Anthropogenic Global Warming ... how hot is it ?

sear said:

The palm oil angle is news to me but I've encountered reports of the following before:

This Tree Produces Pure Diesel Fuel. Yields 40 Liters A Year. Mar 9, 2026 ... fuel you can pour directly into an engine. The Copaifera langsdorffii, nicknamed the "Diesel Tree," can be tapped like a maple tree and ...


righteous

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{...
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the reddish mesocarp (pulp) of the fruit of the African oil palm. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2017. Palm oils are easier to stabilize and maintain quality of flavor and consistency in ultra-processed foods, so they are frequently favored by food manufacturers. Globally, humans consumed an average of 7.7 kg (17 lb) of palm oil per person in 2015. Demand has also increased for other uses, such as cosmetics and biofuels, encouraging the growth of palm oil plantations in tropical countries.

The mass production of palm oil in the tropics is a topic for substantial concern for environmental and human rights groups. The palm oil industry is a significant contributor to deforestation in the tropics where palms are grown and has been cited as a factor in social problems due to allegations of human rights violations among growers.

In 2018, a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature acknowledged that palm oil is much more efficient than other oils in terms of land and water usage; however, deforestation causes more biodiversity loss than switching to other oils. The biggest global producers of palm oil are Indonesia, which produced 60% of it in 2022, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, and Nigeria. Indonesia produces biodiesel primarily from palm oil.
...}
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil

Rigby5 said:

"Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil " #601

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Oh.

I know of no plant, no photosynthesizer that directly produces gasoline. BUT !
When corn State senators decided mandating 10% ethanol in gasoline from corn was a good idea, the quality of our automotive fuel plummeted, and the cost of Mexican peasant food increased by about a third.

So diesel coming directly from a plant seems like a good deal. BUT !
We've already learned that splitting our food supply into both human food, and automotive fuel raises the cost of both.

sear said:

Oh.

I know of no plant, no photosynthesizer that directly produces gasoline. BUT !
When corn State senators decided mandating 10% ethanol in gasoline from corn was a good idea, the quality of our automotive fuel plummeted, and the cost of Mexican peasant food increased by about a third.

So diesel coming directly from a plant seems like a good deal. BUT !
We've already learned that splitting our food supply into both human food, and automotive fuel raises the cost of both.

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I do not know much of the details, but I believe the down side of palm oil is factory farms that are moncultures.
That is not good for wildlife and has epidemic risks for the palm trees.

The problems with ethanol are much larger because you have to ferment the corn in lots of water, over lots of time.

Rigby5 said:

"I do not know much of the details, but I believe the down side of palm oil is factory farms that are moncultures.
That is not good for wildlife and has epidemic risks for the palm trees.

The problems with ethanol are much larger because you have to ferment the corn in lots of water, over lots of time." R5 #603

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BF Skinner made the point that so many of the perceived technological "solutions" we've implemented have been the basis for a new round of technological problems (requiring a new round of technological solution).

Monsanto & others are already fiddling w/ GMO.
Bill Gates seems to be fiddling with trying to preserve a Noah's arc of our legacy seed grain. Count me a skeptic.

Whether we've passed the point of no return, I'm not sure. BUT !!
We've never been closer.