relying more and more on Eastern European countries like Poland being the "breadbasket" of Europe.

[mcquiggd]

Dont you believe it. Its a mixture made out of pensioners and Bisto, in an attempt to cure the NuLabour Pensions Crisis.


Soylent Green.

[AtW]

Just put much higher tax on petrol - increasing big time over 10 years so that everyone switched to diesel - this would cust fuel consumption by at least 30% and purists who want the smell of petrol can pay for the priviledge.

[DimPrawn]

Plenty of land in north/south america, asia, africa and australia.

These feckers can grow it for us.

[bfg]

A few calculations

Even if we ignore the fuel costs of production and use palm oil at 450 gallons per acre this means more than an acre per car is needed!!!! That is 3 acres per car for oilseeed rape. That is 60 million acres of oilseed rape (how big is all the arable farming land in the UK??) or 20 million acres not producing food elsewhere in the world.

[mcquiggd]

Sounds like we need a new EDS computer system to track all the engines of cars in Britain and send out mechanics to assess whether or not they will run on the proposed fuel mix. Those that dont will of course be subject to a new Engine Tax.

Im so glad I dont drive.

[threaded]

Won't the Africans starve to death in large numbers because they won't be growing food to eat?

You can also bet the version of fuel foisted on the motorist will destroy catalytic converters and everyone will need to have their engines modified to run the stuff.

[milanbenes]

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...853984,00.html

"OIL companies are to be forced to add fuel made from crops such as oil seed rape and sugar cane to all petrol and diesel sold in Britain.
The Government is preparing to announce a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation under which 5 per cent of all fuel sold by 2010 will have to come from crops, known as biofuel. ",

some sense at last

and if they grow all the rape in Africa then it will transfer wealth to that region from Arabia as the oil runs out

Milan.