Biofuel Makers Push to Boost the Amount of Ethanol Allowed in Gasoline to 20 Percent
Reader Comments
E10,15, or 20
While I hope we can use a more efficient form of ethanol in the future (i.e, Brazil), we've been using E10 for many years. Not sure why the testing labs can't look at cars used in central Illinois where the ethanol blend is cheaper than non-ethanol unleaded. I drive my cars into the ground and have never had a problem.
If we're adding another 5-10% of volume without significantly diminishing gas mileage, we need to do it while the rest of alternative fuels catches up. I don't care how much a barrel of oil costs...we must reduce our use of it. I have been unable to understand why we went right back to our gas guzzling ways after the 1970's oil embargo. Hopefully, we can learn a lesson. It might take us 30 or 40 years but we're usually pretty smart once it sinks in!
T. Boone Pickens says we need a "bridge" amd natural gas can be one. Nothing wrong with using ethanol as another.
Ethanol is a scam
From what I've seen, ethanol is a scam. It takes too much energy to produce it. It depletes soil. It causes food prices to increase. It requires heavy subsidies that hide the true cost. Diesel farm equipment is a big source of pollution.
But, politicians love ethanol because it gets them votes.
E-85 is very good
I have been using E-85 in my Ford Taurus for 3 years totaling 40,000 miles. It's been just great. I save more than just at the pump. Everything in the fuel system stays clean and the motor oil stays clean, also. I've burned regular gasoline for 40 years and it's a very dirty fuel. I still have one gasoline burner today and I have to change the motor oil more than twice as often as the one that burns E-85. Besides, ethanol is American fuel, grown by American farmers, distributed by American wholesalers, sold by American retailers and used by American consumers. Get the American picture? As far as taking food from the mouths of hungry people or driving up the corn price -- forget it. Before ethanol production, corn was used either for animal feed or human consumption. With ethanol, corn used for animals is first used to make ethanol and the distiller's grain that's left over contains a high amount of protein and is sold back to farmers who feed it to their cattle. Our American farmers can more than supply the world with enough corn, wheat, soybeans, whatever. Ethanol is not the final solution to energy independence, but it's a nice step in the right direction. The sooner we reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil, the better it will be for the USA.
Ethanol & Nonsense
Ethanol production is only carbon neutral if it is grown on soil that would not otherwise be used to grow anything green. Corn grown for ethanol absorbs no more CO2 than corn grown for food. The argument about engine damage is largely nonsense - ethanol is an OK fuel, actually a good one - but since it was first considered around 1910, it has always cost more than gasoline. It has no real environmental benefit, and it's contribution to energy independance is very small and it is competitive only with a government subsidy. However, I own 50% of an Iowa corn farm along with my brother and if the country really wants to pay the price and use corn for fuel, I'll cash the checks. We've made more from our corn and soybean crops in the last two years than in the previous five combined...
Ethanol is carbon-neutral; gasoline is not
The comment about ethanol not improving global warming ("plants are carbon-based and burning them releases carbon") is specious. It is true that plants are carbon-based (as are you), and burning them releases carbon. The binding (growing) of carbon for corn used in ethanol, however, takes carbon out of the atmosphere THIS YEAR, and burning ethanol merely releases the carbon. The binding (growing) of carbon for oil/gasoline, however, occurred during the Permian period 290 million years ago, before dinosaurs existed. Burning oil and gasoline, therefore, releases carbon to the atmosphere that has been locked up (and not contributing to the global carbon cycle) for a long, long time.
It is also important to keep in mind that ethanol is not produced from corn produced for human consumption. Anyone who believes that farmer diversion of fields to corn meant for ethanol production has never driven through Illinois or Iowa. Ask a farmer if he feels there won't be enough corn to go around... I personally will need to see some ridiculously wealthy corn farmers driving Cadillacs before I will agree with posters accusing farmers getting rich off corn ethanol at the expense of food production.
E10 vs E85
I saw 85 for sale at a station. It was only 20 cents cheaper. Considering that it has abotu 20% less mileage, I went with regular E10 gas.
Ethanol made from Sugar Cane
It true that making Ethanol out of corn is not such a good idea for two reasons, One is that it costs to much to produce, and two, their using good farm land for growing it. but what about Sugar Cane. Just about all of the sugar companies in Hawaii have gone out of business, They cant compete with the foreign growers. But Sugar cane produces 7 times more fuel than it takes to grow it, they just don't have any one lobbing their case in congress so corn got the contract. Their is a lot of land just sitting here in Hawaii, that is going to waist now that the sugar mills are gone. Do you people really want to help America? Start using Sugar cane for your Ethanol. It only makes sense.
Ethanol=good stuff!
I've run ethanol no problem and Brazil makes theirs out of sugar cane.
No excuses, race cars in America(especially drag cars)
have run alcohol as well for extremely high horsepower applications. Its safe and was used in America in times past as well.Some gaskets in carbs aren't alcohol friendly but who has paper gasket/carb systems, we have fuel injection on everthing! Bring on the Alchohol!
E-85
The problem is that, shortly, we won't be able to use all of the Ethanol we produce. The solution is to make E-85 available to more people. I don't think I have ever seen E-85 for sale, although I've seen the Flex-Fuel vehicles.
Mandate availability of E-85 and give it a competative price, due to the decreased mileage, and they will come.
Another dead end
Ethanol made from food is a REALLY bad idea. I can understand, and even advocate, ethanol made from waste products. But growing a crop specifically for ethanol production waste resources (According to some research, it takes 6 barrels of oil to make 7 barrels of Ethanol), time and valuable farmland. There was a global food crisis, perpetuated by the proponents of ethanol grown from corn.
Yes, corn gran alcohol produces more ethanol, but it's also less corn grown to EAT (different grains - ethanol corn can't be consumed). This radiates out across all agricultural crops, impacting prices. Tossing in the cash incentives given to farmers (who, after all, want to earn as much as possible) and you get a global food crisis.
And they want to add more?
it's obvious why they want more - global demand for oil is down. Prices are dropping across the board. The subsidies for ethanol are all that's keeping some farmers afloat (silly them - they should grow a crop that's in more demand, like FOOD). Raising the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline would increase demand for ethanol (if not gas) and give farmers more money.
I understand the motives, but deny the urgent need. In the first place, as the global economy slows, prices drop. But when the recovery happens, demand grows, and so do prices. Increasing the allotted amount of ethanol in gas NOW will perpetuate a gigantic disaster on the global food and fuel markets later. Yes, you can cut back on ethanol in gas by then, but how many trillions of dollars will have been needlessly wasted by adding more in the first place?
Auto manufacturers concerns aside (which are extremely valid to begin with), the economic impact of this idea alone is enough to justify saying "NO!" to the ethanol advocates.
The carbon footprint of ethanol is the same as for gas - plants are carbon-based and burning them releases carbon - and some argue more because of the gas burned to make it in the first place. Find a better way to make the stuff and find other ways that doesn't use oil or carbon.
