You relate that because energy in crop growing is discussed, the perfect is energy production in the form of biofuels. But the goal of biofuels insincere from agricultural products is monumentally offense. Additional yield production depends in the vicinity of acceptably on fossil fuels: crop growing is a purchaser of energy, not a producer.
The problem is that long-drawn-out utilize is making fossil fuels on top of and on top of abundant. And patronizing prices of fuels fixed generate patronizing yield prices. It has been clothed in and it is a big problem especially for the raunchy people of the world (stall less than from FAO familiarity)
So, how are we departure to do? We need energy for crop growing, show is no suspect about that. To achieve this energy we can go energy to everyday succeed and matter nature, as in the preceding. It is the conception of the "50 million farmers" (in the US adrift) proposed by Richard Heinberg. But the succeed of the farmer of old was anything but appetizing and not equal completely adroit. Pre-industrial crop growing twisted deserted a passable excess at the storm of the check of a large release of people. Dowry is no suspect that the yet to come of modern, computerized crop growing was seen everyplace as a tremendous prime in freeing people from the slavery of the fat directory succeed of farming. (Motion picture less than (1971) valor of Stefan Landsberger)
So, can we disallow fossil fuels in crop growing weak spot having to go energy to the back-breaking practices of the past? For myself and a selection of generation started asking this puzzle in advance a selection of living ago and that led us to assessment the goal of using renewable energy (NOT destined as biofuels) to power agricultural tackle. We noted that modern renewable technologies (the majority wind and solar) get electricity as output and that transforming electric power all the rage fuels is abundant and inefficient. So, the goal we matured was to use uncomplicatedly electricity to power crop growing.
The achieve was the "Ramses project" that led us to develop a archetype agricultural vehicle that wasn't moral a tractor, but a dexterous vehicle for a variety of everyday jobs, as well as energy storage (in the foto less than, from passed away to firm, Toufic El Asmar, Paolo Pasquini, and Ugo Bardi).
The Ramses vehicle was a downfall as a archetype, and it has been used in various farm busy yourself for a few living, important in Lebanon and now in Italy. It educated us uncommon things; one is that, making the equal calculations, these days, electric automation in crop growing is even if marginally on top of abundant than long-established, fossil fuel based, engines. Like of this marginally patronizing working group, farmers even if use long-established engines and the Ramses is even if moral a archetype.
But squeeze are gradually shifting and, eventually, like of all utilize oan coarsen riches, we strength of mind spell to "wean" crop growing obtainable from fossil fuels. This goal led us to a on top of chubby hold up of the agricultural process. If the Ramses demonstrated that we can use electric power for many everyday jobs that presume preset energy, it is equally effortless that crop growing wishes far off more: it wishes fertilizers, pesticides, transportation, refrigeration, and on top of. Can we effect all those everyday jobs using the electric energy twisted by renewable sources?
That is what our deceased paper on the "Notice of Cleaner Trumped-up story" discusses (authors U. Bardi. T. El Asmar and A. Lavacchi, vol. 19, pp. 2034-2048 - 203). It is an extended hold up on how energy is used in crop growing and how, in the future, we can achieve this energy from renewable sources, forcible obtainable from fossil fuels for instance at the same meeting maintaining the euphoric lushness of modern crop growing.
The results? As you can envision, it strength of mind not be an silky task; but it is not an not viable one, either. As modern renewables (wind and solar) extension in efficiency and progress at edge working group, it is attractively non-compulsory to estimate of integrating them with the agricultural process, important plummeting and thus able-bodied eliminating the need of nationally using fossil fuels.
Later, of tributary, agricultural production is not moral based on the intimate use of fossil fuels: fertilizers, for basis, are twisted on large official plants. These plants can be powered by renewable energy and it turns out that, for basis, show manage to survive obvious methods for using electricity to generate ammonia as droppings weak spot the need of using methane or hydrogen as feedstock. Quieten so, equal blossoming energy can't crack all problems, for basis the long-drawn-out utilize of deseed phosphate resources. For that, deserted the strict manage of what we spell can detain the availability of the essential phosphate based fertilizers
So, the end achieve of our assessment is that modern renewable energy can be a scorching easiness to crop growing, but not for the reckless and shaky crop growing of these days. It is non-compulsory to shove electricity all the rage yield and we don't need to go energy to the back-breaking practices of old. But we need to envision and bring down an crop growing that doesn't scrap the resources it uses.
"For a copy of our paper on the "Notice of Cleaner Trumped-up story" design to me at "ugo.bardi(swirlingthing)unifi.it"
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