Hope this doesn't come across badly

**Ixion** · 14th February 2007, 23:02

Originally Posted by bikemike

I think biofuels is the wrong way to go for two reasons: One, whilst the feedstock is produced along intensive chemical farming lines, the oil and gas based inputs can outweigh the energy of the biofuel outputs. Same with Hydrogen, unless it is 'produced' using renewable fuel sources, there is no net gain. Two, with an increasing population, and an increasing imperative to produce food locally, the local demand for land for food production in many markets will increase and to have this need compete with the need for biofuel will only weaken our links with food and make it more expensive. However, biofuels from waste, such as algal farming and so on might have a future. Also, in New Zealand, if we gave up some milk-solids-export farming land for other food production....

But in NZ biofuel will be produced from tallow and whey, both of which are byproducts of their respective industries , and already available in large quantities. We do not need to grow special crops for biofuel. Whey in particular is actually a disposal problem within the dairy industry. That is why the bbuilt the reparoa plant to turn it into alcohol. Even if they gave the alocohol away they were still ahead of the game because the conversion process was the cheapest way of disposing of the waste whey.

**bikemike** · 14th February 2007, 23:48

Yes, based on a waste product. I only gave one example, and I was maybe stretching an opportunity to dispel such myths, and allude to such problems as exist...

However, how much of our dairying is for export, and how long will that continue? And how much spirit is produced from the whey? How many barrels of oil do we use a day? Similarly, tallow, from rendering right? I'm no vegetarian (used to be) but I reckon we will all be eating less meat (including tired milkers) too, for the same fuel-based reasons. Would like to know the numbers. Picking up my usual aggregator, www.energybulletin.net, all the results on tallow are from here...

When did you last see Ugli fruit and pomegranates? Reckon pomegranate sauce would go well with rabbit! Used to have rabbit all the time as kids, bought and caught. Used to eat the bones out of the pressure cooker I remember :-)

We Greens are so backwards, perhaps we'll be using the tallow for candles anyway

**Hitcher** · 15th February 2007, 07:57

Many assumptions have been made about biofuels in New Zealand with virtually no examination of the various options or their consequences, economically or environmentally.

Tallow and whey? Good idea, except they're currently worth more to New Zealand for purposes other than biofuel, not counting the infrastructure that would have to be developed to adapt them for use in internal combustion engines. While there is a goodly quantity of these currently available, it's not enough to make a sizeable dent in our liquid fuels consumption.

Growing crops such as maize, sugar beet, rape or sugar cane? Some of these crops produce a negative energy balance when grown for methanol (particularly rape/canola) i.e. it requires more energy to produce a litre of methanol than is yielded from that litre.

Also much of New Zealand's "productive" land is already committed for useful production. Widespread adoption of crop production for methanol production would require tens of thousands of hectares to be planted in seasonal crops. This would displace other agriculture to more marginal land that arguably shouldn't be farmed and also place even more pressure on scarce water supplies for irrigation, etc. Nobody anywhere has yet done a detailed analysis of this. Yes, there have been numerous small-scale field trials, the results of which have been unconvincing.

If New Zealand is serious about using biofuels, we will be importing them from Brazil.

**Biff** · 15th February 2007, 08:59

Well done Kro. Bling for giving up the cigs. I'm reading Allan Car's book at the mo, after many failed attempts at giving up the fags (longest period of success being 6 weeks).

Originally Posted by Hitcher

Do they still make those (Mild Sevens)?

Yip - Very popular in SE Asia and the Middle East.

**kro** · 19th July 2007, 17:02

Just a bit of an update, as I received a bit of side interest in this topic.

On the food front, as stated, I have shifted heavily from processed foods, like margarine, breads, crackers, most things from a cardboard box basically, and moved over to using butter exclusively for cooking and sandwiches etc, and am heavily into "whole foods", as opposed to what we get told are "health foods", a large portion of which, are shite anyway.
Whole foods are things like eggs, butter, steak, veges, chicken, fruit, some nuts. These are living foods, and are the ones I am respond very very well to, with no crook guts and loose bowel motions etc.

When I eat a steak, I eat it fat and all, and with chicken, skin and all. The animal fats are not the evil they are touted to be on TV, they have a lot of the enzymes needed to help digest the meat, and they do countless other things I won't bore you with.
I eat a fried brekky every second day, and sometimes up to 5 a week, yet my cholestrol is now back in perfect bracket, after years of it being all over the show, mostly on the high side.

The upshot of all this is a basically a new me. Happier, healthier, shit-loads more energy, and a much more positive outlook in general.

These cursed food allergies can manifest themselves as a loose bowel, a bloated tummy, bad gas, and in my case, even a feeling of tightness in my chest, which thankfully has all gone, and my ticker is apparently in tip top shape.

I encourage those who may think they eat well, but suffer from symptoms that a traditional GP will call "stress related", to look into it further. I haven't felt this good in years, and I still eat meat, eggs, and all the goodies I love.

I might type up some of the info I have been treading lately, it's very interesting.

**janno** · 19th July 2007, 17:45

Ooooh yes - wheat is a bugger of a food.

So seductive, so yummy, and so addictive and disruptive to some people's systems.
Its evil twin is refined sugar.

Cut out those two things and you are laughing.

Except most of the delicious things you eat or drink contain one or the other . . .

**sunhuntin** · 19th July 2007, 18:38

well done, kro.

what you described there [the lethargy, not wanting to get up and dying to be back in bed by mid afternoon] sounds a lot like my partner. i might look up wheat allergys, and see if it matches anything he eats.

keep up the good work!!

**Usarka** · 19th July 2007, 20:34

Your onto it kro. those eggs are good dont throw the yokes away like a lot of people as they contain lecitihin which is the good shit antioxidant and protects the brain and helps with helps sort out fats. The most popular way of getting this if from soy but you need to watch that crap as it contains lots of estrogen - trouble is its in almost all processed food you can buy in a packet. Go the eggs.

**kro** · 19th July 2007, 20:38

The lethargy was quite honestly crippling, and had I have not been such a hard bastard, I honestly think I would have curled up in a ball, and waited for death. Having something undiagnosed, with such a wide range of symptoms, that traditional medicine cannot identify makes you think you're either making it up, or have psyche issues, or are depressed, when you aren't.
Diet is pivotal to the bodys proper functioning I guess, so if you're constantly sticking Kerosene into a petrol motor, the results are gonna be poor.
You see the endless doco's of kids with poor diets being shitheads, I wonder how many adults suffer from it too.

I recently discovered I am not good with peanuts either, and since wiping them out of my diet, I'm going from good to very good. My concentration is better, I am finally sleeping better, and I don't smell so bad.

**Biff** · 19th July 2007, 20:50

You sir are a bloody legend.

**kiwi cowboy** · 7th March 2008, 20:55

Where can I buy rabbit? (I know you can if you try hard enough) .
buy a rabbit?

hell you can come down and

the little fuckers yourself

**Mrs Busa Pete** · 8th March 2008, 07:07

Originally Posted by kro

The lethargy was quite honestly crippling, and had I have not been such a hard bastard, I honestly think I would have curled up in a ball, and waited for death. Having something undiagnosed, with such a wide range of symptoms, that traditional medicine cannot identify makes you think you're either making it up, or have psyche issues, or are depressed, when you aren't.
Diet is pivotal to the bodys proper functioning I guess, so if you're constantly sticking Kerosene into a petrol motor, the results are gonna be poor.
You see the endless doco's of kids with poor diets being shitheads, I wonder how many adults suffer from it too.

I recently discovered I am not good with peanuts either, and since wiping them out of my diet, I'm going from good to very good. My concentration is better, I am finally sleeping better, and I don't smell so bad.

Just wanted to say i to had the same problems although i could get up in the morning like bloody 4.30/5 but was ready for bed by 7/7.30 every night had the blotting tummy cramps and always tire so i went to sureslim i have now lost 7kg and yes i'm in my first couple of weeks of stopping smoking i go to the gym for an hour 6 days a week and i'm feeling great as well i have more energy i can go out and not have to home by 9/10 because i'm to tired.

YA I HAVE MY LIFE BACK well almost i'm still fighting the smoke demons

**Edbear** · 8th March 2008, 08:28

Originally Posted by busa pete

Just wanted to say i to had the same problems although i could get up in the morning like bloody 4.30/5 but was ready for bed by 7/7.30 every night had the blotting tummy cramps and always tire so i went to sureslim i have now lost 7kg and yes i'm in my first couple of weeks of stopping smoking i go to the gym for an hour 6 days a week and i'm feeling great as well i have more energy i can go out and not have to home by 9/10 because i'm to tired.

YA I HAVE MY LIFE BACK well almost i'm still fighting the smoke demons

Goodonyermate! One of the hardest addictions to ever give up! Just view the temptation to have "just one" as a step backwards, for which you have to then take two steps forwards.

I just didn't want to take a backward step, I was desparate to get off the drugs and it was a living hell, so the quicker I did it the sooner I was going to feel better. I don't know, as I've never smoked, whether addiction to prescription drugs is harder than smoking or not, but I have an idea from personal experience how tough it is!

I'm sure your dearly beloved is being supportive, as I know you are for her.

**Mrs Busa Pete** · 8th March 2008, 08:39

Originally Posted by Edbear

Goodonyermate! One of the hardest addictions to ever give up! Just view the temptation to have "just one" as a step backwards, for which you have to then take two steps forwards.

I just didn't want to take a backward step, I was desparate to get off the drugs and it was a living hell, so the quicker I did it the sooner I was going to feel better. I don't know, as I've never smoked, whether addiction to prescription drugs is harder than smoking or not, but I have an idea from personal experience how tough it is!

I'm sure your dearly beloved is being supportive, as I know you are for her.

Sorry forgot to put Mrs busa pete int that post.