As you well know, I believe that everything is interconnected – commodities, currencies, bonds, equities, etc….so my recent whirl through ‘The Big Apple’ set me off on a tangent about…..energy and fruit. So here are ten ways in which the two doth intermingle: » read more
Archive for the ‘Biofuels’ Category
1
Jun 15 2011 @ 2:19pm by Matt Smith in Biofuels, Global Energy, Random
When Fruit and Energyworld™ Collide
0
Mar 11 2011 @ 10:57am by Matt Smith in Biofuels, Capital Markets, Crude Oil, Economy, Global Energy, Natural Gas
Burrito bites
As we head towards the end of another week of turmoil in the Middle East, escalating violence has escalated the skittishness of crude markets. Then the so-called ‘day of rage’ in Saudi Arabia today has been overshadowed by the devastating earthquake (and tsunami) in Japan, sending crude spiraling lower. The natural gas market, on the other hand, has been rather serene in comparison, floating inbetwixt $3.80 – $4. European sovereign debt concerns have reared up once more, with Greece, Portugal and Spain playing musical chairs as to who may default next. China’s deficit gave us a sign their economy may well be slowing, but in reality, all eyes have been on Libya and the potential outfall to the worst case scenario that is Saudi Arabia…until tsunamis and earthquakes. Let’s be grateful for small mercies, and little snacks: » read more
5
Feb 18 2011 @ 10:55am by Matt Smith in Biofuels, Global Energy
Will Ferrell Is The Future!
Ok dudes, to complete a themed week, and to prove that two data points doth not a trend maketh, let’s complete the trifecta with a final post comparing commodities to ‘The Office’. So after looking at Dwight Schrute (natty), Michael Scott and David Brent (oil), let’s take a look at why….Will Ferrell is the future! (and so are renewable fuels).
Just as Will Ferrell is (potentially) set to be the future of ‘The Office’, renewable fuels are (potentially) set to be the future of Energyworld™. However, while TV shows can change their stars at the drop of a hat, there is a somewhat longer and more laborious transition for the dynamics of the energy landscape. » read more
2
Feb 10 2011 @ 8:24am by Matt Smith in Biofuels, Crude Oil, Global Energy, Natural Gas, Random
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
As incredulous as it seems, ‘Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo’ is in fact a grammatically valid sentence in the American English language. This was brought to my attention by a colleague, and it set me off thinking about incredulous things in the energy complex. So here are ten random energy incredulosities: » read more
2
Sep 16 2010 @ 10:07am by Matt Smith in Biofuels, Capital Markets, Crude Oil, Economy, Global Energy, Natural Gas, UK natural gas
The A – Z of Energy
Kryptonite speeds up the aging process
This is one of those random posts I occasionally come up with…this week I figured I’d like to teach the world to sing see if I could relate the entire alphabet to Energyworld(tm). So here it goes:
A is for Algae – as discussed previously on the burrito, Algae is an unconventional yet plausible biofuel.
B is for Biofuel - US Gov’t has mandated 36 billion gallons of biofuels to be produced in 2022.
C is for Coal – approximately half of the electric power in the US is generated from coal.
D is for Diesel – diesel-powered cars achieve 20-40% better fuel economy than gas-powered ones.
E is for Ethanol – Henry Ford designed the Model T Ford to run on ethanol.
F is for Firewood – rubbing two sticks together to create fire can exert a lot of energy.
G is for Gasoline – burning a gallon of gasoline creates 19 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Turtle Power!
H is for Heating Oil – the Northeast accounts for 82% of heating oil demand in the US.
I is for Ice – a company has developed a novel way to store energy as ice.
J is for Jatropha – another unorthodox yet potential biofuel of the future, previously discussed here.
K is for Kryptonite – is commonly green, and has the power to kill Superman.
L is for LNG – there are 100 Liquefied Natural Gas storage facilities in the US.
M is for Methanol – is blended with gasoline as a fuel, and is also used in, err, formaldehyde.
N is for Natural Gas – 25% of energy used in the US in 2009 came from natural gas.
O is for Oil – the world’s proven oil reserves = 1,342,207,000,000 barrels.
P is for Permits – Carbon emission permits: up and running in Europe, baby steps in the US.
Q is for Quantum Leap – jumping from one energy level to another very quickly.
Citrus Power!
R is for RBOB – Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending…aka…gasoline.
S is for Solar – Germany is the world leader for solar energy in relation to all energy produced.
T is for Turtle Power - heroes in a half shell.
U is for Uranium – is the most widely used fuel in nuclear energy plants.
V is for Vegetable Oil – used oil can be collected from restaurants and filtered to produce a biodiesel.
W is for Wind – the largest offshore wind farm in the world is set to open in the UK.
X is for Xanthidium - found in flint, the original fire starter.
Y is for Yeast power – übergeeky…a potential source of power for generators in the developing world.
Z is for Zest – a citrus-powered clock. What more do you need?
