Non-profit NGo, the Dev-Zone hosted a very interesting debate on Thursday night about biofuels and while the discussion threw up as many questions as it answered for me, I came away with a much clearer idea of the main areas of work underway around the world in the area of biofuels.
A high-light of the night was the involvement of ëthanol evangelist” David Blume, who last weekend did an interesting interview with Kim Hill. He breezed in wearing a three-gallon hat and a gaudy floral shirt looking very much the Californian, Grateful Dead-loving baby boomer he is. Blume’s pet subject is alcohol, which doesn’t necessarily distinguish him from the man in the street.
But Blume is more interested in pouring alcohol into gas tanks that down his throat and for 30 years he has been lobbying in the US to phase out use of oil in favour of alcohol, which he believes can be sustainably produced worldwide and which is very environmentally-friendly as a fuel.
My digital recorder ran out of juice, ironically just before Blume took to the floor, but not before I was able to record some locals with often differing but interesting views on biofuel.
Andrew Campbell – energy consultant, worked all over he world with 16 different types of fuel, advised the World Bank and the UN – NZ’s biosector in perspective.
[audio:https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz.php5-1.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/wp-content/upload/2008/10/andrew-campbell-0001.mp3]Sandy Gauntlett – Global Forest Coalition of the Pacific – Agrofuels: Satan or Saint?
[audio:https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz.php5-1.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/wp-content/upload/2008/10/sandy-gauntlett.mp3]