seifert@ihuxl.UUCP (07/27/83)
I found the reference which states that modern agri- culture is only about 10% efficient. Around the turn of the century, agriculture provided a slight net gain in energy, that is, it took slightly less than one calorie in to get one calorie out. Now it takes 10 calories in to get one calorie out. This *may* be acceptable for food crops, but it can't work for fuel on a large scale. For example, if the tractors, farm trucks, etc. ran on ethanol, the crops produced wouldn't make enough ethanol to run them the next year. If we want to grow our fuel, we will have to make it more efficiently, as we used to. Anyway, the reference is: "Diet and Nutrition, a holistic approach" by Rudolph Ballentine, MD. It in turn references "Food for People, Not for Profit" by Lerza,C., and Jacobson,M.. This is getting a little away from the subject of cars. Since there isn't a net.energy, I suppose we should use net.misc for any further discussion. Dave Seifert BMWCCA, Windy City Chapter ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert