Followed this story about a year ago.

Was going to post teh "old news is so exciting" guy but noticed that this story is dated today.

Weird.

haywatchthis: because there is an abundance of bio fuel in the middle east, where the fighter jets are used

How many refineries in the middle east are providing us with jet fuel?

haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: because there is an abundance of bio fuel in the middle east, where the fighter jets are used

How many refineries in the middle east are providing us with jet fuel?

probably shell, bp, chevron, or exxon

That's not what I asked.

Are refineries in the Middle East providing us with jet fuel, or is it shipped from elsewhere?

haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: because there is an abundance of bio fuel in the middle east, where the fighter jets are used

How many refineries in the middle east are providing us with jet fuel?

probably shell, bp, chevron, or exxon

That's not what I asked.

Are refineries in the Middle East providing us with jet fuel, or is it shipped from elsewhere?

you've had time to read the link on my last post, i would like your opinion

Comparing the limited theater of operations of Desert Shield/Desert Storm to a much wider range of ops between Iraq, Afghanistan, et. al. is not a fair comparison. One war (the 1st Gulf War) compared to two + other conflicts, and we had a doubling of fuel consumption. I'm not exactly shocked.

And I tried comparing numbers, but the article kept comparing gallons and barrels of fuel with gallons and barrels of oil. A barrel of crude does not all turn into fuel.

That said, the military has some very clear reasons to find a viable alternative to oil for fueling it's machines.

From TFA: The U.S. Air Force is set to certify all of its 40-plus aircraft models to burn fuels derived from waste oils and plants by 2013

Bloomberg is really playing up the waste FOG (fats/oils/grease) angle but the hard cold fact is that there isn't anywhere near enough of that stuff to fuel the military.

So an even bigger percentage of our agricultural output will be diverted for non-food uses. That's probably not a smart move for the long term, seeing as how planet Earth just got its 7th billion person, stocks of phosphorous for fertilizer are being depleted worldwide, and the scientists are saying that human caused global warming is gradually going to screw up our ability to grow...well... ANYTHING.

I fully realize that there's as yet no alternative to hydrocarbons as fuel for aircraft-- especially high performance military aircraft. That said, switching from fossil to farm-grown biofuels is a bad idea in the long term-- even though it's a renewable fuel that is (in theory) carbon-neutral.

"Reliance on fossil fuels is simply too much of a vulnerability for a military organization to have," U.S. Navy Secretary Raymond Mabus said in an interview.

Probably the best overall long-term way to reduce vulnerability in the long term would be to cut the military budget in half or more and spend the difference on carefully working out sustainable and cost-effective ways to drastically reduce poverty/hunger/illiteracy in the crappy parts of the world. And do more far more aggressive research into fusion energy and making better batteries (or maybe supercapacitors.)

Hell, the only thing we REALLY need a military for is to protect us from a collapsing Mexico-- and maybe a few dozen MIRV-tipped ICBMs to make sure the rest of the world would think twice before seriously farking with us.

jaymanchu: New diet plan for the midwest? Liposuction it out and use it as fuel, that would keep the military well equipped with all the fuel they'll ever need.

Where do I sign up?

haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: meat0918: haywatchthis: because there is an abundance of bio fuel in the middle east, where the fighter jets are used

How many refineries in the middle east are providing us with jet fuel?

probably shell, bp, chevron, or exxon

That's not what I asked.

Are refineries in the Middle East providing us with jet fuel, or is it shipped from elsewhere?

you've had time to read the link on my last post, i would like your opinion

Comparing the limited theater of operations of Desert Shield/Desert Storm to a much wider range of ops between Iraq, Afghanistan, et. al. is not a fair comparison. One war (the 1st Gulf War) compared to two + other conflicts, and we had a doubling of fuel consumption. I'm not exactly shocked.

And I tried comparing numbers, but the article kept comparing gallons and barrels of fuel with gallons and barrels of oil. A barrel of crude does not all turn into fuel.

That said, the military has some very clear reasons to find a viable alternative to oil for fueling it's machines.

so you think it would be practical to ship those amounts over there

The question cannot be answered without knowing how much a gallon of straight jet fuel costs compared to the cost of shipping this mixture.

Riche: Probably the best overall long-term way to reduce vulnerability in the long term would be to cut the military budget in half or more and spend the difference on carefully working out sustainable and cost-effective ways to drastically reduce poverty/hunger/illiteracy in the crappy parts of the world.

Yeah, that would work. Hell, even spending it here would help our national security, according to these guys over at the Pentagon

Hopefully the Armed Forces as a large, dependable market does something to spur biofuels along just like guidance system needs for missles did for microprocessors in the 1950's.

LOL. So much for Herman Cain's buddy J.C. Bell. Looks like the ole' redneck got shut out.

MemeSlave:

When you mentioned super-capacitors, you crossed over into "douche".

Sorry, I wasn't aware the line was drawn at that rhetorical place.

What was it about mentioning that bit of tech that got your panties in such a wad? Was it my lack of an EE degree? The missing hyphen when I typed the word? A traumatic childhood experience with capacitors?

Yo' Momma so fat she recognized as a vital strategic resource.

Here's an old one I came up with as a child: Yo' Momma so fat that in a green dress she looks like Vermont.