Agreed there is a lot of hype surrounding E85. Here's the spin that I think makes this ethanol buzz a bit more real. In Iowa, they're already announcing gas stations that are installing E85 pumps around town. Additionally, venture capital is pouring into the state and production rates for ethanol are going to soar over the next 10 years providing a healthy supply. Then, as tax incentives and other taxpayer funded subsidies fly out of congress...more and more stations around the United States will retrofit, and the announcements will start showing up in environment-friendly meccas like San Francisco and Seattle. Economically speaking, I don't believe that ethanol is the secret to 50-cent-per-gallon gas. It has actually spiked corn prices up around here, and with the ethanol supply at maximum production (and demand outstripping supply), ethanol prices have actually gone up. I believe that if we stick to this model, we can really make a dent in our dependence of foreign energy, even if it takes a 20-year economic realignment of sorts.
Doug Mitchell
Des Moines, Iowa
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